Introduction

When considering Germany and Christianity, one cannot help but think of the Reformation. This was the event that brought about the translation of Bibles into vernacular languages, through the work of gifted and Spirit-taught men. However, another equally significant event for Christianity had taken place in the same country just decades earlier: the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. The first Bible to be printed was the Latin Bible in 1455.

Luther and the Reformation

Although Martin Luther was not the first to dispute the heretical doctrines of the Roman Catholic church, the nailing of his ninety-five theses to the church door in Wittenberg really initiated the Reformation and the rise of Protestantism that followed. Luther’s convictions were the result of his having studied the Bible in Latin and thus being equipped to see, through the Holy Spirit, the errors of the Roman church. Being a Latin scholar Luther had read and studied the Scriptures for himself but he realised that the common people of his country could not do likewise. Therefore he had a burden to bring the Word of God to them in their own language, German.

Using Erasmus’s Greek text Luther translated the New Testament while in detention, and published it in 1522. The whole Bible was published in 1534. Luther revised and corrected all of the editions published in his lifetime, leaving each one slightly different, and better, than its predecessors. These revisions continued after Luther’s death, often more extensive than before, and a twentieth century edition of the Luther Bible is significantly different to his original. Some people believe that only editions revised by Luther himself should be called the Luther Bible, whereas others accept the 1912 revision sanctioned by the German Evangelical Churches Conference as the definitive edition.

In 1998 TBS published the 1912 Luther German Bible with a revised New Testament, copyright being held jointly with another organisation. However, in 2010 it was drawn to our attention that the doctrine of Hell had been weakened in this new edition. In 2013 we were able to obtain sole rights to the 1912/1998 Luther Bible and made a small number of corrections to improve accuracy on this point, bringing the edition more into conformity with our principles.

It is this latest edition of the Society’s German Bible, the corrected 1912/1998, that we continue to publish and circulate.

For more information on the Reformation, please see our articles:

• The Bible and the Protestant Reformation
• The Protestant Reformation: Returning to the Word of God