These scribbles — never meant for public eyes — are the true “secrets.” They show us that even the most faithful translators struggled between and spiritual meaning . The Danger of Translation Translating the Gospel has always been a high-risk task. William Tyndale was burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English. In the Muslim-majority contexts, certain historical translations of the Gospel into Arabic were banned, copied in secret, or disguised as other texts.

If Jesus preached in Aramaic, and the earliest Gospels were written in Greek, how much of the “original” can any translation truly preserve? And does it matter, if the Spirit still speaks through every language?

Jerome faced violent backlash. Traditionalists accused him of heresy for consulting Hebrew manuscripts instead of relying solely on the Greek Septuagint. He worked in a cave in Bethlehem, surrounded by controversy. Yet, the Vulgate became the standard for over a thousand years. Why “Secrets” Matter in Translation Every translation involves choice. For example, the Greek word metanoia is sometimes translated as “repentance” (turning from sin) or “change of mind” (transformation of thought). These subtle shifts shape entire theologies.

In early Arabic translations of the Gospel, translators had to decide whether to use Allah for God — a theologically loaded term. Some Christians embraced it; others rejected it, fearing confusion with Islamic theology. This remains a sensitive topic today. Episode 1 Highlight: The Lost Translation of the Desert Fathers In this episode, the narrative focuses on an obscure 7th-century Arabic translation of the Gospel found in the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai. Unlike later translations, this one includes marginal notes revealing the translator’s doubts: “Is ibn (son) literal or metaphorical here?”