Are only the original manuscripts of the Bible inerrant?

TL;DR:

God’s inerrant Word is powerful, living, and active. God has given us all we need to live an abundant, godly life.

God inspired the words of the Bible, revealing who He is, what He has done for us, the way to salvation, and how He calls us to live in light of all this. The original revelation of Scripture, the original manuscripts, are inerrant—perfect and without error. Inerrancy only applies to this original revelation. However, the Bibles we read today have been shown to be reliable. The evidence points to preservation of manuscripts over millennia, and faithful translators have produced sound materials. We can be confident that God's revealed words are the same words we hold today. They are powerful, living, and active (Hebrews 4:12), revealing the character of God and His plan for humanity. God’s Word has the power to change our lives if we will seek to understand it and take it to heart.

from the old testament

The word of the LORD came to Abraham, and Isaac was born like God promised (Genesis 15:4; 21:3). Time and time again, God’s Word shows us that God keeps His promises.
The Bible claims to be perfect. Psalm 12:6 reads, “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.” Psalm 19:7 says: “The law of the LORD is perfect” (Psalm 19:7). Proverbs 30:5 states: “Every word of God proves true.”
David wrote a lengthy psalm about the trustworthiness of God’s Word (Psalm 119).
Psalm 148:6 says that God’s decrees will not pass away.
God told Israel through the prophet Isaiah that His Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:10-11).

from the new testament

Jesus said His words will never pass away (Matthew 5:18; 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17; 21:33).
All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).
Second Peter 1:21 states that God inspired the authors: "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

implications for today

Is today's Bible inerrant? How closely do our copies of Scripture resemble the original documents? These are great questions to ask! Since no original copies of the biblical manuscripts exist, we need to look at the earliest available manuscripts. For the New Testament, some portions exist from the early to mid-second century, within just a generation of the original writings. More than five thousand copies of Greek New Testament manuscripts exist, and thousands more in Latin, Coptic, and other languages.

The Old Testament is a much earlier work, yet manuscripts exist from the Dead Sea Scrolls from before the New Testament period, revealing the accuracy of the Hebrew and Aramaic text as it would have been known to people in the time of Jesus. A large finding of Old Testament manuscripts in Cairo also supports the amazingly high degree of accuracy of the Old Testament writings. It includes more than two hundred thousand manuscript fragments from as early as AD 870. Other early copies of large parts of the entire Old Testament include the Aleppo Codex (tenth century) and the Leningrad Codex (approximately AD 1008).

Those who study these documents can determine the most accurate version of any passage with a strong degree of certainty. Is this level of accuracy one hundred percent? In most places, the answer is yes. The majority of variants are due to spelling differences or clear "typos" by an ancient scribe, but it does not change the meaning of the text. Most experts estimate the actual text in dispute at less than one percent. Even in these few situations, the accurate wording is either the one presented or one or two known variants. This is normal especially when considering the differences in translation and the process of scribes transcribing the words. No other text has been preserved to the extent that the Bible has.

God’s inerrant Word determines our faith and practice. If it is not reliable, on what basis should we understand what we believe, who God is, and how we are to live in light of that? God has given us His Word and all we need for a godly, abundant life (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:3).

understand

God inspired the writing and preserving of His inerrant Word.
While inerrancy applies to the original writings, God’s inerrant Word was preserved over thousands of years, translated into various languages, and remains accurate today. No other text has been preserved to the extent that the Bible has.
God’s inerrant Word gives us what we need to know Him and understand the way of salvation.

reflect

Why is inerrancy important?
How does inerrancy impact your view of God?
How does inerrancy impact your faith and the way you live?

engage

Anything that is translated can be close to the original but not exactly the same. Why is this? Why is it important to have accurate preservation of manuscripts and accurate translations of God's inerrant Word?
Instead of looking at the minor “typos” or scribal differences, it would be better to understand the meaning of the text in context.
Christians believe God’s Word is inerrant because the Bible states it and because it matches God’s character. How should this change the way we read God’s Word and live it out?