Dr. John Sias is to be commended for stressing the importance of a readable, reliable Bible translation in today’s language and also for warning of translator bias (“Handing on the Word of Truth,” Nov.). The ideal translation would be one that tells exactly what God gave prophets and apostles to say as they were directed by the Holy Spirit and do so in today’s language.
As Dr. Sias pointed out, Luther’s German translation “carefully under-scores the chief doctrine of the Bible: justification by faith in Christ.” He also conveyed the original Scripture message in words most Germans could easily understand.
There is a translation by a former professor of linguistics at the St. Louis seminary that is trustworthy. Dr. William F. Beck was a conservative scholar, fluent in ancient languages—Latin, Greek, and Hebrew—whose decades of labor resulted in An American Translation.
Rev. Otto T. Zeeb
Lakehurst, N.J.
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