I'm not saying I agree with this, but there was a column in Newsday this Saturday that bears on this. In the column a Rabbi who writes for Newsday was discussing quotations that a reader had made to prove a point from an earlier column. In that column he made a statement that grabbed my attention:
"One of the most important things to understand when quoting the Bible (the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Testament) is that it was not written in English. This means you're not only reading a translation from Hebrew or Greek, but you're also often reading an interpretation masquerading as a translation."
God squad: The biblical roots of hell and the devil -- Newsday.com
He went on to reference some quotations as examples. One specific example he referred to which is often used to justify Jesus Christ as the Messiah was the Greek translation of Isaiah 7:14; "and behold a virgin shall give birth". But, according to Gellman, the original Hebrew uses the word alma, which means young woman, instead of betula, which means virgin.
I really thought this was an important point for those people who quote the King James (or other english transalation) of the Bible to keep in mind.
