Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States
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Is the entire Holy Bible inspired by God? If so, are people allowed to make changes while translating or paraphrasing?

Every word in the Holy Bible was inspired by God to the authors who wrote them exactly as they had received it from God. The problem of changing words came not from the original authors but the translators. The original languages used by the authors of the Holy Bible were Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament. Translation is not an easy task. We know for instance that it took a group of seventy-two people to translate the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek in what we know today as the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. Later, the Holy Bible was translated into Latin, then English and all the different languages of the world. Not all translators translated from the original language, for instance the first English Bible was translated from the Latin translation (Vulgate version). The translators, not mastering the original language, or trying to simplify words or passages fell in the trap of inaccuracy.
Unfortunately, some today do not care about accuracy but claim to translate the Holy Bible in a new, easy to understand, modern language giving not the exact verses but their own interpretation of the meaning of verses.

This is why it is very important to use an accurate translation of the Holy Bible. The Revised Standard Version is the most reliable translation available today.
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