who has the authority to decide if the bible gets edited and what content gets added or changed?

Question

***Lazytime**obviously the bible has many versions. so now I guess we're supposed to believe that god edited the versions when we were all sleeping. and poof we wake up with a new version by a ghost author. come on gimme a break.

Answer 1

Bible is public domain, so anyone can change it as they see fit. And besides, it’s been mutilated beyond recognition anyway so another edit won’t make any difference.

Answer 2

Understanding the translations and different versions of the Bible requires quite a knowledge of history, and I have to admit that I'm a bit rusty. I know the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek. Believers maintain that these words are "God-breathed" by the Holy Spirit, which means that they are the actual words of God given to different people to write down. Holy men as they were moved by the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible at different periods of history. Over the years there were two clear directions taken by scripture. One was the Catholic Bible, which was for monks and priests only, and never translated into the language of the common people. The second was the protestant Bible, which was printed in the language of the common people in protest (hence the word, protestant). In 1611, King James appointed a committee of very learned scholars to accurately translate the original languages into the common tongue. In recent decades, many other versions, claiming to be "modern", have been written; however, not all adhere to the original doctrines, such as the virgin birth. Most Christians now use the New International Version or the New King James Version, believing God's promise that his word will never be destroyed. In addition, every day Bibles are being translated into the more obscure languages around the globe to spread the good news of Jesus. Check out www.biblegateway.com to see a good comparison of a lot of different versions.

Answer 3

There's a difference between translated, and edited.

The Bible is a collection of religious scribes.
The Old Testament, also known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible (with the 1st book, Genesis written approx 1450 b.C & the last book, Malachi being written approx 450 b.C)
These books were originally written in Canaanite, Phoenician, Aramaic & Hebrew..
These books do not include the Apocrypha, which would eventually be included in the Vulgate (the official text for the Roman Catholic Church.)

The New Testament written in Aramaic & Koine Greek, (and by extension its descendants such as Latin, Cyrillic and Coptic)
The First book, Matthew was written approx. 35-40 a.D, and the Last book Revelation was written by John in 90 a.D.

Up until that point the sacred texts remained in their respective languages.
Eventually, Wyclif would translate into English (in 1383 a.D) then Luther (in 1521) would start the German translation, and eventually Tyndale would translate half of the Old, and all of the New Testament into English. Of course he would eventually be burned at the stake for his efforts.

In 1611 King James would bring together 47 clergymen and lay scholars divided into six companies. Each man would work independently, then as a Company, and as each section was completed, they would be handed to the next company until all were in complete agreement.
These men were fluent in Latin, and Hebrew languages.

To add or change the content of these scribes would be tantamount to writing a different book. To translate, is to simply make it readable by a different language. That doesn't mean, the books were changed.

As to who has the authority to change it, well probably the same person that has the authority to re-do the Mona Lisa. NO ONE, since it has already been done.

Answer 4

No man has been given the authority to change the Bible under any circumstances.
As the Bible says or as God says in the Bible, "Your words are not my words and your thoughts are not mine". The Bible goes on to say at the beginning of Revelation that no man has the authority to change the content of it (Bible) and if they do add or remove they will suffer the consequences. If man was given the authority to change the Bible or "update" it as some are saying then it would have been stated that as time goes by it should be updated.

What has been said in the beginning by God still goes even if it's "old fashioned" as some say. God does not change his mind. His word was and still is the same. In the beginning He said no fornicating, He meant it then and He still means it now. He said He hates gayism, He meant it then and He still does (to name a few examples). So no matter what man say about the Living Holy Word, it will never change, should they change it.........

Answer 5

In the *OLD* law, Moses said every new king was supposed to recopy the law.

The Catholic bible firmed up about 500AD at the council of Nicea, apparently mostly weeding out lots of heresy.

The protestants developed King James, a slightly abbreviated version, with the reformation movement, about 1600 or so.

The last book, Revelation carries curses against any who add to, or subtract from, the book; which may slightly discourage editing.

Answer 6

The official list of books that are included in the Old Testament and the New Testament is called the canon.

Since the books of the Old Testament were written over a period of 800 or more years, the development of the Old Testament canon was a gradual process. The earliest Old Testament writings were accepted as having unique significance early in the history of the nation of Israel. For instance, the Lord was speaking of the Mosaic law when he said to Joshua, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it Then you will be prosperous and successful" (Joshua 1:8, niv). According to tradition, Ezra played a role in compiling the canon of the Jewish Scripture in the fifth century b.c. The Jewish canon contains the same books that comprise the Old Testament for Protestants. The Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox church recognize some additional books as part of the canon.

The New Testament Canon was recognized by the church fathers as early as a.d. 200 and was largely undisputed by the fourth century a.d. It is accepted by all Christian churches.

Answer 7

Noone can change it now without a bunch of people freaking out about it.

You could release a new version of the bible with whatever edits you want - but people would just reject it.

Now, back when the bible was being assembled and written on the other hand, they were able to make all kinds of changes, choose how to translate things so that it fit their beliefs, and to leave out the parts that didn't agree with their beliefs.

It is a work of historical fiction - and should be treated as such.

Answer 8

No one has the authority to "edit" the Bible. However, anyone can translate it, since it is not a copyrighted work. There is a huge difference.

There are today still in exist over 2,300 manuscripts of the New Testament books that date from the early years of the Christian church. These were used by the first Christian counsel around 325 AD to formally approve the canon (or content) of the Bible. They approved a listing which had been in use for nearly 200 years before the council meet.

More than 7,500 additional Greek manuscripts still exist today from after the COuncil to before the time of the invention of the printing press in the 1400's. (Plus thousands more translated into other languages.)

Comparing these Greek manuscripts, the texts are word for word indentical 99.7% of the time. The majority of the differences are different spellings of the same word, or the reversing of word such as "Christ Jesus" instead of "Jesus Christ". Of the nearly 7,000 lines of the New Testament, there are about 40 that have a question over the original reading. None of them affect any major church doctrine.

Because most people do not read either the ancient Hebrew of the Old Testament, or the Koine Greek of the New Testament, it is necessary to translate them into the language of each country and generation. For example, the Bible was translated into Latin aroun 400AD, and that was the most used version for the next 1000 years. It is called the Vulgate translation.

By the 1500s, Latin had become as dead a language as Hebrew and Koine Greek, so new translation began to appear in many language. Much of this was due to the Protestant Reformation. The translators of those Bibles did not re-translate from Latin to English, but rather they went back to the original Hebrew and Greelk texts as their source for the translation. Of the several English translations that appeared, the Authorized Bible (commonly King James because it is dedicated to him on the opening page as he was the king at the time it was published) became the favorite. It would be "the" English Bible for the next 300 years.

But the 1900s, the Shakespearean era language of the King James Bible was beginning to show its age. The meaning and spelling of many words had changed in that time.

New translations began to appear. Each was based, not on the King James or any other earlier translation, but on the original Hebrew and Greek texts. This prevents any "editing" or "changing" of the text. If you always translate from the same 2000 year old text, you can't change it over time.

If you look at the Bibles on the market today, you will find that the differences in them is NOT because they have edited or rewritten the text. Rather they are differences in the audience to which they are directed. Versions such as the New American Standard are designed to be as word for word literal as possible. However because of the differences in Hebrew and Greek grammer, those can be difficult to read.

So other translations like the New International Version will aim for a more readable and understandable translation, occasionally altering word order or use in phrase instead of a single word to make it more understandable. Some use "American" English while others use "British" English.

Some translations are more specialized, such as the "Good News for Modern Man" translation. It is designed from people who use English as their second language. So it keeps the vocabular simple, and the sentences short. The meaning of the text is not changed, but the style of how it is translated varies from the others.

There are also a handful of "paraphrase" Bibles. These are not word for word translations, but rather though for though retellings. They are closer to commentaries on the scripture, not translation, and not intended to be used as study Bibles. But rather to give you the author's prespective on the meaning of scripture. "The Message" is probably the most popular paraphrase on the market today.

Many of the Bibles on the market have the exact same Bible text, but are packaged with extras and study guides to help people seeking information on specific Bible issues. Such as Bibles desgined for teen-agers, or newly weds, or graduates, etc. The Bible text is indentical to all other Bibles. It is just packed to appeal to a specific group.

If you have a question about the accuracy of the Bible, may I suggest that you take four or five versions and lay them side by side. Read through some of them and compare what they say. (Or use a site like http://biblegateway.com which has multiple versions available). You will find that the differences between the translations is not one of content or doctrine, but one of style.

Because English, like any language, is always changing, and because new discoveries are giving you more insight into the language, culture and society of the Bible people, there will always be a need to keep retranslating the Bible. But a translation is not an "editing", an "altering" or a "changing" of the original text. Nothing is added or removed from the text. All Bible translation go back to the same Hebrew and Greel text as the source for their translation.

Answer 9

Absolutely no-one. The Canon of Scripture was finalized once and for all time in the year 397 by the bishops of the Catholic Church gathered in Council at Carthage, North Africa. Since that day not a word of the Bible has been changed, added or removed. Except of course by the founder of Protestantism, who threw out 7 books and part of another, and added words to the text in an effort to support some of his new doctrines. Actually he intended to trash 10 books, including 3 New Testament books, but his followers wouldn't hear of throwing out the writings of the Apostles themselves, so the New Testament was spared.

So the Protestant "Bible" has these deficiencies. But the true and complete Bible with its 73 divinely inspired texts is protected by the one true Church which received it from God, the Holy Catholic Church.

Answer 10

It would appear that organization called Bible Societies do. The American Bible Society is responsible for the King James Edition, for example.

Quick, what language was the Bible first published in...

Were you able to answer without thinking? I've met very few US Christians that know the answer to that question.

Answer 11

This is a very good Question!
The answer is 'No one'!!

But, then, no one gives anyone the right to represent Jesus at the altar, or to represent Him from the pulpit either, or to baptize in God's holy name!

Who actually gives these people that assume they may act for Him the right or authority to act for God on earth??

Hebrews states that 'no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he who is called of God, as was Aaron"
... and How was Aaron given Godly authority - only via the living prophet of the time - Moses, who was God's "Mouthpiece"
One needs duly anointed and ordained Prophets and apostles to have authority to act on behalf of God.