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All right, guys. I thought I found a mistake in the NIV. Every other translation says tree, but the NIV chooses to say pull. And so, I texted my favorite Greek scholar who happens to be on the committee for translation for the NIV. And today, we get to pick his brain all about it, where we'll find out that this mistake is kind of like really good news. Let's go.
So, I was studying the tree pattern in scripture for another project. And I'm sitting there in my morning Bible study and I come across Galatians 3:13 where Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:23 that says, "Cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree." Now, the word in Hebrew and in Greek really means a wooden structure like a tree or a pole. But my modern mind thinks of a steel pole. Now, NIV is the only translation that translate it as a pull. So, I'm looking at all my translations like I always tell you all to do, use multiple different translations, and I'm like, why is the NIV the only one that uses pull? I'm studying the word. I'm doing a word study going, why is this a poll? And then I remember, I've got a friend on the translation committee of the NIV. Let me text him. And that is what has led us to today's video where we get to sit down with Dan Wallace and I get to pick your brain a little bit about the NIV and how y'all navigate translation issues like this one because it's actually not bad news that the NIV may possibly have translated it differently than I would like.
But >> it's helpful to look at all these translations. Yeah. Get get different input from them. >> Yes. Yes. But what I like about the NIV that is unique to all other Bible translations is that y'all have a committee. And y'all are the committee that yearly meets to talk about issues just like this one. >> Yeah, it's a standing committee that meets every year ever since the NIV first came out in the 70s. It's the only translation we know of, certainly the only English translation that has a standing committee.
>> So, can you tell me what does this committee do, especially for issues like this? Galatians 3:13. I guess y'all are the people who made the decision to first use poll, right? >> It was before my time. >> Yes. >> Yeah. But um I've been a consultant for four or five translations >> and I've been on the UNV committee since 2018. Uh there's 15 scholars who are on this committee and I'm in rarified era with these people. They are so blooming smart. It's just I can't believe I get to spend a whole week with them every year. One week, sometimes two weeks, 40 hours each week working on the translation. Now, every year we put forth proposals and uh proposals about some changes for the next iteration of the NIV. The last one was 2011. The next one I could tell you, but I'm going to have to kill you if I do when it's going to come out. So, uh we're all not allowed to say, but we're, you know, we revise every year. We actually have an internal NIV that is up to date and we get that after every one of these uh meetings. We meet somewhere in the world every June for at least a week and this year we're going to be in Nashville. Uh so I asked Patty if she wanted to join me. No, I I don't like country wester and she and I agree on that. Rock is solid but not country western. It's of the devil. So >> I love it. >> I just I just wrecked half your audience. I'm sure. >> No, no, no. My son just got like a little mohawky kind of haircut and Dan was the only person that complimented him on it. >> Oh, I loved it. Yeah, >> it's the Californian in you. >> Yeah.
>> So, okay. So, y'all have a committee. And why is it actually super good news for the average Bible reader struggling with the trustworthiness of translations? Well, the NIV committee wants to be as accurate to the original meaning as much as possible and not necessarily a word for word translation, which is actually a myth. There is no such thing as a word for word translation. People will say, well, the ESV is literal. Well, literal, do you mean word for word? And a lot of even scholars are going to say, "Yeah, we we try to have a word for word translation." Really? So Mary was having it in the belly is how it says in Matthew 1 that she was pregnant. You know what's fascinating about uh the NIV committee which is called the CBT or committee for Bible translation is that we come with our proposals every year. We have Hebrew scholars, we have Greek scholars, and we have people from it's an international committee. And we have women on the committee, we have men on the committee. Bruce Waltkey, the great Hebrew scholar, was there from the beginning, and he was on the committee for 50 years. He retired in Glasgow in 2024. That was his last year. He He's just been a joy to know. what a humble, godly, unbelievable scholar he is. So, we come with these proposals and my first year on the committee, uh I'm I'm going through the proposals that people had put forth and you're supposed to read all these and think through them and I'm looking, oh, that's convincing, that's convincing, that's good, right, no problem. And then there's some I disagree with. I get into the committee and it's like a bunch of rabbis debating things, you know, and uh I thought, well, I thought this was clear-cut and they then I'd get all sorts of people interacting from different perspectives and different research they had done >> on these proposals. So, uh I thought that was fascinating. The thing that really got my attention that first year was, I think, a comma. And the NIV either wanted to put one in or take one out in a certain place. We debated this for 45 minutes. >> A comma. >> A comma. That shows how serious they are. >> No, but praise the Lord. Amen. Okay. What What comma? I have to know. >> I can't No, I I can't remember and I can't tell you anymore. >> Oh, true. Okay. So, Okay. So, all different denominations. I'm guessing all different theological traditions. That's >> all evangelical.
>> So, I know that there's going to be somebody watching this that's going, "Well, is that why they're leaning more left? Is that why they're going more liberal?" You know, you know, you always have the critics um just trying to find a reason to hate on the NIV. And what I love about the NIV is even in situations like Galatians 3, which we can talk about more, where I almost disagree, even though I like, who am I to disagree with you, you guys? I can trust the NIV more than any other translation because y'all have a committee meeting year-over-year prayerfully um wisely debating these things. It's not just stuck in time. And that's the issue of translations. Um language is ever evolving. I mean we might throw out six seven and a year ago that would have been funny. >> Now it's just annoying and that totally didn't even exist 5 years ago, you know. So language is always evolving. Um, and the nuance behind particular words is always evolving. So me in 2026 hears pole and I think of a steel pole. Um, but probably the NIV committee when making that decision probably thought of a wooden beam just like was intended by that Greek word. I mean, I'm gonna say this is a little bold and it's probably even too bold for you to fully endorse, but just based on that alone, I feel like every Christian should be highly considering and using the NIV for its trustworthiness just off of that idea alone is that they're year-over-year meeting, debating, and wrestling with the most faithful translation of the scriptures because that means it's in a way more trustworthy than any other translation out there. Now, there's some nuances to that, of course, but And we should bring in the Net Bible here too, though >> because I was the the senior New Testament editor for the Net Bible. >> We did the Net Bible. At first, it was going to be using the American Standard Version of 1901. >> And in Philadelphia, I'm meeting with the owner, a guy by the name of Joe Head, who still owns the Net Bible, but it's now published by Thomas Nelson. And uh he said, you know, I come to these meetings at Evangelical Theological Society, society of biblical literature. He's just a layman businessman, but he's fascinated by what we talk about and talk about translation and meaning of the text and textual variance, manuscripts, all this kind of stuff. He said, "It would be wonderful if we could get the kinds of discussions you all have in notes." So I was the senior New Testament editor and also the textual critic for the New Testament. I wrote about 95% of the text critical notes in there. What the Net Bible does about their notes, they have more notes than any other Bible translation in history. About 3/4 of a million words, I think is what it comes to. Over uh 60,000 footnotes. Now I got to show you. And when they designed this, they took over to the publication that was done uh independent publishing at first, but when they designed this, they put the notes in a different way. We had them at the bottom of the page in the original. But look at this thing. You've got the text in larger print in the middle and then you've got three sides of notes just like you have in Greek New Testament manuscripts where you have commentaries >> and you have the Mishna is done like this with the Talmud notes in the in the margins and all. So they didn't know that they were emulating ancient manuscripts >> really. >> They just thought this was a great idea. And I said, "Yeah, and here's why it's such a great idea." But this is typical. Here it is. This is Jeremiah. And you've got the text here and notes, small print. You can see that it's going all over the place. So, >> breaking down variance. >> Yeah. So, here's here's what the notes are. There's three kinds of notes. You've got study notes, SN. You've got uh TC notes, textual criticism. >> They also have TN, which is translation notes. I should explain what textual criticism is. It's the discipline of trying to determine the wording of the original of a document that's lost or destroyed or we don't know where it is. >> That's a good succinct definition. >> Yeah, >> I'm stealing that. >> And and it works for all ancient literature, even for uh Lincoln's Gettysburg address. We don't have the envelope, but he wrote it on the back of and what he delivered was slightly different than what he wrote from what we do have of the accounts. So textual criticism is necessary for us to get back to the original wording. We've got 5,700 Greek New Testament manuscripts spread out in over 250 places throughout the world. And my institute, the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, has been dedicated for 24 years to go to these places and digitize these manuscripts, put them online on the internet for anybody to see.
Guys, this is why Dan's work at the center of the study of New Testament manuscripts matters so much. I don't know if you know what they do, but they go all over the world and take pictures of manuscripts, digitizing them, because they're written on paper that's very literally deteriorating. And so, what they're doing is going back to essentially original sources to make sure that what we have is the most faithful translations today in our Bibles. They're at the head of the stream of all future Bible translations informing where we get what we have today in our Bibles. So Joe and I, we support CSNTm monthly in the Scribal Fellowship. This is a monthly membership where you get to be a part of live Q&As's and support this ministry that's not just serving today digitizing manuscripts, but it's also at the head of biblical translation that will benefit our grandchildren, our grandchildren's children, and for generations to come. This must happen so the truth is not lost so that we can digitize the truth right here. Please join me in the support of CSNTM. When you do it, mention reinventing Jesus. They'll send you a signed copy for free just as a thank you for supporting the ministry. If there was any ministry I was going to ask you to join, it would definitely be this one because that's the whole reason why you clicked on this video in the first place because truth matters. This is an investment in eternity and I would love to see you at one of the Scribble Fellowship events. Now, let's get back to the video. Joe and I personally love to support CSNTM. We recently went to oh, what is it called? The night >> snapshot. >> Snapshot night. If y'all join Scribbable Fellowship and attend Snapshot Night next year, you'll probably see me there. I'd love to meet you. But what is so cool about this work is it's not just benefiting us and like today's Bible translations and making sure we're being as faithful to the text as possible, but it's also work that is going to bless our children and our children's children and our children's children's children. And so this is why this is a ministry. No matter how long this video sits on the internet, I can always endorse CSNTM because they're doing work not just of like their own little kingdom or, you know, temporary stuff. They're doing stuff for the Lord's kingdom that truly is timeless preserving these parchments that are very literally dissolving like over time and need to be. >> They're all written on biodegradable material, so they're going to fall apart. So, I love CSNDM and I love that you are a part of so many cool projects. But let's talk about what it would look like if you were going before the committee and you were like, "Well, my friend Faith thinks that you guys should change the translation of Galatian I can't even say that sentence of Galatians 3:13 to not say Paul, but to say tree." What would that look like? What would you have to present to the committee and how would you have to convince them? Well, I would not say that my friends suggested this, even even you, Faith, as much as you do. And what you've done with your Bible is just just amazing. I I love what you're doing. So, >> no more no boring Bible study, right? Not no more Bible study, but no boring. That's a great book on hermeneutics, introduction on >> um how you should interpret scripture. Really really impactful. So when we put forth proposals, we have to show the original language first and then what the NIV currently has and then the proposal of the change we want to make to the NIV and then we give rationale. And some of these proposals, I remember one that went on for 40 pages by Bruce Walty >> and I can't tell you what it's about, but it's going to be amazing when this gets published. It's just just incredible. >> Will his proposal get published too? >> No. >> Okay. Just that >> sometime well the proposals we work on on our own for other purposes. So he he may get it published as a separate article and you know mine have and I'm taking it from ITC work especially but also on just translation. So you put forth a proposal, you give a rationale for it. And the rationale is going to include how other translations take it, what the exites, what the commentaries have to say, what the dictionaries, the lexicons have to say about a particular word in a in a particular context. And in order for a proposal to get passed for the text, you have to have 75% or approximately 75% of the members saying yes to it. So it's very hard to get things passed. You put in a good proposal and put in work and it might get defeated. So we put forth a proposal, we have a discussion and the committee members would have read the proposal ahead of time and come up with their own counterproposals or additions or support. And reaching that three4 bar is is pretty hard. Now, if you want to change anything in the footnotes, >> it's much easier. That's a 50% uh bar you have to reach. >> Okay? So, but the text even that comma 75%. >> Of the whole entire committee, 75%. >> Right. >> Wow. >> And the the amazing thing about this is you get Old Testament scholars who are weighing in on the New Testament and New Testament scholars weighing in on the Old. Everyone gets the same weighted vote. We each get one vote. >> And people all have different roles, right? Like you you're the textual critic Greek guy. >> Yeah. Although others, all of us can contribute to textual criticism. and to translation and uh hermeneutics and things like that. So, >> but you replaced Gordon Fee, right? Who was the awesome >> Nobody could replace Gordon, >> but you did. >> But after after he died, Yeah. they they asked me to join. >> Well, he's a hero of mine for sure. But, um, y'all both being textual critics, it feels like it's like a role that you kind of >> Yeah. Yeah. But I I can't I can't fit his shoes. Yeah. >> So, >> I could I could swim in his shoes. They're so much bigger than me. That's funny. Okay. So, should we look at the ways that this word is translated in different translations? >> Yeah, I think that would be great to to uh see that. So, >> that way, you know, we can kind of see the issue. >> I've got some notes here on it. Okay. >> I came prepared for you today. >> Thank you. >> Deuteronomy 21:23. The NIV says, "You must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God has given you as an inheritance. Now, the point is it's a corpse that you're hanging on some kind of a wooden stake. And Paul quotes this in Galatians 3:13 because of the curse that everybody who hangs on a pole or a tree or a wooden stake is cursed. Now here it says you are under God's curse and Paul doesn't say God's curse but you're still cursed. Well obviously God is the one who curses someone. So that person is actually under the wrath of God. Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross to pay for our sins. And for the six hours he was on the cross in a sense the father turned his face away from him. And yet, Romans 5:8 says, I got to give a little background before we get into this. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates, present tense, his own love toward us or for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." >> In other words, it's God's will, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that Christ would die in our place. And you also have other places where like Romans 8:32 that if God did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also freely give us all things? This language delivered up is what is used of Jesus being delivered up to the Romans. >> And yet God is the one who delivers Christ up. It's the word paraditoy in Greek and it's one of those underststudied points where it strongly affirms that God poured his wrath out on his son. He's the one who actually it was behind the Romans crucifying Christ. >> So in the ancient near east they would take bodies and hang them as a public like learn from this. But what's interesting about Israel and really what's going on in Deuteronomy 21 is explaining how God's judgment, the fullness of God's judgment, like not even the like the land will be cursed if the body stays up overnight. So, we're going to take the body down. And so Paul uses 21:23 to say Jesus fulfilled that, >> right? And his body was removed before nightfall by the Sanhedrin so they could bury him in in the rich man's tomb. So Paul's point is that you're cursed if you hang on a tree. So when uh members of the Sanhedin asked for the body of Jesus that they could take it down from the cross and bury it the same day, Pilate was surprised that he had already died. But a Roman soldier uh put a spear in his side and out came water and blood which shows that he had already died. It was surprising because normally when you're on a cross, you're there for days >> and you die of dehydration and esphyxiation. >> I could get into the details, but that's a little beside the point of what we're saying here, but other translations have this a little differently. So, the King James has I'm not going to go through all these translations, but the King James says, "Thou hang him on a tree. His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that same day, etc. The net Bible says, "On a tree, left exposed on a tree." And then you've got uh other translations. The ESV has here, you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree. CSV, Tree, New American Standard, New Living Bible also has Tree, RSV, NRSV, Revised English Bible, The World, uh, the Web. So, tree is how it's almost always translated. >> Y'all are in the minority over >> and that's not that's not necessarily bad. No, >> but I think you lose the connection >> with the other passages that speak about this. And the word for tree is gates in Hebrew and Sulon in Greek. And it can mean wood, pole, or tree. But when you get into the New Testament, here's what's interesting about this. You have five times the deenomic curse is mentioned. Three times in Acts, Galatians 3:13 and 1 Peter 2:24. >> Okay. >> Now, what's fascinating is that Peter, he gives two evangelistic messages early on in Acts. Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 3. Neither time does he mention this curse that God curses someone who is hanged on a tree. He says, "You crucified him on a cross." Then he meets the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin brings in John and Peter and says, "You stop preaching this man's name." They said, "You decide what we're going to do, but we're going to follow God." I mean, that's that's your call. Fine, but we're still going to preach in his name. I think the Sanhedrin probably said something like this to them. How can you say that God blessed this man by raising him from the dead when we know that God cursed him by hanging him on a tree? I think that's what drove Paul in his mission against Christians. So, Galatians 3:13 picks up on this. Galatians was probably written in 48 or 49 just before the Jerusalem council that happens in Acts 15. And Paul is, it's his very first letter and it centers around justification by faith by the vicarious atonement that Jesus Christ died to pay for our sins. And Galatians 3:13 is a high point. So let me just pull up my Greek text here and show you what it says there. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. because it is written or because it stands written. Cursed or cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. When it says it is written, now he's quoting from Deuteronomy 21:23. And he says that person is cursed. So Paul is telling us that Christ was cursed, quoting Deuteronomy. But I think they're missing these connections. They miss it in the three times. It's in Acts. They miss it in Galatians 3:13. And then 1 Peter 2:24 where Peter is alluding to it. He also says that he was uh crucified on a tree and they have cross there. The NIV does. I think bringing in that curse of the on the tree links to that Deuteronomic passage. You don't see it as clearly if you translate Paul either there or in Galatians because then you translated as pole in Galatians and it makes people think was he uh hung on a single stake like the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that's a big point for them which is they have a lot of nonsense things but no he was hanged on a beam that was on top that he had to carry to the cross and then the the standard that was put in the ground and he's nailed to that cross, not just a single stake. So I think translating pole misses that >> friends. This is the beauty of using cross references. This is the beauty of seeing, hey, this is a quote. There's quotation marks. What does this mean? How is the New Testament author Paul here interpreting for us? And what is the text he's using? We see this in the Mishna and the Jewish tradition. Um, they'll often use passages of scripture in ways we wouldn't necessarily expect them to, like Matthew 2 with Hosea 11. So, this is the beauty though of translations is the NIV here is interpreting for us and we get to ask the question, are they doing it the most faithfully or how could they do it even better? And that's the beauty of using multiple different translations. Now, don't forget to go check out CSNTM. Please join Joe and I in our support of the center of the study of New Testament manuscripts because I truly believe what they're doing isn't just going to bless our grandchildren, but our grandchildren's grandchildren. And if you want to learn more from Dan, we actually did a series like this last year. You can check it out right here. I'll see you guys in those videos. Bye, guys.