Have a look at this picture. Can you read this sentence? ... Give it a try; after all, it is only simple English. Don’t feel too bad if you can’t get it all. This is old English, and there have been four very major changes to our language since it was last used in 1066 AD.

You would probably say today, “Then she went to speak this in her native language, English." This statement does not constitute a complete thought for today.

I chose this age in the dialects of English to show you because if you go further back beyond Old English (Anglo Saxon), it would be completely unintelligible to you. There are even versions of language dating as late as the 1st to 5th centuries AD in the far north of England that no one has even deciphered yet! (They are only now realising that the strange drawings of the Picts were actually a proper written and spoken language.) This is interesting, but what does it have to do with following Jesus?

I have tried to show you that throughout the world, language (especially written language) is always evolving with culture and time. It is as fluid as water. Not only does it look and sound different all the time, but the meanings of words and phrases can also change so completely that they may even mean the opposite of their original meanings. Or they may be completely unrelated to their original meanings. If this is so, how can you read anything from the distant past and really understand its true meaning unless you end up being a professor of history and language? Why did God choose to give us his primary source of help, wisdom, and direction in the form of the ancient writings that we now collectively call the Bible?

Simple really… Did you know that in those areas, Hebrew and its close relatives were the trade languages of their day? It was kept very direct, reflecting what they could see, feel, touch, smell, or hear. It has often been described as very “bodily” or "earthy." Did you know that if you can read Modern Hebrew today, you can still read documents that were written up to 5 thousand years ago with very little effort? With a simple conversion chart for the alphabet, you can easily read even the very beginnings of the written Hebrew language (Paleo-Hebrew). It simply has not really changed compared to saying English! Ok, but that is only really the Old Testament; what about the New Testament?

It gets even better! The bulk of the NT was written in its common trade language of the day, a simplified form of very direct Greek. It’s only about 2,000 years old. With this, if you can read modern Greek, you can also read and understand this form of Greek! Wow, so here you have an ancient form of writing that God has given us for our benefit, and it is written in two separate languages that have never really changed! That must just be a coincidence, right?? Hmm... did you know that there is a version of the Old Testament that is also written in a fully expanded form of Greek so that you can compare and contrast meanings with the Hebrew? This expanded form of Greek can also be read by modern Greeks. Is it still just a coincidence? So, what does this mean to you today?

It means that God commissioned the construction of the Bible in the simplest and easiest form of language available at the time, and has preserved it intact through the centuries. For the most part, it can be translated today to mean exactly what it says! Today, the Bible has been translated into hundreds of modern languages. What a gift!! Nowhere else can such a literary gift be found.

There are sections of the Bible that are not so straight-forward, but this is not because of changes in the language but instead because of its original intent or style. That is, there are sections that are just pure poetry or future cryptic prophecies, etc. They must be recognised for what they are before applying a literal translation. Knowing this, how can we use this gift?

Simple. If you want to suck the marrow out of the Bible and get the most out of it, then all you need are three things: 1. Have faith in its purpose and preservation for your benefit. The Bible was written for everyone, no matter what their understanding or education. 2. Use a simple tool to guide you. (We will give one to you at the end.) 3. Remember that the Lord gave you an internal teacher to guide you through the tougher bits as a personal tutor. He is called the Holy Spirit. You don’t need hundreds of other books or people to tell you what to think. You don’t need to be a professor to understand how to apply this to your life. Just trust the Holy Spirit and be flexible enough to allow Him to lead you where you have to go.

Here is a free, simple tool for you (there are others):
First, pick a fairly large chunk of the Bible. (Don’t pick out little bits all over the place and try to join them altogether.) Next, apply this rule: S. O. S.
S. What does this block of text actually SAY? (Literally, what does it say?)
O. What in this block of text do I have to OBEY?
S. With whom can I SHARE this? (Literally, who in your life today also needs to hear this word of God?)

Then all that’s left is for you to understand what was said. Be obedient and actually try and do it, as well as actually try and share it with someone that you care about!

If you are having trouble with any of these things, don’t forget to pray about them and ask your teacher, the Holy Spirit, for help and assistance.

If you want to read more about the SOS Tool, there are other articles.  Click the first link or search for "SOS" in the search bar.

If you want to learn more about how reliable the Bible really is, then go here to see a great video on the New Testament.

God bless you, and we hope this helps you.