New Luther Bible

Martin Luther, the man who sparked the Reformation in the early 16th century, was not only an astute theologian but also a clever wordsmith. In addition to shaking up Europe's religious thinking by preaching salvation based on faith rather than works, he also helped shaped the German language.

Luther's German translation of the New Testament was first published in 1522, while the entire Bible was printed in 1534. The text helped streamline the German language of the time and included expressions that continue to be used to this day - such as "casting pearls before swine" and "separating the wheat from the chaff."

The standardization of the German language led in turn to a stronger sense of common identity among German speakers, which would not be united into a nation-state until much later in 1871.

Luther's translation of the Bible was not the very first into German, but is still considered to be the definitive edition in the language.

"Luther linked the original languages with the end language in an outstanding way," explained Wuppertal-based theology professor Martin Karrer. The Church reformer rendered the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures into a colloquial German that was accessible to the average 16th-century German speaker.

Evolution of a translation

That colloquial language has, of course, evolved over the years. So that the Luther translation would remain understandable, it has undergone multiple revisions. Luther himself made the first edits in 1545. In 1892, the first revision officially ordained by the Church was completed, only to be redone just two decades later.

In 1956, Germany's state-organized Protestant Church reviewed the New Testament again, following up with the Old Testament in 1964. Yet another revision took place in 1975, this time drawing heaps of criticism: Theologians, pastors and parishioners felt the new edition deviated too much from Luther's original wording.

The most recent revision from 1984, currently in use, rescinded thousands of changes made in the previous edition. Nevertheless, it still uses modern 20th-century German, according to Leipzig theology professor Christoph Kähler.

Now, 30 years after the last update, Germany's Protestant Church has commissioned the next revision of the Luther Bible for two reasons. Firstly, new linguistic discoveries have been made regarding the ancient versions of the languages used in the original biblical texts. This means, for example, that certain words in the Old Testament can now be interpreted in a different way.

Secondly, according to Kähler, the Church would like to prepare a new edition of the Luther Bible to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

Team of scholars

Kähler, formerly regional bishop in Thüringen and central Germany as well as deputy chairman of Germany's Protestant Church, has been charged with heading the working group for the revision. The team includes 70 people, including 60 Bible scholars, most of which are working on a voluntary basis.

For the so-called Apocrypha, disputed texts added later to the Old Testament, specialists will be called upon "which are particularly familiar with the history of religion in the Hellenic period," according to Kähler, who added that a number of German language experts are also involved. One liturgy expert has been called on to ensure that the Psalms maintain their singability, so they can continue to be used in the liturgy of church services.

Each suggested revision will be considered multiple times by the sub-committees of the working group before they are presented to the Protestant Church's official council. Changes that deviate strongly from Luther's first translation will be noted in the final version.

The main goal of updating the Bible this time is the academic task of reviewing how true Luther's translation is to the original texts, Kähler told DW. "The second goal is to make sure we don't alter Luther's classic formulations, but rather maintain his sound."

Concretely, that means undoing some of the revisions that have been made since 1522 in a effort to modernize the language. According to Kähler, some parts of the text have been "flattened" over time. Surveys conducted by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German Bible Society), he added, have shown that "people that don't go to church expect a certain diction in the Bible that is neither colloquial German, nor the language of newspapers."

Revising past revisions

Martin Karrer, who is responsible for the revision of the Luther translation of the New Testament, points out that the aim of keeping the language current led to mistakes in the 1984 edition. "These mistakes will be corrected and the revision will orient itself on the edition closest to Luther, which he produced in 1545."

Karrer and Kähler are not concerned that the upcoming Luther Bible will be less comprehensible to the people of the 21st century; instead it should become both more accurate while maintaining Luther's original intention of writing in contemporary language. For example, the old-fashioned word for midwife, Wehmutter, which is used in the book of Genesis, will be replaced with the contemporary word, Hebamme.

Slightly more drastic changes are planned for the New Testament epistles by the Apostle Paul. He addresses the recipients of his letters, the members of the churches in various cities throughout the Mediterranean regions, as brothers, though he meant both genders and contemporary German doesn't have a word that precisely represents the Ancient Greek. "We will replace it will 'brothers and sisters,' even though that's not philologically exact," explained Kähler.

Linguistic challenges

Just how difficult it can be to find an exact translation is particularly evident in the "Mary's Song" passage in the Gospel of Luke. According to Karrer, even Luther was challenged by the text. As a reference, the English New International Version of Luke 1:52 reads, "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble." German does not have a present perfect tense and Luther switched from past to present tense in his 1545 revision, also replacing his original "chair" with "throne."

"In a case like this, we have to decide what to do," explained Karrer. In this instance, he said, the working group will use the present tense from the 1545 edition, rather than the past tense from 1522, while keeping the term "throne."

"We will add a footnote explaining that Luther had revised his own translation in 1545," added Karrer.

When all the footnotes have been written and a resolution found to each of the terminology disputes, the final draft will be presented to the council of the Protestant Church in September 2015. If everything goes according to plan, the revised edition will be passed on to the German Bible Society, which is responsible for publication, in October 2016 - just in time for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation the following year.

Around 150,000 copies of the Luther Bible are published annually by the German Bible Society. Should demand increase dramatically, that could be a sign that the most recent revision is a success.