Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
But what if it isn’t that straightforward?
In Norway, a public debate about what the Bible says — or doesn’t — is currently unfolding around the latest efforts to translate scripture into modern Norwegian.
At the center of that controversy are terms like “brothers and sisters,” “slave,” “flesh” and the words of John 3:16, known as “the Little Bible” (den lille bibel) in Norway.
As the Norwegian Bible Society (Det Norske Bibelselskap) worked toward releasing a new Bible revision in 2024, it published previews. Reception to the published pericopes was mixed, forcing questions about the use of biblical texts in public worship, the relevance of scripture in largely secular Norway, and whether a new revision is needed after a major overhaul to the text as recently as 2011.
In a country where only 2 percent of the population regularly attend church, one doesn’t expect to find a national debate about the correct translation of John 3:16. And yet, across Norway, news that a forthcoming Bible translation will replace gå fortapt (get lost) with gå til grunne (perish) has roused strong feelings.
In my latest for Christianity Today, I talk to translators and critics about the controversy and what it can tell us about the Bible and Norwegian society.