“Bibelen 2020” new Danish translation of the Bible eliminates the word “Israel”. Jan Frost in Photo/Screen Grab.
Uganda Christian News has learnt of Denmark’s new translation of the Bible that omits dozens of references to Israel.
The new translation was published under a project titled ‘Bible 2020’, supervised of the Danish Bible Society, Israel-based Newspaper Haaretz reported on 21, April 2020.
It’s the first translation into Danish in more than 20 years
According to CBN News, Mr Jan Frost, a Bible enthusiast and supporter of Israel living in Denmark, drew the media’s attention to the omissions on YouTube and other social networks.
He counted 59 omissions out of 60 references to Israel in the Greek origin for New Testament texts. References to “the People of Israel” were replaced with “Jews,” while “Land of Israel” became “the land of Jews.”
For example, Psalm 121:4 originally states, “He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” The Bible 2020 authors replaced Israel with the word “us” so it reads “He who watches over us will neither slumber nor sleep.”
“The old theological expression for this is ‘replacement theology,’ in which you replace Israel with the church,” Frost wrote Monday on Facebook.
Defending the omissions, a representative from the Danish Bible Society told Frost the word “Israel” was omitted to prevent readers from confusing it with the modern State of Israel.
The society said “modern people read the Bible with completely different preconditions than humans in, for example, the time of Jesus,” in a statement on its website.
Moving on, they said that “Israel” is used three different ways in the Old Testament. First, it was the name given to Jacob after he wrestled with God and became the name of the twelve tribes who came from Jacob’s children. Also, it was the name given to the Northern Kingdom when the nation divided after the death of Solomon. Finally, Israel “as God’s special people lives in Judaism after the exile.” Therefore, they said the translators “clarify these different meanings” in the Old Testament.
However, the names of countries from ancient times like Egypt have not been rewritten, CBN News observes.
