Luther’s Bible

The Bible is by far the most translated book in world history.

Some sources say that today at least parts of the Bible are available in nearly thirty-five hundred different languages.

One of the most famous translations is Martin Luther’s, but when his German Bible came off the press, there were already fourteen High German editions and four Low German versions in print. Why did his translation become so popular and influential? There were several contributing factors.

While staying at the Wartburg Castle, Luther translated the entire New Testament in less than three months —from mid-December 1521 to early March 1522. An amazing accomplishment! After some revisions, the German New Testament was published on September 21, 1522.

From then on, Luther continued to revise it while translating the Old Testament. In 1534, the first edition of his complete German Bible was printed.

All previous German translations had been based on the Latin Vulgate, perpetuating some of its theological mistakes. But Luther’s translation was translated from the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts and better reflected the actual meaning of the original Bible text. It corrected some of the mistakes in the Vulgate.

Convinced that the Bible should be understood even by common people, Luther used simple and understandable language.

He suggested, “We must inquire about this of the mother in the home, the children on the street, the common man in the marketplace. We must be guided by their language, the way they speak, and do our translating accordingly. That way they will understand it and recognize that we are speaking German to them.” No wonder Luther’s Bible became the main driving force behind the modern High German language! The Bible can be withheld from people either by denying them physical access or by employing a language too difficult to be understood. For the Bible to be a “lamp” to people’s feet and a “light” to their path (Psalm 119:105), its message has to be translated and communicated in the most reliable and comprehensible way possible. Luther’s Bible combined both characteristics.