But why were additional translations of the Bible made? Here are three of the basic reasons.

• To allow people to read the Bible in their mother tongue.

• To remove errors made by copyists and thus restore the Bible’s original text.

• To update archaic language.

Consider how these factors were involved in two early translations.

THE GREEK SEPTUAGINT

About 300 years before Jesus’ day, Jewish scholars began to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into another language​—Greek. This translation became known as the Greek Septuagint. Why was it made? To help the many Jews who by then spoke Greek rather than Hebrew to stay close to their “holy writings.”​—2 Timothy 3:15.

The Septuagint also helped millions of non-Jewish, Greek-speaking people to get to know what the Bible taught.

NEW TRANSLATIONS MULTIPLY

In the meantime, people continued to make other translations of the Bible​—such as the famous Syriac Peshitta by about the fifth century C.E. But it was not until the 14th century that renewed efforts were made to give many ordinary people the Scriptures in the vernacular.

In England in the late 14th century, John Wycliffe began the process of breaking free from the clutches of a dead language by producing the Bible in English, a language that people in his land could actually understand. Soon after that, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing methods opened the way for Bible scholars to produce and distribute new versions of the Bible in many different living languages throughout Europe.

When English translations multiplied, critics questioned the need to make different versions in the same language. The 18th-century English cleric John Lewis wrote: “Language grows old and unintelligible, therefore it’s necessary to review old Translations to make them speak the Language in use, and be understood by the living generation.”

Today, Bible scholars are in a better position than ever to review older translations. They have a much clearer understanding of ancient Bible languages, and they have valuable ancient Bible manuscripts that have been found in recent times. These help to establish more accurately the original text of the Bible.