“Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”
- Peter the Apostle
“From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
- Paul the Apostle
“All day long they distort my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.”
- David
How Bible Translators Deceive You
(From the The Curmudgeon's Bible Collection)
Of course they do!... The few Scriptures above tell us as much, and there are many more. So, beware! Even I might be trying to deceive you... I'll deny it, but what can you do?
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11
But if Scripture itself has been corrupted, where can we turn?
I grew up trusting the Bible as the word of God. A lifetime of study hasn't changed my opinion, despite small variations among manuscripts.
In past articles, I've pointed out isolated, perplexing translation errors. But what if there were a satanically coordinated tampering campaign behind it all, designed to confuse us? What if key words have been slightly twisted, cumulatively reinforcing a false view of the mission of God for the church?
In this article I intend to reveal a subtle conspiracy that has done just that.
Translators are fallible. Perfect translation is impossible, so it's not at all surprising to find scattered flaws and biases in English translations. But could there be a pattern of corruption that collectively affects our understanding of entire topics? I've discovered at least one.
When writing we choose words to convey our intent. When listening, we "hear" the connotations that best fit the context. When translating Koine Greek, a severe problem arises. Rarely can we find an English word to perfectly match all connotations of the original Greek.
Reading the Greek New Testament, I often discover words and passages that are questionably translated... Each in isolation may seem benign, but in concert? The combined effect strongly biases our understanding of particular topics. I call this effect connotation stack-up, and I believe our adversary the devil uses it to advance his agenda.
It's clear from Scripture and logic that God gave man dominion over the creation, not over his fellow man:
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and master it. Take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, and everything crawling on the ground.” - Genesis 1:28
Notice the distinct absence of any mandate for man to rule his fellow man.
Nonetheless, questionable connotation stack-up throughout Scripture has encouraged the growth of authoritarian hierarchies. We see this in denominational power structures like the Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches. More ominously, we've seen the rise and widespread acceptance of huge, tyrannical governments.
Most of governments' tyrannical power comes from our belief that God has authorized the state. Nothing could be further from the truth. Connotation stack-up has enabled this falsehood to become an insurmountable tradition championed by modern day Pharisees.
If we ever came to understand that the state itself is illegitimate, we might resist it. Instead, we allow the state to run roughshod, daily donning manacles and blinders as we sip our coffee and read the morning news. Jesus warned us about this, instructing us to do things differently:
"Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the nations lord it over them; and their great men wield power over them. But it is not this way among you...”"
- Mark 10:42-43
Why "recognize them as rulers?" Why passively let them "lord it over" us and "wield power over" us? Let's look at the parade of "translational tweaks" that have gotten us into this mess.
Each English word in the list below has excessively authoritarian connotations. The combined effect fosters unwarranted belief in state legitimacy.
Exousia primarily means "power" in a neutral sense—raw power that can be wielded for good or evil. But when translated as "authority," it has the strong connotation of legitimacy. This prejudices the English reader to believe that the power is by default good or legitimate or authorized/approved by God.
"Ruler" strongly suggests someone authorized to command, one who has the right to order people around. But the Greek root ἄρχ- means "first," suggesting one who leads, one we look to and follow voluntarily.
Each 'X' below links to a Greek word with the root ἄρχ-:
Likely derived from ᾰ̓́γω, the etymology of this word focuses on the concept of leading, not ruling.
Each 'X' below links to a Greek word with the root ἡγε-.
For Hebrews 13:17, translators conveniently chose "obey" when the primary meaning of the word is "be persuaded," clearly revealing their authoritarian prejudice.
Like peitho, but with the leader reference (ἄρχ) embedded in the word. Allow your leader(s) to persuade you; DON'T mindlessly "obey."
The idea in this Greek word is to arrange something, to bring it into alignment. It's not about sycophantic submission or obedience.
This is a compound of ὑπ- meaning "under" and είκω for "image" (from which we get English "icon." In other words, "look like" or "copy" or "imitate" your leader(s).
From the root phero, (φέρω) to carry.
This begs the question of what is due, or owed. How are debts incurred? Can you be put in debt by mere decree? What makes you liable to, for example, the IRS, but not Apple Computer?
Debts don't just happen. You must incur a debt in one way or another. Simply existing should never place you in debt to someone or something else, yet governments routinely make this claim.
We get our English word "ethnic" from this Greek word. Translators have alternately chosen "Gentile" or "nation."
The primary meaning of this word is a multitude of individuals that belong to a people-group in a geographic area. Rendering it "nation" misleads the English reader to think of a sovereign political "nation-state," a connotation not in the Greek word.
Each 'X' below links to a Greek word with the root ἔθ-.
As I've written extensively before, our modern idea of "church" has been completely corrupted. Translators had many better words to choose from; words like assembly, gathering, congregation, company, council, congress, forum, band, troupe, caucus, party, or fellowship that would much better convey the sense of ecclesia.
In the book of Acts, the ecclesia was in fact an assembly of citizens collaborating to govern their city.
"The ekklēsia was a public assembly convened in public space. Participation was fundamental...” - Bradley J. Bitner"
Translators have disingenuously alternated between "assembly" and "church," obscuring what ecclesia meant when Acts was written.
This word is usually translated "servant." But in Romans 13:4, many English Bibles translate it "minister" in order to predispose you to believe this chapter is about the state.
What does the modern term "Prime Minister" mean to you? Think about it... Can you see it as "First Servant?"
"The sword of the spirit is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:17
It is pure assumption based on tradition that in Romans 13:4 μάχαιρα means a physical sword. The deacon (servant) here is also assumed to be a state agent. Are you certain he's not a servant of the church?
Here, the translation confusion is between a territorial identity and a racial identity. The word Ἰουδαῖος designates the people who live in the territory of Judea, contrasting them with—for example—Galileans (from Galilee) or Samaritans (from Samaria).
What happens when we combine these authoritarian connotations?
Here's a perfect example of connotation stack-up. This verse in Greek has four words from the above list, one right after another.
"Ὑπομίμνῃσκε αὐτοὺς ἀρχαῖς ἐξουσίαις ὑποτάσσεσθαι, πειθαρχεῖν, πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἑτοίμους εἶναι..."
Consider a typical, terrible English translation:
"Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed..."
As we have seen above, πειθαρχέω, rather than "obey," is to "be persuaded by" your leader. And ἀρχαῖς primarily means first, ἐξουσίαις is simple power, and ὑποτάσσεσθαι is to align with. Thus suggesting this better rendering:
"Remind them to line up behind their leaders' decisions, allowing them to persuade, and to be ready for every good deed..."
Here's another example, with three words from the list:
" Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε, αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν..."
And one more bad English translation:
"Obey those who rule over you, and submit to them, for they watch out for your souls..."
Again, πείθω is "be persuaded by" and not "obey." And ἡγέομαι is to lead, and ὑπείκετε is to yield. A better rendering might be:
"Be persuaded by your leaders and yield to them, for they watch out for your souls..."
In a past article, I expose Romans 13:1 as a nexus of translation corruption. In the very first verse, the term "governing authorities" is a misdirection that heavily influences the perception of the rest of the chapter.
Romans 13 clearly prescribes the behavior of a legitimate government. When it comes to existing "civil governments," it should be obvious that "This Is Not That" based on verses three and four:
"For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil."
- Romans 13:3-4
History—and all my personal experience—show that the state has behaved in a diametrically opposite fashion, rewarding crooked politicians and their supporters and harming innocent bystanders:
"By far the most numerous and most flagrant violations of personal liberty and individual rights are performed by governments... The major crimes throughout history, the ones executed on the largest scale, have been committed not by individuals or bands of individuals but by governments, as a deliberate policy of those governments-that is, by the official representatives of governments, acting in their official capacity." - John Hospers
Because the dissonance is so obvious to an impartial observer, many have written of other possible explanations of why Romans 13 cannot be read superficially, and why I claim that "civil government" as we know it is actually the kingdom of Satan.
This passage is another instance of "This Is Not That." The human state simply does not fit the bill of what is described here, so we need to "...by doing right... silence the ignorance of foolish men." How can we accomplish this? By acting as free men, not as "subjects" of the state.
See the discussion of Romans 13 (above), and contrast it with the teaching of Ephesians 1 (below).
Translators of the last portion of Ephesians One have overlooked the obvious by ignoring the immediate context. Verses 22 and 23 make it clear to anyone not hopelessly indoctrinated that Jesus has been appointed as head over all things, not only things having to do with the church.
Most English translations of Ephesians 1:22 say that God gave Jesus as "head over all things to the church:"
"And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church..."
But Jesus is obviously NOT head of only the church; he's head of all things. Thus, this more accurate rendering—especially in context with the emphasis of verse 23:
"And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things via the assembly, which is His body politic, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
What the passage really teaches is that Jesus asserts his authority through the agency of the ecclesia which is his body politic. In simple terms, Jesus rules the world through the church. If we were to understand and believe this, we would immediately reject the illegitimate authority of the state.
"Render unto Caesar..." is another classically misunderstood passage that I deal with in this article. We who bear the image of God don't "owe" Caesar anything. All we are and have belongs to God.
I have little doubt that this report is not comprehensive. You can probably uncover other instances where the translation has been "slightly shaded" in the direction of authoritarianism.
We've been indoctrinated into an unwarranted reverence for—nay, even a worship of—the governments we live under, and tricked into believing that the Kingdom of God can be advanced through political action. The dismal results of this can be seen, for example, in this letter to the editor that quotes Romans 13:1-2 from one of the most heavily biased Scripture paraphrases ever.
And because we've grown up as state worshippers, we overlook, minimize, and even dismiss the many Scriptures that teach us God's far superior way:
1 Samuel 8:7 - Demanding a king is de-facto rejecting God.
Psalm 2 - The Son of God shall shatter the nations.
Isaiah 33:22:
"For the Lord is our Judge,
The Lord is our Lawgiver,
The Lord is our King;
He will save us—"
Isaiah 9:6 - "And the government will rest on His shoulders..."
Matthew 28:18 - "All authority... in heaven and on earth" belongs to Jesus.
1 Timothy 6:15-16 - "He who is the blessed and only Sovereign..."
Psalm 22:28 - The LORD "rules over the nations."
Acts 5:29 - "We must obey God rather than men."
Luke 4:5-8 - All the kingdoms of the world are Satan's.
Daniel 2:44 - God's Kingdom "will crush and put an end to" all of Satan's kingdoms—read the entire chapter.
1 Corinthians 15:24-25 - Jesus is "destroying every rule and every authority and power."
This is just a sampling of Scriptures that teach us that Jesus is our ruler, not governments; you can find many others. The state is raw, unauthorized power. God did not reform Egypt; he took his people out, and destroyed Pharoh and his army. He did not reform Canaan; he destroyed and replaced it.
Borrowing a title from Francis A. Schaeffer, once we set aside our corrupt traditions about "civil government," where do we go from here?
God willing, I hope to convey my vision for that in an upcoming article.
As of this writing, the church has spent two thousand plus years accumulating the barnacles of bad translations. Have you discovered any other corrupted topics? Please share them in the comments below.
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