A new Danish translation of the Christian Bible has purged the New Testament of references to Israel, removing more than 60 instances of the word “Israel” from the new edition.
According to a report by 24NYT, the new “Bible 2020” released by the Danish Bible Society has removed every reference to “Israel”, save one, purging the name in more than 60 places.
With one exception, every instance of the word “Israel”, whether in reference to the Land of Israel or the people of Israel, was replaced with either the word “Jews” – in instances where the people of Israel was referenced – or “the land of the Jews”. In some cases the word “Israel” was removed with no alternative term substituted, the report noted.
The translators involved in preparing the new edition said the references to Israel were removed in order to distinguish the historic Land of Israel with the modern-day State of Israel.
However, references to other ancient nations or geographic areas which share the same name with modern states – such as Egypt – were not purged from the Bible 2020.