Timeline of Translations

1.1.8 Timeline of Translations

Understanding how we arrived at today’s Bible is essential to understanding why restoration is needed. Over the centuries, the Bible has been copied, translated, edited, and sometimes politically shaped — each step moving us either closer to, or further from, the heart of the original message.

This timeline offers a brief overview of key moments in that history:

Key Moments in Bible Translation History

~1300–400 BCE – The Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) are written. Oral traditions are gradually recorded in Hebrew and Aramaic.

~250–100 BCE – The Septuagint (Greek translation of Hebrew Bible) is created in Alexandria. Many early Christians quote from this version.

~30–95 CE – The New Testament writings are composed in Koine Greek, circulated among house churches. No chapters or verses exist yet.

~150–300 CE – Early church fathers translate and interpret the Scriptures in Greek, Latin, Syriac. Gnostic and alternative texts also emerge.

382 CE – Jerome produces the Latin Vulgate, the first full Latin Bible. This becomes the standard Bible of the Roman Catholic Church for 1000+ years.

500–1400 CE – Latin is the exclusive language of Scripture in the West. Ordinary people are denied access to the text. The Bible becomes weaponized by religious institutions.

1382–1395 CE – John Wycliffe translates the Bible into Middle English, based on the Latin Vulgate. His team is persecuted; copies are burned.

1516 CE – Erasmus compiles the Textus Receptus — a Greek New Testament from late manuscripts. This forms the basis of most Protestant translations.

1522–1534 CE – Martin Luther translates the Bible into German. The Reformation challenges Church control over interpretation.

1535–1611 CE – English translations emerge: Tyndale, Geneva Bible, and finally the King James Version (KJV). The KJV becomes the dominant English Bible — but contains translation biases, political influences, and missing manuscript evidence.

1800s–1900s – New manuscripts are discovered (Codex Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Dead Sea Scrolls). Scholars begin correcting older errors using older texts.

1947–1956 CE – The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that many ancient Hebrew texts differ from the Masoretic Text (which underlies most modern Old Testaments).

1970s–Today – Translations like the NIV, ESV, and NRSV aim for accuracy using earlier manuscripts. Still, many traditional words (like "hell," "wrath," and "devils") persist, distorting meaning.

2020s–Present – Growing movements worldwide are returning to original meanings, comparing ancient languages, and rediscovering the true nature of God as revealed in Jesus.

We are not abandoning the Bible. We are returning to it — with open eyes and clean hands.