Bible Translations

I know this may come as a bit of a surprise for many, but for all the reasons that the KJV was so far ahead of the other translations in its time, is the same reason that several more modern translations have passed it up now in terms of the overall quality of the translation.

Here's a bit of a run down on what I mean. The KJV comes from an older textual stream. Basically, that means that since the early 1600s we have acquired more manuscripts of the original text that are much better copies. We have manuscripts now that have fewer errors and mistakes made by copyists. And the newer translations use those manuscripts. As a result, those newer translations are going to be a little more accurate. Now, most of the errors are small and insignificant - especially when it comes to doctrine and theology. But there are some that do play a larger role. For example, in the KJV, 1 John 5:7 reads "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." This verse is not in any other modern translation. Simply because we have more manuscripts to look at now and none of them have this verse. In fact, there are only two manuscripts in the entire world that have the verse like this. One of them was copied in the 1400s and the other in the 1500s. We now have manuscripts that are 1000 years older (that is 1000 years closer to when it was actually written) that do not have the verse like that. Now, this isn't a slight against the men who translated the KJV. They just didn't have the information that we have now.

Another issue is that the KJV contains many words that are no longer used in the English language - at least not in the English that is spoken in the United States. We just don't use words like peradventure, longsuffering, sleight, circumspectly, etc. (I got these words from reading chapters four and five in Ephesians). Someone might say, well those are Bible words. Huh? What's a Bible word? Actually, they are old English words that people living 400 years ago used. Just because their old doesn't make them more scriptural.

Here's another way to think about it. What's the most important relationship you have on earth? If you're married - it's your spouse. If you're not married, it's probably your parent(s) or a best friend. Now, how would you feel if every time that person, your husband, wife, mom, dad or best friend spoke to you they used words you couldn't understand? It would make communicating more difficult and would eventually strain your relationship. How much more important is the relationship you have with God? The Bible is the way that He talks to you. Why wouldn't you want to do everything in your power to make sure you undertand what He's saying?

The last point regarding the KJV is that there is simply more errors involving the actual translation. That is, mistakes made from ignorance by the translators. Consider the setting of the early 1600s. They had only come out of the Dark Ages about three, maybe four, generations earlier. The Dark Ages was a time when there was no scholarship, no developments of human life or thinking. And biblical languages had not been studied seriously since about 1000 AD. That means that there would have been limited information and knowledge concerning these languages that had not been spoken or read consistently for some time. It simply takes a while for scholarship to build upon previous scholarship so that a knowledge base can grow and develop. And compared to what is available today - their knowledge base in 1600 was extremely weak.

All this makes it sound like I think the KJV is just awful and needs to be put up on the shelf. That's just not the case. It's a beautifully written masterpiece of literature that has a rich tradition and history. And it's a good translation. But for in-depth Bible study there are other versions that more accurately translate the original languages. Unfortunately, many people who grew up on the KJV (and love it today) do not understand its history and limitations. And it's even more unfortunate that many of these people are so dogmatic about the use of the KJV. Even going so far as to say that it's the only true version and that it's inspired. That's sad and unfortunate.

So I'll close this short little series by saying this: use the translation that you feel most comfortable with and can understand without having to get a dictionary. And understand that all translations are going to have issues. But if your interest is in-depth study there are particular translations that are going to offer a stronger rendering of the Greek and Hebrew.

May God bless you as you seek out His will!

Bible Translations

Ever wondered where all the different translations come from? And why there are so many of them? After all, if the Bible is the Bible (which it is), and there's only one (which there is), how can there possibly so many variations of it? On the surface that one just doesn't click for me. Here's another question: how can I know that one is better than another? We're going to limit everything to English translations as we try to answer these questions.

The beginning of the story obviously goes back to the original letter written by the inspired writer. As the letters were spread around, people would copy them for their personal use or for their ekklesia. All the copying then was done by hand. So if you heard that a friend had a copy of Paul's letter to the Romans, you might borrow it to copy it for yourself. Of course, this continued for more than a thousand years. Many of these copies were somehow preserved and have been found. These are called manuscripts. These are what we have to use when creating or revising a translation of the Bible. The older the translation the better. That is, the manuscript that is closest to the original is thought to be the most accurate because it has been touched by the fewest hands and has the fewer opportunities to have been "messed up" by a copyist.

Jump forward to the early 1500s. A man named William Tyndale the first English Bible directly from the original languages. Then another translation called the Great Bible was created by using much of the work that Tyndale had done. This translation became extremely popular for use in churches throughout England. In fact, Henry VIII made sure that a copy was in every church. Not too long after that, the Geneva Bible was created and because it was slanted towards Reformation doctrine it was popular with the people but not so much with the church. And the first controversy over translations was born.

In 1604 King James brought together 48 scholars to revise a translation that was only a couple of years old. He intended for it to be a neutral Bible (free of any doctrinal references or bias) that everyone could use and be happy with. Coincidentally, many people did not like this new translation so the translators included a preface that tried to explain their good intentions. Ironic huh, that the translators of the KJV now have so many supporters that are so dogmatic for the translation that was intended to put an end to that type of thinkng? Even with the initial animosity working against it, the KJV quickly became the translation for english speaking people.

There were a couple things in particular that set the KJV apart from the other translations of that era. Greek and Hebrew scholarship had excelled greatly. And all the other translations were done by one, or a few men at the most. The KJV was translated by a large committee of 48. This kept bias and doctrinal preferences to a minimum. We'll consider the other side of the KJV and the translations that followed on the next post.

Blessings!

Bible Translations

So if there are going to be some errors in each of the translations, which should I use? Which is the best? Well, the best version is the one written in the original languages - Hebrew, some Aramaic, and Greek. But since most of us don't have the time to learn these languages, we must use a version that has been translated into the language that we do understand.

There are a lot of English translations available. Some, of course, are more accurate than others. When I am asked that question, "which translation should I use," my answer is always the same - one that you can understand! I have seen too many Christians become discouraged and not read their Bible at all because the vocabularly or style of writing is not understandable to them. How much sense does that make? The worse part of that is, usually those Christians that give up are kids and teens!

Referring to children, Jesus said "but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6). I wonder if this will apply to people who insist on a particular translation that a teen has trouble understanding? I'm not going to take that chance only to find out on judgment day that  . . . well, you get my point. So the short answer, use a translation that you are comfortable with and can understand. And encourage others to do the same.

There's the other question still floating out there - which is the most accurate translation of the original language? Probably the most accurate is the New American Standard (NAS). The English Standard (ESV) is extremely accurate as well (and probably a little more readable than the NAS). These are the two best that I have found.

Bible Translations

The topic of Bible translations seems to have come up with some frequency lately. You might not have ever thought much about which translation you use. Or, you may have given it a lot of thought. Based off of some of the comments I've heard and conversations I've had, there seems to be to be a lot of misinformation, misunderstanding and in some cases just ignorant opinions. (Remember, ignorance is just a lack of information). I think it would be good over the next few posts to share some thoughts on translations. Let's just start with the basics.

There is no perfect translation. It's just not possible for man to perfectly translate God's word from the original languages. There's several reasons for this. Just think about it logically. Languages don't match up exactly. So there may be a Hebrew word that doesn't have an exact equivalent in English. Or likewise, Greek to English. So we have to come as close as possible. It doesn't mean that we don't have an accurate translation - just not a perfect one. We've also got to consider people's inherent bias and opinions. As much as a group of translators may try to avoid it, whenever there is a point of contention or disagreement, someone's opinion or point of view will win out.

Now, since there are no perfect translations, it's not possible to have an inspired or "authorized" translation. I've actually heard it said that "I prefer this or that translation because it's the true authorized and inspired translation". There is just no such thing. The men who wrote the letters that make up the Bible were inspired men. And as a result, what they wrote was inspired. Because of this, each translation of what they wrote is the inspired word of God. Not one moreso than another.

Because it's impossible for any particular translation to be inspired, we've got to understand that there will be mistakes in every translation. Afterall, if man has touched it, it's not going to be perfect. Don't misunderstand and think that we don't have an accurate translation. We have plenty of accurate translations available. Again, we just don't have a perfect translation.

Here's a few thoughts to get us started. I'll share more over the course of the next few posts. Blessings!