Written by Mr Larry Brigden

Both ancient and modern history clearly reveal the awful condition of mankind living in spiritual darkness without the light of the written Word of God. The superstition and folly of paganism rapidly overspread the world after the Fall. History also clearly reveals the close connection between the religion which a people profess and what access they have to the written revelation of God. Wherever the Papacy kept the Bible out of the hands of the common people, there remained the true Christian religion, although often in a decayed and enfeebled state. But with the glorious Reformation the Word of God came into the hands of multitudes and a great light dawned upon them through the reading and preaching of the Word.

The Bibles of the Reformation era dispelled the darkness and brought spiritual life and liberty. The common people had the Word of God in their hands, and by an infallible standard could now examine the religion they had been taught. This inevitably led to the downfall of Popery. The people saw the falsehood of that system which up until then had kept them in bondage to vain superstitions having no warrant in the Scriptures. Where the Word of God came, there came also liberty.

Today the Trinitarian Bible Society strives to continue and to extend the work of Reformation by placing the Word of God in the hands of the common people worldwide, so that they may be delivered from the bondage of darkness, and brought into the glorious light of the Gospel and of the true knowledge of God. Of course, other Bible societies would profess this same aim. So what distinguishes the work of the Trinitarian Bible Society? The answer is that the work of the Society is carried out with the conviction that the same principles that were applied in translating Bibles in the Reformation era should still be applied today, with the earnest prayer and expectation that those same principles may be accompanied with the same blessing with which they were accompanied in times past, for the Lord is ‘the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever’ (Hebrews 13.8).

Thus, the Trinitarian Bible Society strictly adheres to the Greek Received Text as the basis of New Testament translation, and in translating that text applies the principle of formal equivalence, holding to a high view of Scripture. This means that in the Society’s Scripture translations the Word of God is not modified according to its supposed acceptance—or otherwise—by a modern culture, nor is the translation ‘smoothed’ to remove apparent inconsistencies. But the text is faithfully translated as it stands, lest corrupted human reason be placed above the infallible revelation of God.

Given that the Church of Rome has historically been fiercely opposed to the free circulation of the Scriptures and that not so long ago it even openly condemned Bible societies,¹ it may come as a surprise to some to learn that these days the Vatican has a close involvement with the United Bible Societies. This change of attitude must be either because Rome has changed its view of Scripture or because the Bible societies have changed theirs. Regrettably, the latter is more probable. It must be recalled that the United Bible Societies (and for that matter Wycliffe Bible Translators) do not use the Received Text, the text underlying all Reformation-era Bibles, but instead use the corrupt Critical Text. Thus Rome’s willingness to be involved with the United Bible Societies is understandable after all. Whenever in the past Rome could not ‘altogether prevent the Holy Scriptures from being translated and circulated, she has made no scruple of falsifying the text’.² Hence, the use of the corrupt Critical Text by the United Bible Societies is consistent with Rome’s purposes, and she will consequently lend support to such work. On the other hand, if the Received Text were to be used, Rome would doubtless take quite a different view. It is noteworthy that the Vatican has never published the Traditional Text of the Holy Scriptures—the Hebrew Masoretic Text or the Greek Received Text—nor has it ever published a Bible in any language translated from that textual base.

The work of the Trinitarian Bible Society in translating the Holy Scriptures is clearly distinguished from that of most other Bible societies by being carried out in the same mould as those of the Reformation era. For this reason, the only English language version published and distributed by the Society is the Authorised Version Bible, being a distinctly Protestant English Bible; and the only foreign language Bibles published and distributed by the Society are those which have been translated using the same principles as those exemplified in the Authorised Bible. This is due to the conviction that these Bible versions are based upon sound Reformation principles, the same principles which our Lord has been pleased to greatly bless in times past for the advancement of His kingdom.

First published in Quarterly Record 620. Last updated 7 May 2025.