What are they afraid of, someone 'stealing' God's words or their own?
They were paid for the work that they did, but their goal was not to make money, but to make a work that glorified God. Technically we are all paid to do work which glorifies God, whether it be flipping hamburgers or preparing sermons. I suspect that many of the translators of modern translations had the same motives as those who translated the 1611 KJV. No better, no worse. Their motives were to faithfully translate the words from Hebrew or Greek to English. Are we to impugn their motives simply because they were called to study Hebrew and Greek in the 20th Century instead of the 17th?
What we are to impugn the motivation of those who would sell the word of God like it was a product ' get the newest, freshest, clearest, crispist translation ever'
I do not see the same motives that drove Luther, Tyndale, the Geneva, Valera, and the King James, because those men were serious about the word of God, they saw the battle over it.
As for studying Greek and Hebrew, that is not the problem.
The problem comes in the words they have removed from the Bible, to break the word references that God the Holy Spirit put there to grow
Moreover, you have men who do not believe in Biblical Preservation and are using man's 'wisdom' depend on corrupt texts, such as the Alexanderian.
Tyndale was hunted down like a criminal and killed for translating the correct text. His goal was not monetary profit, but love of the truth. If motivation is the principle test of a translation's worth, then why are we not using Tyndale's version instead of the KJV? Motivation is irrelevant. Accuracy of transmission is the principle goal. And I am not willing to impugn the motivations of people who have been called to study Hebrew and Greek in the 21st Century. I'm sure that many of these people would willingly lay their lives down for Christ as Tyndale did. You don't know until you are put to the test.
I am not using Tyndales Bible because that is not the one God gave me to use.
He gave me the King James.
Tyndales motivation is indicative of why God blesses a translation and doesn't bless another, like the modern versions that keep churning out.
As for those who would give their lives for God's words, many of these translators are not even Christian, like the Lesbian who was on the NIV style committee.
Yes, but the motivation should be the same in translating the Bible as it is in teaching the Bible, 'willingly, not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind' (1Pet.5:2) I suppose we could condemn wholesale the idea of a professional ministry. Especially if for some reason the minister made more money than a hamburger flipper who pays his tithes to support the minister.
I think we should condemn a minister who is in the ministry for the money.
I do not believe a minister should receive a salary since he is not a professional and should live on offerings which are grace.
Hey x-man, did you receive a salary for being a military chaplain?