I recall that in researching online copies of Luther's German Bible, it was difficult to find an authentic version because the "revised text" versions did not identify themselves as such. I had to go to Genesis 4:1 (German: 1 Moses 4, 1) to know for sure because the title page did not give an indication whether it was authentic or "revised". And Fuerbringer gave his readers a full report so that they could make an informed decision on which Bible translation to use.
The confusion today of the many English Bible translations is not a new problem, the Germans were faced with it over 100 years ago. Unfortunately for us English speakers, we have no "Luther Bible"… (sigh). But what amazes me is that it seems that no American Lutherans, including the Wisconsin Synod people's recent effort, want to use Luther's translation as a basis for their newer English translations. Everyone thinks they know the Biblical languages and the intent of the Bible message better than… Martin Luther. (sigh again).
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Text extracted from 1902 Der Lutheraner, vol. 58, p. 180-182. Translated by BackToLuther. Highlighting and hyperlinks added.
The right Luther Bible and the revised Luther Bible.
[by Prof. Ludwig Fürbringer]
The Lutheraner has already repeatedly pointed out under the "Church Chronicle" that the new-fashioned, falsified Luther Bible in Germany is distributed more and more, and at present is as good as generally spread. It has also repeatedly discussed and recommended the writings published by the Saxon Free Church against the revised Bible. *) Recent observations and experiences, however, make it seem justified that we should discuss the matter in more detail and warn our readers to be careful when buying a Bible so that they do not receive a Bible edition modified in many places instead of the genuine German Luther Bible, as it has been used by German Christendom for centuries. For the so-called revised Bible, which is now printed almost exclusively in Germany by the major Bible societies and Bible institutes, is sent to America every year in thousands of copies. A well-known publishing house in New York also prints exclusively the revised text. The German bookshops in our country usually stock and sell the revised Bible. Even booksellers in our circles sell the revised Bible without informing the buyers of the difference between it and the old Luther Bible. So it is explainable that out of ignorance the revised Bible is given away in our circles, that students come to our institutions with the revised Bible. And all those who are now immigrants from Germany will as a rule bring along the revised Bible because, as we have been told several times, they do not know at all that there is another edition.
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*) O. Willkomm, "Hold what you have!" A warning to the German Lutheran Christian people against the revised Bible. — O. Willkomm, "Bible, Luther Bible, Revised Bible." Both texts are available from Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo.
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What is the reason for the revised Bible, how can it be recognized, and why do we not want to know anything from it, but rather have to warn against it?
The revised Bible is a Bible edition that has been procured by a commission of German professors and pastors. The beginning was made in the sixties of the last century, [1860s] and after twenty-six years of work, it was completed about ten years ago. The Commission based its work on the old Luther text, but changed it in 4000 places, and therefore it is called the "changed" or "revised" or "reviewed" Luther Bible.
Except after the title page, the revised Bible is not easy for the uninformed to recognize. For either the title page does not say at all, or only very covertly, that one has to do with a Bible changed in so many places. There are four different editions of the revised Bible before us. The first, printed in Stuttgart in 1893, has the following title: "Die Bibel oder die ganze Heilige Schrift des Alten und Neuen Testaments nach der deutschen-Übersetzung v. Martin Luthers. Reviewed on behalf of the German Evangelical Church Conference" Who would suspect that behind the harmless "Reviewed" there are thousands of changes? And wouldn't it be considered a gross forgery all over the world if the works of a secular writer, Shakespeare's or Schiller's say, were altered in 4000 places and then simply placed on the title page: "Reviewed Edition"? If one wanted to present Luther's magnificent Bible translation, which is like no other book the treasure and property of German Christendom, in a changed form, then one had to say this clearly and honestly and not let the changed Bible turn out to be Luther's translation without further ado. — The second edition before us, printed in Berlin in 1899, has the same title as the first one, only that it then says briefly, but again unclearly: "Revised Edition" — The third edition, also printed in Stuttgart, but printed by another publisher, a magnificent picture Bible, has the following title: "The Bible, that is all the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments according to Doctor Martin Luther's translation." There is nothing further, and only from the preface one learns that "the complete Lutheran translation is given in the revised text of the Eisenach Conference for Germany". — The fourth edition, finally printed in New York in 1902, says nothing at all on the title page and has no preface whatsoever. After the title: "The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, after the German translation by Martin Luther", every buyer must expect to receive the genuine, unadulterated Luther text, and soon finds himself deceived. *)
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*) Many of our readers probably own the Bible published in Leipzig and Dresden by B. G. Teubner, [Google Books] with the words "Revised Edition" on its title page. Let them be reassured that this Teubner edition with the new revised Bible, which we are talking about here, has nothing to do at all. The Teubner edition is rather a very correct and good edition, according to which our St. Louis Bibles were also produced. The term "Revised Edition" does not refer to a change, but to a restoration of the old, original Luther text.
(continued in "Read more »" section below)
It is clear from this that it is not always possible to recognize the revised Bible immediately from the title page and distinguish it from the right Luther Bible. However, this is easily possible by comparing the wording of a number of biblical passages in both editions. This brings us at the same time to the main point, which must be reproached of the revised Bible, namely that by its change and new translation it spreads modern unbelief in some passages and tries to eliminate the HErrn Christum, the core and star of the Old Testament, of which all prophets testify and prophesy, from the prophecies of the Old Testament.
Of course, we cannot name all the changes here, but only pick out a number of the worst to prove what we have just said. And we place the wording of both editions next to each other in order to illustrate the changes quite clearly.
Let's take a quick look at these changes. Gen. 4:1 clearly says that Eve understood and believed the word of the promised woman’s seed, Gen 3:15. She considered her first-born son to be the promised Messiah, although she was wrong in the person. The wrong translation of the revised Bible eradicates and denies the faith of Eve.
2 Sam. 7:12 and following, David had received the wonderful promise of the future Messiah, who was to come from his body and yet have an eternal kingdom. He had understood the words correctly; he recognized that this Messiah would be God and man in One Person, and therefore said: "This is the way of a man who is God the LORD" This whole confession of David is perverted by the translation of the revised Bible.
The well-known passage from the Book of Job has been the consolation and confession of countless Christians since the pious times of Job, who with these words expressed their joyful faith in the future resurrection of the flesh. On the other hand, hold now the translation of the revised Bible, dear reader, and you will immediately recognize that with it just the hope of resurrection is erased from the passage. Instead of "in my flesh," it's "without my flesh." If this change were correct, then the church would no longer be allowed to sing, as it says in the beautiful Easter song:
Then this very skin
Surround me as I believe,
God will be looked upon
Then from me in this body,
And in this flesh, I will
JEsum see forever.
On the contrary, it would have to change the verse, as the present Mecklenburg Upper Consistory counselor Haack has proposed to the changer of the Luther Bible:
Then this very skin
Its smashed, as I believe;
God will be looked upon
From me except this body;
Without this flesh, I will
JEsum see forever.
The last, innermost reason for this change of the saying so precious to all Christians is unbelief. One no longer believes that Job could have had such a hope of resurrection, one no longer really believes the resurrection of the flesh. It is true that it is at this point in the revised Bible that the true wording of Luther's translation was placed under the new-fashioned translation in smaller prints. But that doesn't make things any better, it just makes them worse. For now two translations that contradict each other straight away stand next to each other. How then should the reader know which sense is the right one?
That Christ, the Messiah so often and so clearly promised at the time of the Old Covenant, is to be removed from the Old Testament by the revised Bible, as if it says little or nothing about Him, can also be seen from the many changed chapter headings in the revised Bible. Certainly, the chapter headings are not a part of the Bible itself, nor do they stem from Luther. But for the simple-minded Bible reader they are a valuable hint to the right understanding and give with short, apt words the content of a passage, according to the sense as our father Luther understood it correctly. And now, dear reader, compare the following chapter headings in both editions of the Bible, and you will see that we are not wrong in our assertion above. Almost everywhere the name “Christ” is removed from the headlines, so that one can, instead of thinking of Him, also think of another person, indeed, must.
And so we could cite many more examples, but want to leave it at the well-known ones. But then there are a large number of passages that every Christian already knows from school and confirmation classes, which the revised Bible has changed unnecessarily [p. 182] and by which it disturbs every Bible reader. We also want to put some samples of these here.
We break off here. Our readers can already see from what they have heard how often, how unnecessarily and how wrongly the old Luther Bible is changed in the revised Bible. About Luther's translation of the Bible itself, we think of going into more detail at another time. This time it was important for us to show our readers the difference between the revised Bible and the right Luther Bible, using a few examples, and to show them how it can be recognized. But it also follows from what has been said that if our readers do not obtain their Bibles from our publishing house, which only prints and distributes the old Luther text, they will have to make sure that they actually receive the right edition of the Bible "according to the German translation by Martin Luther", and that they are to guard themselves in all seriousness against the revised Bible. L. F. [Ludwig Fürbringer]
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I suspect that the "Teubner edition" that Fuerbringer notes above (see first footnote) was later used by the British and Foreign Bible Society to reprint the Luther Bible and distribute it back into Germany for those Germans still interested in Luther's authentic Bible. — This essay will be useful also for German speaking readers today to help them in avoiding the "revised" versions and finding the authentic ones. And it will shed light on the reason why some English translations are controversial.
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