Bible interpretations and translations
I believe the Bible is the word of God. I also believe man is inherently sinful. The words written in the Bible were written by sinful humans. The Bible was originally written in a now "dead" language. Taking this into account, I have noted some discrepancies in biblical accounts between different modern interpretations of the Bible. Even the tone of adjectives and adverbs alters the significance of Scripture. How do can I reconcile that the interpretations of the Bible, whether the original interpretation or modern interpretations, do not contain sinful self-serving human bias?
I would encourage you to keep “verbal inspiration” of the Bible in mind. Yes, “sinful humans” wrote the books of the Bible, but the Bible itself teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the ultimate author. “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21). “What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words” (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). While using people to write his word, the Holy Spirit guided their work so that their writing was exactly what he wanted them to write.
“All Scripture is God-breathed…” (2 Timothy 3:16). Jesus said: “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). All of Scripture is true because all of it is inspired.
Even though those Spirit-guided men wrote years ago, the languages they used are not “dead.” Many people today use modern variations of Hebrew and Greek as their native language. Much like the English language has changed over the years, so the biblical languages have undergone changes as well.
The words and languages of Scripture are not dead in another sense as well. The Bible says about itself: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
When it comes to translations of the Bible, human bias can certainly enter the picture. People might translate with their faulty presuppositions in mind. That is why it is important to use reliable Bible translations and commentaries. This web site provides good information on Bible translations via this link.
God has convinced you that “The Bible is the word of God.” May he continue to instill that attitude and belief in you.