Are there many versions of the Bible? Or many translations?
If you cannot read Hebrew or Greek in which the original manuscripts
were written, you'll need a translation from those texts. In order
for your pastor to teach you from the Word of God, he also must use a
translation. In order to live for Christ, you'll need a translation
so you can read what He said, and what's been written about Him.
The English language has changed dramatically over the years. In fact
it has changed so much only with great difficulty could you read any
of the Bibles translated a meer 600 years ago! Because the English
language is a living language - constantly changing - there is a
continual need to translate frequently from the original text, as old
words loose their sense of meaning, and new words come into being.
As new manuscripts are discovered, more understanding and accuracy is
given to the texts we presently have. Since the King James Version
has been translated, there have been 3 very important discoveries.
Since 1611 we have found more evidence that lends to a more accurate
translations, these are:
1. The Codex Sinaiticus (Aleph), discovered in 1844 in the monastery
of St. Catherine in the Sinai peninsula by Tischendorf. This was
written in the 4th century and contained most of the New Testament.
2. The New Testament papyri in 1895, discovered in Egypt, though
fragmented, have proved to be valuable.
3. The Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 near the Dead Sea,
provided nearly all of the Book of Isaiah, and many portions of the
Old Testament. These are hundreds of years older than previously
known texts, and confirmed much of the Old Testament we already have.
These are also duplicated BEFORE the birth of Jesus Christ.
Translation techniques, and Biblical Scholarship has tremendously
improved in the 100 years. We can have a more precise and accurate
translation now - than our forefathers ever dreamed of! Other
languages we previously knew little about, now we can understand and
see the greater meaning of certain difficult words and phrases.
Today we need an easy-to-read translation - for those of us that are
not linguistic scholars and stumble over those 27 letter words.
Think about it....since the MESSAGE contained in the Bible is so
important, then we MUST be able to give it to the poorest reader in a
text they can read! This is not re-interpreting the text, it's giving
an accurate rendering from the Hebrew & Greek in a language they can
simply read and benefit from. For this reason alone, we need the BEST
possible translation we can get...consequently, it must be readable.
This is a List of English translations, the translators and when done.
Bishops Bible...............Church of England....................1568
Rheims-Douay Bible..........Roman Catholic..................1582-1610
King James Bible............Church of England....................1611+
Youngs Literal Translation (Robert Young).......................1863
English Revised Version.....Church of England (KJV revised)...1881-85
American Standard Version...American Revision Committe...........1901
Weymouth's Modern Speech NT.(R. F. Weymouth).....................1903+
Twentieth Century...........Inter-Denominational.................1904
Jewish Version of 1917 (OT)......................................1917
Moffat's New Translation....(James Moffatt)................1924, 1935
Smith-Goodspeed Version.....(Edgar Goodspeed & HM Powers Smith)..1931
Charles B. Williams NT......(Charles B. Williams)................1937
Ronald Knox's Catholic Vs...Roman Catholic....................1944-50
Revised Standard Version....(KJV revised later Roman Catholic)1946-52
Confraternity Version.......(Rheims-Douay-Challoner revision)....1948
New World Translation.......Watchtower Soc.(13% more words)...1950-60
NT in Modern English by J.B. Phillips............................1958
Berkeley version.................................................1959
New American Standard.......Lockman Foundation (ASV revision)....1971
Wuest's Expanded Trans. (NT)(Kenneth Wuest)......................1961
New English Bible................................................1970
NT in Plain English.........(Charles Kingsley Williams)..........1963
NT in Lang. of Today........(William F. Beck a Lutheran).........1964
Amplified Bible..................................................1965
Today's Eng. or Good News...American Bible Soc...................1966
Jerusalem Bible.............Roman Catholic.......................1966
Living Bible.....................................................1972
New International Version...New York Bible Soc...................1978
These are the English translations only. There are thousands of
translations in other languages, and still thousands of peoples
without the Bible in their own tongue.
Some of these are word-for-word translations (each word is translated
individually), some of them are paraphrased (someone 'interperts' the
meaning of a passage and then translates the passage into the second
language), which is important in knowing which Bible to study!
Some are easy to read, some are difficult; some are majestic in
vocabulary, and some are plain and simple. Some are precise in
meaning, and some loosely translated.
But sadly, some are unfaithful to the Original Text and some have
added or subtracted certain words to reflect their own doctrine. Some
were translated by well known scholars, and some by people who could
read a sentence from the original manuscripts!
The King James Version, a word-for-word translation, is an excellent
place to start for study. While it holds true doctrinally as well as
giving reverence to the Word of God with its majestic style, it is
still the Standard in the majority of the churches today. The KJV still
speaks with remarkable authority, is easy to memorize and gives the Biblical
text and the Lord Jesus the proper respect & honor His name deserves.
Also important, the majority of the references works are based on the KJV text.
There are no copywrite restrictions on the KJV - a serious consideration if
you quote the Bible in articles or literature you write!
The New American Standard Version, also a word-for-word translation is
translated in more modern english and is very accurate in verb tenses
that are difficult to understand in the KJV.
The New International Version is a paraphrase - but by far the best of
its kind. Paraphrases can convey easily the meaning of certian texts,
and can reflect doctrinal viewpoints of the translators. The NIV is
an excellent paraphrase, easy to read, and a good supplement to
helping understand word-for-word translations. However, I feel the NIV,
like any other paraphrase is interpretative. By this, the translators have
sought to convey what they think the text trying to convey rather than
exactly what it SAYS.
It would take too much time to describe the good & bad points in all
the rest of the translations, and anyone who's really a serious
student of the Bible, will sooner or later learn to use word studies,
lexicons, concordances, or even the original languages themselves.
A concordance is simple to use, and can by comparison give quick
insite into the meaning of a particular word and how it's used.
Youngs Analytical Concordance & The New Strong's are easy to use.
Vines Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words is also
excellent and simple for any one to use.
With the wealth of Bible knowledge at our disposal, no one has any
excuse not to daily read and study God's Word for themselves. Many
men have already given their lives so that you DON'T have to live in
IGNORANCE of what God has said. You personally are responsible for
reading and studying the Bible - relying on another person is a sorry
excuse for LAZINESS, not to mention the BLESSINGS of having God speak
to you personally through the study of His Word!
Bill Bennett
This article originated on
The Salvation Online Network
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