BiblicalInsights.net

The following information has been gleaned from several sources.  The Bible itself is the main source.
The Bible Library
The Bible is The Book.  It is inspired (God-breathed) II Tim. 3:16-17 and thus it is the revelation of the Will of God to the heart of man.  The Bible is the Word of God (John 17:17).  The Word of God is the truth (John 17:17).  Any ideology or doctrine that contradicts the Bible is false.  The Bible is comprised of sixty-six books.  The Old Testament contains thirty-nine books and are divided into five categories:  The Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; History: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther; Poetry: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon; Prophecy: Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel and Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.  The New Testament is comprised of twenty-seven books.  They are divided into five categories:  Gospels: Matthew, Mark. Luke and John; History: Acts; Epistles of Paul: Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I and II Thessalonians, I and II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews; General Epistles: James, I and II Peter, I, II, and III John, Jude and Prophecy: Revelation.
The Writers of the Bible
There are approximately forty writers of the Bible.  There are eight writers of the New Testament including: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, James and Jude.  The writers were from many different backgrounds: prophets, fishermen, kings, scholars, poets, shepherds, tax collectors, doctors, farmers, and others. They lived in ten different countries on three continents–Asia, Africa, and Europe.  They wrote about God’s interactions with 2,930 different characters, from more than 1,550 places.
The Chronology of the Bible
The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years.  From Moses to Christ is 1500 years.  From Christ to the end of the first century was 100 years.
Languages of the Bible
The Bible was written in three languages:  Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
Translation of the Bible
Worldwide, there are about 80,000+ different versions of the Bible with full Bibles in 530+ languages and portions of the Bible in about 2,900 languages.  A full Bible translation is now available in a person’s native language in 70% of the world’s population.  In whole or in part, the Bible is accessible to 98% of the world’s population.
The Printing of the Bible
The first book to be printed using movable type was the Bible.  More specifically, it was the Gutenberg Bible which took three years to print in the Latin language.  One hundred and eighty copies were printed, but only 48 exist today.  It was printed in 1454 A.D.
There are about 900 printed English versions of the Bible (complete and incomplete).  The first hand-written manuscripts of the English Bible were written by John Wycliffe who translated from the Latin Vulgate into English in 1380 A.D. The Tyndall Version (1525-1526) was the first printed English edition of the Scriptures.  The first English translation of the entire Bible was published by Miles Coverdale in 1535.  The King James Version was first published in 1611.  It is the most important English version.  More copies of the KJV have been printed worldwide than any other version of the Bible.  The largest Bible factory in the world is the Amity Bible printing company located in Nanjing, China.
Reading the Bible 
It takes seventy hours to read the Bible aloud at pulpit rate.  Reading the Bible silently with an average reading speed of 250-300 words per minute takes fifty-four hours.  People who can read 800 words per minute can read the Bible in a day.  If you are short on time, read the book of Philemon, it takes only one minute.
Smallest and Largest Bibles
The smallest Bible in the world is the New Testament (Jerusalem Nano Bible) a chip measuring 4.76 mm.  It can only be read with a microscope because each letter is 18 millionths of a meter wide.  The largest Bible in the world is the 1930 Waynai Bible.  It weighs 496 kg or 1094 lbs.  It is 43.5 inches tall and 98 in. wide.  For moving purposes, it disassembles into 31 sections.
There Are Many Fascinating details in the Bible.  A man who walked around naked for three years (Isa. 20:2-3); A bed that was 13.5 feet long and 6 feet wide (Deut. 3:11); a man’s hair that weighed 6.25 lbs. when it was cut each year; there is no mention of the domestic cat in the Bible; and sheep are the most frequently mentioned animal in the Bible.
The Nature of the Bible (Ps. 19:7-11)
The Law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul.
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The statues of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever.
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold. Sweeter than the honeycomb.
By them thy servant is warned.
In keeping of them there is great reward.
The Word of God is the only body of sacred knowledge that instructs us on how to be saved (James 1:21)!  We affirm as David, “Oh, how love I thy law.”  (Ps. 119:97)

The English Standard Version is now being used by many who may not be aware of some of the significant changes that have been made in that translation.  One such change is found in Genesis 3:16.  The ESV reads, “To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.  Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”  In Genesis 3, God expels the first two human beings from the Garden of Eden.  Eve succumbed to temptation and sinned against God by eating of the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:17).  Then, she gave some of the fruit to her husband and he did it.  In doing so, Adam sinned against God.  God punishes Eve for her transgression.  In the KJV, Genesis 3:16 states, “Thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.”
The ESV vs. the KJV
The ESV appears to suggest that women naturally oppose their husband’s desires.  Could this explain the battle of the sexes?  One reader responded that it sounds like wives are responsible for marital conflict (Bible Review Journal, vol. 4, no. 1, Spring, 2017, p. 27).  The ESV seems to teach that women oppose their husband’s desires, but that they (their husbands) will overrule them.  The KJV teaches that God by divine precept subjugated the woman to the man in the marriage relationship because of her being deceived and usurping his authority.  Adam was addressed by God regarding the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:17) before Eve was created.  In all likelihood, she learned of the forbidden fruit from her husband.  When she succumbed to the temptation of Satan, she disobeyed God and disregarded the words of her husband.
Why the Translation Difference?
The translation difference hinges on a single Hebrew preposition: ‘el.  Virtually no other major translation takes this word to mean “contrary to,” as the ESV does.  The translation is false and misleading.
Two Problems Resulting From This Change
The first problem to consider is the destruction of the link between Gen. 3:16 and Eph. 5:23-24.  The subjugation of the woman to her husband in the marriage is divinely ordained by God.  It is a God-given decree that is tied to the fall of the woman.  If the subjugation of the woman to the man in marriage is not divinely decreed, then the cultural argument made by egalitarians is strengthened.  In Eph. 5:23-24, the ESV states that the husband is the head of the wife and that she is to be in submission to her husband.  However, verse 21 is already being used by egalitarians to show that the submission is mutual and equal.  While this is a misinterpretation of verse 21, it still is problematic.  The destruction of the link between Eph. 5:23-24 and Gen. 3:16 will further complicate the interpretation of both passages.
A second problem is the destruction of the link between Gen. 3:16 and I Tim. 2:12-14 subordinating women to men in the worship assembly of the New Testament church.  In I Tim. 2:13-14, the Holy Spirit through Paul makes it clear that a woman is not permitted to teach nor (in any other way) to usurp authority over the man.  He bases his argument on two important things:  (1)  Adam was created before Eve (the created order) and (2) Eve was deceived by Satan not Adam (the order and circumstances of the fall).  God by divine decree subjugated the woman to the man in marriage.  This cannot be reversed in the worship assembly (I Cor. 14:34-35).  For these reasons we do not have women preachers, women serving as elders or deacons, or women taking part in the public worship assemblies.  The ESV accommodates the egalitarians who argue for a cultural interpretation of I Tim. 2:12-14 and consequently permit a wider role for women in the church.
This translation change by the ESV translators simply demonstrates how a small change (the meaning of one preposition) can have a profound impact on the interpretation of God’s Word and the doctrines and practices of the New Testament church.

A lengthy dispute over how to convey the Trinity to Muslims led two denominations to threaten boycotts of Wycliffe Bible Translators.  The disupte began in 2011.  Wycliffe’s partner SIL International halted seven translation projects in 2011 until a 14-member panel convened by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) could assess the debate.
The dispute focused on how to translate phrases like “God the Father” and “Son of God” in predominantly Muslim nations.  The problem is the Quran’s teaching on the subject of the Triune God.  Muslims do not believe in the diety of Jesus Christ and consequently, they do not believe in a Triune God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit).  While Muslims are monotheistic, their god Allah, is not the one, true and living God.
The Quran teaches: 5:116, “And behold! God will say, “O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, “Worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of God?”  17:111, “Praise be to God, Who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion: Nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation, yea, magnify Him for His greatness and glory.”  19:88-92, “They say: ‘(God) Most Gracious has begotten a son!’ Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous!  At it the skies are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin, That they should invoke a son for (God) Most Gracious.  For it is not consonant with the majesty of (God) Most Gracious that he should beget a son.”
The idea of God begetting a son (assumed in a physical sense) is misunderstood by Muslims.  The Virgin Birth will have to be explained to Muslims.  But, God’s Word should not be changed to accommodate their misunderstandings.  We cannot compromise the truth in the way the Bible is translated.  Political correctness should not enter into Bible translation.
Some of the transational changes involved the following:
-Reference to “God the Father” are replaced by the Arabic word for god, “Allah.”  (But, Allah and the Triune God of the Bible are not the same).
-References to Jesus as the “Son of God” are replaced with “Messiah”, thus eliminating references to Jesus as the Son of God and thus destroying the relationship between the Father and the Son in Scripture.
-In Matthew 18:19, “Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” becomes “Cleanse them by water in the name of Allah, His Messiah, and His Holy Spirit.”
Most will be able to see the translational problems involved with these changes and the doctrinal import of each.  The WEA established a 14-member panel to address the translational issues.  It produced a report in April, 2013.  The report includes ten guidelines that address the translational issues.  It may be obtained at www.worldevangelicals.org/translation-review/.
Christianity Today had an article addressing this issue titled, “Translation Tension” by Ruth Moon in the July/August, 2013 issue.  The tension points up the difficulty encountered in Bible translation when one of the motivating factors is political correctness.  There will always be tension and conflict when truth meets error.