The Wartburg Project

FAQs

Questions about Bible translation topics and the EHV.

Textual Studies
February 21st, 2024
104. Mulberry Tree? Sycamore Fig? - Luke 17:6

Doctrinal Studies
February 21st, 2024
103. Hell in the Old Testament

Newer translations seem to avoid the word "hell" in the Old Testament. Why is that?

Textual Studies
January 30th, 2024
102. Do we have a reliable text of the Hebrew Old Testament?

Textual Studies
February 21st, 2024
101. Including the Text of John 5:4

Is this verse a part of the original text or not?

Textual Studies
February 21st, 2024
100. Translation of Psalm 104:4 - Winds and Blazing Fire

EHV and NIV translate this passage differently. Which is right?

History
February 21st, 2024
99. Cyrus and Darius

Were Cyrus and Darius the same person?

Textual Studies
January 30th, 2024
98. "Dedicate" a child to the way he should go - Proverbs 22:6

Why "dedicate" and not "train" or "teach"?

Doctrinal Studies
December 27th, 2023
97. Grace vs. Mercy

Is "mercy" in the Old Testament the same as "grace" in the New Testament?

Textual Studies
November 28th, 2023
96. An Announcement to the Spirits in Prison

Commentary on 1 Peter 3:19, Jesus' descent into hell.

Textual Studies
December 27th, 2023
95. Put to Death in Flesh but Made Alive in Spirit

Commentary on 1 Peter 3:18

Doctrinal Studies
October 31st, 2023
94. Baptism Saves Us

Commentary on 1 Peter 3:21 - Is it baptism that saves, or faith?

History
September 26th, 2023
93. Leprosy in the Bible

Did the Bible’s practice of separation of unclean lepers from society play a role in this harsh treatment of lepers in Hawaii?

Textual Studies
August 29th, 2023
92. "Virgin" or "Young Woman" in Joel 1:8?

It is hard to imagine how anyone who has read the ancient religious literature of the Near East could come to the conclusion that “neither the word or concept of virgin or virginity is of any importance in the religious thought of the Old Testament.”

Textual Studies
July 1st, 2023
91. The Guarantee of a Good Conscience

In 1 Peter 3:21, why does the EHV use the word “guarantee,” while other translations use various other words, such as “pledge” or “answer” or “appeal” or “request” or “question” or “promise”?

History
May 30th, 2023
90. Josiah's Four Sons

Textual Studies
March 31st, 2023
88. Resources for the Study of New Testament Textual Criticism

Grammatical Studies
February 28th, 2023
87. Why Does the EHV Not Say "Immediately" in Mark 1:21?

Translation Principles
January 31st, 2023
86. What is the most accurate Bible translation?

Grammatical Studies
October 31st, 2022
85. Can the same word mean “yes” and “no”?

History
September 28th, 2022
84. Coffins in Israel

Textual Studies
August 30th, 2022
83. Deliver Us From Evil

Textual Studies
August 30th, 2022
82. Sea Cow Skins and the Dwelling

Textual Studies
July 29th, 2022
81. Spirit or spirit in Galatians 5:16-18, 22, 25

About the EHV
July 29th, 2022
80. Why Copyright the EHV?

Geography
October 31st, 2022
79. Where did Israel cross the Red Sea, and where is Mount Sinai?

Textual Studies
June 29th, 2022
78. Pronouns and Antecedents in the Bible

In Psalm 72:17, the EHV has “All nations will be blessed through him. They will call him blessed,” but other translations have “They will be blessed through him. All nations will call him blessed.” Why is this?

Textual Studies
May 25th, 2022
77. God's Mercy and Faithfulness

Textual Studies
April 30th, 2022
76. Acts 1:26—Lottery or Election?

History
February 17th, 2022
75. Who were the Hittites?

History
February 17th, 2022
74. Did David have red hair?

Geography
January 25th, 2022
73. Who Were the Magi?

Textual Studies
October 28th, 2021
72. Luther and Genesis 4:1

Textual Studies
September 29th, 2021
71. Verse Numbers in Song of Songs 7

Grammatical Studies
August 31st, 2021
70. Singular or Plural?

History
April 28th, 2021
69. How tall was Goliath?

History
March 23rd, 2021
68. Who wrote the scroll in Deuteronomy 17:18?

Textual Studies
March 23rd, 2021
67. John 13:27: "What you are about to do, do more quickly."

Textual Studies
January 29th, 2021
65. Acts 19:1-6: The Baptism of John and Rebaptism

Textual Studies
October 29th, 2020
64. Shouldn't Psalm 4:4 and Ephesians 4:26 agree?

About the EHV
October 29th, 2020
63. Why doesn't EHV use more authentically Hebrew names?

About the EHV
August 31st, 2020
62. English Spelling: "Worshipped" or "Worshiped"

Grammatical Studies
July 27th, 2020
61. Why don't you use more contractions?

Textual Studies
March 26th, 2020
60. Grammar: Laws, Rules, or Guidelines?

Textual Studies
January 29th, 2020
59. Dealing with Defects

Textual Studies
November 27th, 2019
57. What are the righteous verdicts of the saints?

Textual Studies
November 22nd, 2023
56. Where did the name "Cainan" come from in Luke 3:36?

Readers of the Bible should retain a healthy degree of skepticism about statements about textual variants in the Bible.

Grammatical Studies
September 13th, 2019
55. Is "boys" too informal? (John 21:5)

Grammatical Studies
September 13th, 2019
54. Possessive or Adjective?

Grammatical Studies
November 27th, 2019
53. The Translation of Psalm 145:16 (How do we handle updates to the text?)

Textual Studies
April 26th, 2019
52. The Verse Numbers in the Bible

History
February 28th, 2019
51. The Term "The Jews"

Grammatical Studies
December 15th, 2019
50. Are pronouns always translated literally?

About the EHV
October 31st, 2018
49. Evangelical? Is This a Pro-Trump Bible?

About the EHV
October 31st, 2018
48. Why Does the EHV Have So Many Psalm Headings?

Doctrinal Studies
June 1st, 2018
47. What does it mean to be clothed in Christ or to put on Christ?

Doctrinal Studies
June 1st, 2018
46. How should the term "men and brothers" be handled?

History
June 1st, 2018
45. Can the exact calendar dates of biblical events be determined?

Geography
May 16th, 2018
44. How are the locations of biblical sites identified?

About the EHV
May 11th, 2018
43. What is the relationship of the EHV Text and the EHV Study Bible?

Textual Studies
March 22nd, 2018
42. Why is there so much confusion concerning the spelling of "Peniel" and "Penuel?" (Genesis 32:30-31)

Doctrinal Studies
March 22nd, 2018
41. In Matthew 28:19 why do you translate “gather disciples” instead of “make disciples”?

Textual Studies
February 22nd, 2018
40. Do variants and typos affect the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy?

Textual Studies
February 22nd, 2018
39. Why do you include the long ending of Mark as part of the text?

Doctrinal Studies
November 17th, 2017
38. Why does the EHV translate the Greek term "dia" as "because of" in Romans 4:25 in the words “for our justification”?

Translation Principles
August 29th, 2017
37. In Isaiah 55:1 the EHV says, “Hey, all of you who are thirsty, come to the water.” Isn’t "hey" too slangy?

Doctrinal Studies
August 3rd, 2017
36. Why does the EHV use “through” instead of “by” in John 1:3, 10, and 1 Corinthians 8:6?

Doctrinal Studies
August 2nd, 2017
35. In Philippians 2:6 should "morphe" be translated "form" or "nature"?

Textual Studies
August 2nd, 2017
34. Blessing God

Doctrinal Studies
August 2nd, 2017
33. Why is “koinonia” translated “communion” in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17?

Translation Principles
August 2nd, 2017
32. Isn’t the term “aliens” confusing or offensive?

Archaelogy
August 2nd, 2017
31. Did Israelites eat cheese curds like ours? (Isaiah 7)

About the EHV
December 21st, 2016
30. What features of the EHV set it apart from other translations?

About the EHV
December 21st, 2016
29. What were the greatest difficulties encountered in producing the EHV?

Translation Principles
November 27th, 2016
28. Why does the EHV read “walk” where some other modern translations say “live”? What does it mean to “walk with God”?

About the EHV
November 27th, 2016
27. Why should I try the EHV?

Doctrinal Studies
November 27th, 2016
26. Why does the EHV use the term “only-begotten” in John 3:16 instead of “one and only”?

About the EHV
October 18th, 2016
25. Has anyone proposed the idea of having Lutherans work toward producing a Bible translation before the Wartburg Project?

About the EHV
September 29th, 2016
24. How is the EHV reviewed in order to receive suggestions for improvement?

Translation Principles
September 29th, 2016
23. How does EHV deal with so-called “gender inclusive” or “gender accurate” language?

Translation Principles
September 29th, 2016
22. Why does the EHV use the term “mammon”?

About the EHV
September 23rd, 2016
21. Does the EHV want to be the “official WELS Bible”?

Translation Principles
September 22nd, 2016
20. Does Jesus use bad grammar?

Archaelogy
September 22nd, 2016
19. Why do you often translate the term which many other translations render “horsemen” as “charioteers”?

An interesting issue in the translation of battle scenes and military rosters is at what point of military history we can begin to refer to horseback riders and cavalry.

Translation Principles
September 22nd, 2016
18. Why do you sometimes say “John the Baptizer” and sometimes “John the Baptist”?

Both versions are correct. The reason is that there are two different Greek words used here in the original Greek.

Translation Principles
April 4th, 2016
17. The spelling of personal names and place names in various Bibles is very inconsistent. Is the EHV going to have a consistent system of spelling?

The problem of the spelling of personal and geographic names is a nightmare for translators, and arises because some letters of the Hebrew alphabet do not always have a good correspondence with one specific letter of the English alphabet.

Archaelogy
March 14th, 2016
16. How does archaeology help in Bible translation?

New archaeological information often helps correct or improve translations of terms that appear in the Bible. Here are a few examples.

About the EHV
February 12th, 2016
15. Why is your translation called the Evangelical Heritage Version?

Our translation is called Evangelical because its highest goal is to proclaim the good news of the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It is called Heritage because this word looks to the past, the present, and the future.

Translation Principles
January 3rd, 2016
14. Why do you use the terms “inn,” “manger” and “swaddling cloths” in Luke chapter 2? Aren’t these terms outdated?

In some cases, terms that are allegedly outdated are really not outdated. Sometimes this can be rather surprising. We have learned more about each of these terms since we started working on this translation.

About the EHV
November 21st, 2015
13. Will the EHV be a study Bible?

The initial publication was the “plain vanilla” Bible. For the most part the footnotes are limited to explanations of translation decisions and textual variants. But it was always our goal to produce a study bible based on our translation.

Translation Principles
November 21st, 2015
12. In Psalm 110:1 “The decree of the LORD to my lord,” why is the second occurrence of “lord” not capitalized? It refers to Christ, the Son of God.

The second lord does indeed refer to Christ, but capitalization does not depend on whether or not a word refers to God, but on whether it is a title (then it is capitalized) or it is a common noun or adjective (it is not capitalized).

About the EHV
July 28th, 2015
11. Is the EHV a literal translation of the Bible?

The answer to your question is “no” “yes” or “sometimes” depending on what you mean by the word “literal.” There is a lot of confusion about the meaning of the word “literal” as it applies to Bible translations.

Textual Studies
May 26th, 2015
10. Your translation sometimes has more words and occasionally even more verses than other recent translations of the New Testament. Why is that?

There are many small differences between the hundreds of handwritten manuscripts of the New Testament. Most of these variants are “typos”, but occasionally some manuscripts have entire words or even verses that are only in some copies.

Translation Principles
May 13th, 2015
9. In certain passages of the New Testament some translations have the term “Messiah” where your translation has “Christ.” Why the difference?

About the EHV
May 8th, 2015
8. Is the EHV Bible sectarian?

Our translators are confessional Lutherans, but they all understand and observe the difference between presenting a Lutheran understanding of Scripture in a confessional statement and importing that interpretation into the words of a translation.

Translation Principles
May 8th, 2015
7. Why do you capitalize the Devil? Isn’t that honoring the devil?

No, it simply recognizes that the Devil has become a title of Satan.  All titles are capitalized even if they are evil figures like Satan, the Devil, Belial, Lucifer, Antichrist, etc.

About the EHV
May 8th, 2015
6. Are you going to make a red letter edition of the gospels, which honors Jesus’ words by putting them in red?

Christians have often made special decorated editions of the Bible, so we would have no objection to a red letter edition. However, right now our job is completing a translation that people will want to use in multiple formats.

Archaelogy
May 8th, 2015
5. Did ancient Israel have toilets? (Mt 15:17)

Latrine perhaps is the most technically correct word for what Jesus is talking about because it is the most comprehensive, although the readers of the gospels were familiar with large public toilet facilities with running water in the larger cities.

Geography
May 8th, 2015
4. Why does the account of the Wise Men say that they saw the star “in its rising”?

If the Wise Men were from the East, why would they have to tell us that they were “in the east” when they saw the star? Or why would they need to tell us they saw the star in the eastern part of the sky?

Translation Principles
March 18th, 2015
3. Why don’t you capitalize the pronouns that refer to God? That seems to give more honor to God.

It has been a recent convention of English usage to capitalize nouns and pronouns which refer to God. However, it was not the practice of early English translations such as the KJV and also was not the practice of Luther’s German Bible.

Translation Principles
March 18th, 2015
2. In the passion history Jesus twice says, “Who are you looking for?” Isn’t that bad grammar?

In our project we will try to use language that is both correct and alive and to observe the distinction between written communication and conversation (even conversation recorded in writing).

Translation Principles
March 13th, 2015
1. Why does Jesus say, “Amen, Amen, I tell you”?

In most recent English translations of the Gospels Jesus frequently says, “Truly I say to you” or “I tell you the truth.” This conveys a clear meaning, but the problem is that in the Greek text Jesus does not use the Greek word for “truly” or “truth.”