It would be remiss of us not to recognise the anniversary of Martin Luther’s New Testament translation. First published in 1522 it was the vanguard for Reformation translations that would shape the church and Christianity today. Luther completed this
translation over a number of months while in Wartburg Castle. He was the subject of a staged kidnapping by Fredrick II while returning to Wittenberg from Worms, and remained in Wartburg Castle from May 1521 to March 1522. Concealed under the name
of ‘Knight George’ he translated the New Testament into German, working from the Greek rather than the Latin as most previous translators into German had done. Luther used the skills of colleagues at Wittenberg to ensure linguistic accuracy: Philip
Melanchthon is believed to have supplied feedback on this edition of the New Testament and then a larger team for the whole Bible. The New Testament was published in 1522, six months after he left Wartburg.
In the providence of God this momentous
work dovetailed with the doctrinal stand for justification by faith and the appeal to the sole authority of Scripture. Luther’s translation moved the Scripture from the restrictions of Latin and the Roman Church into German where it could be read, heard,
and understood by the common people.
This translation also brought together the German language—which at that time was spoken in varying dialects—and made a tremendous contribution to the standardisation of German. His work also had an emphasis on readability. Luther’s translation was memorable
and successful because it was better than previously translated editions from scholarly, linguistic, and literary standpoints. Luther’s translation led the movement across Europe for Bibles in the languages of the people. His work was consulted alongside
the Greek by translators in a number of other languages. Tyndale used it for his English translation and Mikael Agricola’s translation into Finnish used ‘the Greek text as his basis but the translation of Luther as a guide’.
We thank God for the way in which He raised up Luther to the work, not only of reforming the church but of the equally crucial task of translating the Holy Scriptures—the Scriptures that were to be used as the measuring stick in reforming the church.
Luther’s German translation made God’s Word accessible to his countrymen and sparked a flurry of Bible translation projects from which Europe, and even the whole world, still benefits today.
Written by Mr Jonathan Arnold, General Secretary. First published in Quarterly Record 641.
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