Bible versions

[wiggins]

Hi guys, I'm thinking of getting a new Bible as my current one is New Living Translation, and my pastor said that it is less close to the original in translation because of the way it is translated. What do you think is the best Bible translation/ version? And can you reccomend me any specific Bibles?

[mechana2015]

mmm... NIV for understandability and a good translation.

I use the King James personally, but it can be hard to read sometimes.

[Fsiphskilm]

Well I her

[CDLviking]

The best translation to get would be a literal translation. Too many Bibles nowadays use dynamic equivalency tranlations which leave too much room open for the translator's personal beliefs to come through instead of the true Gospel message. The Bible that I use is the Douay-Rheims translation from 1582 with revisions in 1749. It is the first official English translation of the Bible.

Obviously since I am Catholic I also consider the Dueterocanonical books to be part of Sacred Scripture. If you are really serious about wanting to get a good Bible I suggest taking a look at the process of setting and closing the canon that took place and give the Dueterocanonical books a shot.

[mechana2015]

There are also parallel bibles with several versions (Ive seen up to 4 versions) side by side, but these bibles are massive.

[Ingemar]

I've four versions in my abode: The New International Version, the King James, the *New* King James, and the New Revised Standard Version.

I still think the best way to derive the full meaning of the word is through reading it in the original Herbrew/Greek. Different languages convery deeper meanings than just word order and such. Sometimes the language reflects the culture/paradigm of the speaker, and such nuances are lost in translation. Unfortunately, Hebrew and Ancient Greek both look very difficult to learn, and like most of the MTV generation (though I personally am disgusted by MTV), I have a serious deficiency of gumption.

[CDLviking]

I agree, absolute best way is to learn Greek or Hebrew. Latin would come in at third because it was the first language to actually have a full bible that we still have today which would be closest to the original manuscripts which have been lost to history.

[Mr. Rogers]

i think the bible is the bible. pick a translation that you understand the best. God always preserves His word right?

[CDLviking]

Actually, there are some pretty horrible translations out there.

[Bobtheduck]

There are some horrible translations, but I think that KJV, NKJV, NIV, and NASB are all good standard versions. I don't like it to be too literal, though... Translating too literally from another language will cause things to get lost that the translator may understand, but not necissarily the reader... Such as in almost every version, the "bright eye" and "dim eye" thing Jesus talks about, is actually referring to being generous and being stingy. It was written in Greek, but in a Jewish context. Greek language and Jewish context creates some interesting problems in translation. It's good to understand greek language, Roman society, and Jewish culture to really understand everything that had been said, and that's just new testament.

Of course, even perfect understanding of all of that is worthless if you don't have the Holy Spirit to guide you.

[Marie-Novelle]

[ThaKladd]

I use very many different bibles. A good Idea is to buy a computer-bible with a lot of different translations. its very easy to compare them to eachother, and to the original greek or latin....

But when I don't use the bible on my computer I use mostly New King James - but also some norwegian traslations of NIV. The main point is in all of them, but if you are in doubt, check out in different bibles - or a "study bible" that show the differences and explain the meaning. They are 4 good help.

But seriously, I don't think that there are any 100% right bible translation. There are people who say that NIV is best, other say Darby, and other say KJ. It's difficult to choose...

The maint thing is: You have a bible!!

[Technomancer]

You might also find it useful to get a bible with good notes. These are helpful in conveying important information regarding historical, cultural, and other details useful for study. It's useful not only to have a good translation, but to be able to understand the books of the bible in their proper context.

[Inferno]

I think the NIV is the one for you!:thumb: It's well translated and stuff.

[The Grammarian]

I would personally recommend the New American Standard Version or the New Revised Standard Version. They're both more literal than the New International Version, and just as readable. I would also suggest the Thompson Chain-Reference Study Bible--one of the few study bibles out there that doesn't give you its own interpretation for notes; check it out at http://www.kirkbride.com. It comes in the NASB, KJV, NKJV (I think) and NIV translations.

[skynes]

I use the NKJV.

I don't wanna start a whole which Bible is right thing but I have problems reading a Bible that cuts stuff out. A lot of bibles out there cut Acts 8:37, some cut out 1 John 5:7 a HUGE Trinity supporting verse.
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I like that pic Marie, shows it quite well the translations that go from literal to paraphrase.

If you want light reading or something go for paraphrases like the Message. If you want something more for in-depth study get something from the other end, Amplified, KJV, NKJV or something.

[cbwing0]

My personal favorite is the NIV, although I have read many others (KJV, RSV, NASB, NKJV, Amplified, NLT), and I like that one the best. The only one I have read all the way through is the KJV, and unless you are very familiar with Old English (or get a bible with good notes ), I would advise against it. If you want to do an in-depth word study, the Amplified is probably best, since it gives mulitple meanings and/or wordings throughout the text.

[kaji]

I guess Im the only one who claims to have read the CEV (Contemporary English Version). Which, of course, I wouldnt recomend for a normal Bible. But it is interesting non the less. Personaly I enjoy my KJV most of the time.

Basicaly, if you want a Bible with lots of pretty words, then go for a King James, but if you are more interested in a less complicated trans (or lemans terms), then I would recomened the NIV. Still, if you are into torturing your self, pick up a CEV, and go nuts. ^^

[ShiroiHikari]

I like the NIV, but I also like the NLT...what's wrong with the NLT? o_O NKJV ain't bad either.

[Straylight]

I like NIV, mainly because it's the translation that everyone else uses. If you're in a sermon it's easier to follow when you have the right translation -- and they usually use NIV. (At least, where I come from).

Just for fun, get "the Message" translation too.

[Bobtheduck]

THere's nothing wrong with the NLT. Some people don't like the "paraphrase" or "dynamic" translations because they feel a more literal translation is going to be more accurate... I disagree, though, because the versions that translate by meaning of the phrase or the sentance rather than by meaning of the words themselves I would consider more accurate... I am saying this from trying to learn Japanese... A very literal translation of Japanese would not make any sence and would not be very accurate if you're trying to translate in most cases... Plus, there's the issues that I allready brought up...

Really, there are no completely literal translations anyhow... To do so would make it impossible to read. And, it really does come down to personal prefference in the end. If you really want to make sure of what's said, find bibles that explain the words and contexts of what you're reading.

My personal Bible of choice in most cases is the CJB, though I disagree with the wording in a few things. It is more towards the "dynamic" translation end. Except for changing of a word that we consider very important (sounds almost like the Jehovah's witness thing, though reading the crucifixion story it's obvious it's not) because he is trying to attract Jewish readers by not containing the "scary" words such as church (which, depending on context, he renders as things such as "Messianic Congregation" in Revelations, though not in every case) or cross (this is the one I disagree with the most, but I replace his word with cross and I'm fine.) His version uses the Hebrew names for all of the Jewish people (including Jesus) and uses hebrew or yiddish words (even though, yes, Yiddish didn't come into use for hundreds of years, I think) for a lot of things he feels would better describe something in a way that couldn't be described in English (such as "tsitsit" which is the string that hangs off a priests robe, which is what the woman touched on Jesus' robe, and not his "hem.")

Reading this version has given me a much better understanding of the New Testament from a Jewish standpoint, though it is an imperfect translation... Some things that were his choice, I disagree with, but then again, I disagree with the choice of a literal rendering of a lot of phrases that make no sense literally in English as well... There are no perfect translations, but that's where we need

1. Each other
1. The Holy Spirit

(I put "each other" first because I know too many people that think they can figure it out on their own... It's just not the case. I put a 1 before the Holy Spirit because we won't understand at all without the Holy Spirit. So, there is no "one is more important")

If you're ever in a Bible store that has the CJB, read through the long explanation of why he did it the way he did... Please don't be offended by the word "stake" as he did NOT change the scene of the crucifixion like the Jehovah's Witnesses did... That is probably the worst aspect of his translation, that word is, but it means the exact same thing when you read it in context as "cross" does. Basically it's a stake with a crossbeam... I still disagree with that choice of word...

[Marie-Novelle]

I like that pic Marie, shows it quite well the translations that go from literal to paraphrase.

Yep. The picture is from Christianbook.com. They have a section which describes the differences between the various translations.

About Translations
Bible Translation Reading Levels

[Mangafanatic]

My pastor suggests the NASB (New American Standard Bible). There's my two cents.

[madphilb]

The best version, I feel, is the one you actually read.

I'd like to touch (breifly) on the "NIV cuts things out" thing.... yes, the NIV drops some verses out (most of which are repetitive things that make more sense when you understnad culture at the time)... however all but 1 NIV that I've owned has every one of those verses foot-noted at the bottom of the page (the one that doesn't cost me something like $1-3 at Walmart and is obviously a cheap production).

Actually my advice is learn Greek and Hebrew and read the books in their original text (Hebrew for OT, Greek for NT). But that's not even a complete picture of understanding the scriptures.... as others have said, you'd basically want to attend a Jewish school or something and not only learn Hebrew, but also the historical culture of the Jewish people as well. Go learn some about the other cultures and communities of the day that the books where written (the NT consists of letters that where written from one person to another or a group, so you'd need to understand the situation of each of these people as well).

Obviously this is a lifelong pursuit, and in the end that's what we're left with.. but in the meantime.......

Notes and other writings about different books of the Bible are good for understanding, but don't take any one as dogma, each is writen by a person and may be wrong, you'll find as many opinions of what a verse means as there are writings.


Me, I've been carrying around the same NIV for years, it's a student bible that I was given years ago (actually, it's the leather/imitation leather version of the one I was given years ago). I have a KJV, NKJV, and a few others around here, and I use each one at one time or another (the NKJV is a large print with some extra cross-reference info for example). I also had a copy of the Online Bible for years (haven't been real happy with the windows versions though, since bought one of Logos' collections, but I don't currently have it installed). A Strong's concordance with a Greek/Hebrew lexicon is a big help (again, my favoriate way to use these was the old DOS version of Online Bible, I've also used the one with my Logos software as well as some of the other comptuer bibles I've owned).

I personally can't stand the Amplified Bible, not that it's a bad translation, I'd say use it for study (along with some other resources), but I know too many people who get it, use it for reading out-loud, and read EVERY DARN WORD printed on the page.

Many people like KJV because they feel it's poetic, I personally can't stand "Old English," and find it difficult not only to properly understand (it's too easy to miss-understand things because of words that have changed meaning since that translation was made or because of the subtle things that are a part of that form of English). I'm also a stickler for those who use it because they feel it sounds more "spiritual" than regular modern english. Frankly on that issue if Jesus walked among people today, I'd believe Him saying "Yo, Wazup" much sooner than "How art thou," but that's just me

The Message is good for reading, but difficult for study as it doesn't have verse numbers, and you have to trust that the people who put it together have properly understood what the scriptures where actually saying since it's more paraphrase than literal.

For study I'd say get as many different ones as you can, of the good ones anyway, study them side-by-side along with the Greek/Hebrew cross references (Strongs/Lexicon combo), and pray, pray, pray.

er... welll.. I guess I'm done. Anyone else want to use this soapbox now?

[glitch1501]

i have 2,

a student NIV for study

and the one i normally read from,
the message//remix

the message remix is awesome

[Ingemar]

The OKJV isn't old English; it's (at oldest) Middle English.

If you actually saw a piece of Old English text, you wouldn't believe it was English at all.

[Da Rabid Duckie]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Amplified Bible (aside from it being in that great chart about translations), it's probably one of the best study Bibles out there. I think it's good to have multiple translations though (I have nine, myself), that way you can read the same scripture out of each one and have a good idea what the intent of the scripture was and how to apply it.

[Fsiphskilm]

Yea, A LOT of p

[Bobtheduck]

[quote="Ingemar"]The OKJV isn't old English]

That may be true, but the point is it's a dialect that's not spoken ANYWHERE anymore. Many of the words and phrases mean entirely different things now. However, the KJV is rather grand and if you use it in CONJUNCTION with some other versions, it can give you a different perspective which is good... If you're willing to take that much time and put in that much effort... I don't recommend it as your only study Bible.

Oh, and I have seen old English (Beowulf, I believe)

[CDLviking]

The language of my DRV is from approximately the same time as the KJV (about a decade earlier). If you can read Shakespear then it will be no problem. Not that it reads like Shakespear, but because Shakespear is harder to understand.