Photo: Mt. Arbel and the Kinneret (“Sea of Galilee”), Israel

Why learn to read the New Testament in its original ancient Greek?

Is there any meaningful difference between reading the New Testament in an English translation and reading it in its original Greek? Absolutely! In fact, the difference is significant. Reading the writings of the New Testament authors in the language they originally expressed themselves in opens up a new world of meaning that is simply breathtaking.

If a movie is filmed in colour, then it is best to watch it in colour, right? Don’t get me wrong, in the black-and-white rendition we would still be able to follow the basic plot of the story. We could see how characters grow and develop. The pace of the movie and the succession of scenes would remain the same. But why would one intentionally watch the film in black and white, if the original colour version was accessible and obtaining it was affordable?  

Certain intangibles would remain accessible in the original colour version alone. The richness of the scenes is derived significantly from the colours present. Is it an earthy scene with browns and yellows? A gorgeous sunny day with blue skies? The inspiration behind the choice of location may be found in the colours it wears. Even such features such as the pace and tone of the dialogue may be influenced by the beauty of the surroundings and the characters’ physical appearances. To experience the mood of the story as the director intended it, one simply has to watch the movie in colour!

If we wouldn’t go cheap on watching a movie we really thought was worthwhile, then why would we skimp out when trying to read the ancient documents that we believe are the greatest written gift to humankind? We simply cannot get the full richness of the New Testament in its original language by reading in a translation!

Every language has aspects that are unique to it. And no two languages completely map onto one another. So translation can never capture the fullness of a text in its original language. This is true of Koine Greek too! Unique features of the language abound. In fact, some aspects of Koine Greek are simply untranslatable in English. The conclusion is inescapable. We get a fuller understanding of the intent of the Gospels, the letters, Acts and Revelation, when we read them in Greek.

No analogy is perfect. The analogy used here of black-and-white versus a colour movie versions is helpful as a point of reference. Using multiple English translations, for example, and comparing them can help one get closer to understanding the original meaning of the Greek text behind the translations. Still, this procedure provides only an approximate copy, not the work of art itself, in its original beauty.

In some cases, though, actually information is lost or, worse, misconstrued, when reading in translations in English (or another language). You can read more about this here.

We leave off here with an additional analogy. If we learn to read the New Testament in Greek, we will find that breathtaking vistas are opened up to us for the first time. Come take your first steps towards these vistas.