7 Bibles That Mistranslated the Hebrew Name of God (And 3 That Got It Right)

One of the most consequential decisions a Bible translator faces is how to render the divine name—the Hebrew tetragrammaton YHWH. Yet many modern English translations have chosen to obscure or alter this name rather than preserve it as it appears in the original text. What drives these translation choices, and what does the evidence in the manuscripts actually show about how God's name should appear in English Scripture? Pastor David Whitfield examines the translation philosophy behind seven major English Bibles that departed from the tetragrammaton, tracing the reasoning—sometimes sound, sometimes questionable—that led translators away from the revealed name of God. He then turns to three translations that maintained fidelity to the original Hebrew text and the centuries-old English tradition of rendering the name faithfully. The conversation touches on the Critical Text versus Textus Receptus debate, the influence of translation committees on theological choices, and how decisions made in committee rooms affect the devotional life of the believer reading at home. Throughout, Pastor Whitfield demonstrates that translation work is never merely mechanical. Behind every choice lies a theological conviction about what faithfulness to the original means. Whether a translation prints "the Lord," "Yahweh," or "Jehovah" shapes how readers encounter the God who revealed Himself by name to Moses at the burning bush. This is pastoral work, not academic footnote-chasing, because how we read God's name in our own language determines how we pray it and how we know Him. Subscribe to the channel for faithful, Scripture-driven teaching on Bible translation, textual criticism, and the deep things of God's Word. #davidwhitfield #biblestudy #bibletranslations #tetragrammaton #yhwh #hebrewbible #textualcriticism