Different Biblical Translations

[deedee310]

I own an Amplified Bible, NIV, and New King James Version of the bible. I often read from each one at different times just for a clear understanding especially when I am confused about a certain scripture or story. I really enjoy my Amplified bible because it has different life notes and commentaries in it from the author. My NKJV is a study bible and it helps me out especially when I have a question while I am reading and I am unable to ask someone about it.

I was told by a friend of mine that I should just stick to reading the original King James Version. To be honest, I don't even own a King James Version of the bible and never even considered purchasing one for myself. I have looked through my mom's and to me it seems more confusing and difficult to discern. My friend told me that the other versions are "tweaked" to man's own words and they are not the word of God.

I always believed that the different translations were created in modern language for people to be able to easily understand the scripture.

[Charles Burwell]

Deedee,

While some of the new translations are 'tweaked' ,as your friend told you, by the same reasoning they use to disqualify other translation they must use to disqualify the King James version. As you probaly know , there is an excellent chance that neither Paul , the other apostles or the prophets of old spoke english. And since there are very few languages that can be translated word for word to any other , the translator must choose the word or phrase that they believe best fits the word or phrase in the language they are translating to.

I knew a woman who worked for Wycliffe translators in Japan for thirty years. She said that there was a great difficulty , at times, finding the appropriate Japanese word or expression to match the english one. She told me that much prayer went into producing a bible in the Ja panese language. Just as in translating into other languages without a similar alphabet they had to depend on the Lord to guide them to stay with the same intent and meaning while using words and phrases that the people would understand.

The pentecostal church I attended after accepting the Lord believed that you should call the Holy Spirit the Holy Ghost. They claimed that the new translations perverted the bilbe by calling Him the Holy Spirit. Which I never quite understood because the KJV also referes to the Holy Ghost as the Holy Spirit on many occassions.

I personally use the New King James version because of the more modern sentance structure and words. I also use the Amplified bible when I study in depth or have a problem with the NKJV. As was mentioned in a forum or blogs a few months ago ,there are a number of versions that are not very true to scripture so we must be careful. But by the same token , it isn't the translation of the words in a book, it's the translation provided by the Holy Spirit. Since , after all , Jesus said when the Holy Spirit comes He will lead us into all truth.

God bless you as you seek to know Him and His word in the fullest posssible way.

[deedee310]

I was told to stay away from the NIV bible..... That was the one that I was told not to read.

[Terry Scerine]

I strongly agree! Stay with the ones you're reading-you'll do fine. Julie J

[Terry Scerine]

Hi deedee310!
I LOVE the Amplified and the New King James as well. I own a King James because it helps me in studying when I use the Strongs concordance. I have a 4 translation that I use which includes the King James, Amplified, New American Standard Bible and the NIV. I think you are reading some GREAT translations and I wouldn't worry about what other people say you should read. Just read whatever translation(s) appeal to you and God WILL speak to you through them. The most important thing is that you read God's word! It will perform it's work in you!
By the way, I am writing this from Terry Scerine's house. He had me and my hubby over for pizza. He told us about you being a friend of his. I wrote the forward to his book. He said you had a copy......Read the Word of God-He watches over it to perform it! Bless you! Julie Jernigan

[John Scott]

Hi deedee310,

Our GOD is an awesome GOD and as HE says in HIS WORD, all Scripture is GOD breathed. HE has seen to it that HIS WORD has been translated more times than any other writing on the face of this earth without any major departure from it's intent, content, and meaning. By HIS Spirit HE has guided and inspired reputable Biblical scholars and translators to preserve, translate, and pass HIS WORD to generation after generation. If the translation you are reading is done by reputable sources and you can understand it then it doesn't matter if it is the NIV, King James, Scofield, New King James, Amplified, American Standard, New American Standard, etc. What matters is that it is the WORD and you are reading it, understanding it, and letting GOD speak to you through it. I have four translations, one of them being the NIV. Each has it's own merits. There are some passages, especially in Paul's writings, that are hard for a new Christian to grasp and they become easier to understand when you read them in the NIV. I've been reading the WORD for many years and I still go to the Scofield NIV when I start to struggle with a particular piece of language structure and I want a simplified take on it.

Many people will try to tell you that this Bible or that Bible is the only one to read. The truth is that if there was only one true rendition of Scriptures to read, then a good portion of the world would be excluded from getting the WORD and we would all have to learn Greek as well as Aramaic if we wanted to read it. Fortunately GOD has seen to it that we don't have to do that and has provided us with translations that can speak to everyone. Thank you LORD.

Anyway, that's my thoughts on it. I hope it helps.

[Greg, TheNET Coordinator]

Hi DeeDee,

Nearly all of the modern translations of the Bible are excellent and are produced with the utmost care and excellent scholarship. It really comes down to a matter of taste and which you prefer. There is nothing magical or particularly sacred about the King James version, but it was an outstanding translation for its time. There is a particular sect (perhaps a cult?) of Christians that insist that any other version beside the King James is corrupted and heretical. For a rebuttal to this please visit: http://www.gotquestions.org/KJV-only.html

I myself use a variety of versions depending on what I'm doing. For in-depth Bible study, New American Standard; to lead a group, New International Version; for personal devotions and reading, New Living Translation.

Stay clear of the New World Translation. That IS a corrupted, heretical version produced by the Jehovah's Witnesses cult.

[John Scott]

Hi DeeDee,

Greg is right. You should stay clear of translations that are done by and promoted by cults. Good tip Greg!

[deedee310]

What about the Amplified version?

[Natasha Mayes]

Ooh yes. I don't know much about the Bible translation you are refering to here (New World) but I do recall being given a book to read some years ago by a well meaning friend. She knew I was studying Revelation at the time and thought I could benefit from this book. It was suposed to be an encyclopedia - type book about Revelation but, man, I tell you by the end of chapter 1 I was so confused by this book, I might as well have been trying to read the original greek Bible for all the "insight" it gave me. That was the 1st time I encountered literature written and distributed by the Jehova's witnesses. Since then I've been very carefull about which books and references I use in my research. Heresy is the devil's favourite way of confusing God's children. It is done so cleverly you don't realize its a crock until it's almost too late.

[Greg, TheNET Coordinator]

LaBrock,

I agree that the King James can be used with Strongs concordance, but apart from that it has no advantage over a modern version. You are making a lot of unfounded statements such as "the original King James has the fewest mistranslations", modern versions "were altered in many ways to support traditions", "they are twisting it", "King James can even be tracked back to the tribes of Israel". I'm sorry, but you have no factual basis whatsoever to make these kinds of claims.

It is ok to say you prefer the King James version, but to state these kinds of falsehoods without any proof is just not acceptable here. Please stop.

[Jeff W. Randall]

I do not think in all reality that we have a bible today, other than the original Hebrew Bible that follows the Scriptures as they were intended. The Hebrew language is very complex and most single words mean three or four of ours so like has been mentioned it is all in how the translator interprets the scripture. Most people do not realize that when you read Hebrew you read it from right to left instead of our traditional way of left to right. This in itself represents its own set of problems. There are also some words in Hebrew that we have no definition for in our language so alt of the Bible and the scriptures we have are in fact interpretations not actual word for word books. I believe and please do not quote me on this for I may be wrong but I believe there are about 35,000 grammatical errors in th New Testament alone, most are small such as saying Christ Jesus instead of Jesus Christ. I personally own a number of Bibles of different translations, The New American Standard, King James, New King James, King James with Concordance(not much different), NIV, NLT, Life Study Bible, The Recovery Bible, The New English Bible,The Original Hebrew Bible which I admit cannot read(tried but it is very difficulty) as well as many reference books, Strongs Extensive Concordance, Douglas's Bible Dictionary, Outline and studies of the Christian Doctrine, The Harmony of the Gospels,and I am pretty sure that if I lined them all up there would not be one other than the NKJ versions I have that would agree word for word. I even got to the point of finding a book covering 8 translations of the New Testament. Most Evangelical Preachers including myself use the NIV Bible just for the simple fact that most of the Congregation uses it. In order to prepare a Sermon I usually line up to 4 versions in front of me in order to cover all points. I guess it comes down to this, we will read the original when we go home to meet the Father, until then we deal with what we have.

[deedee310]

Where can I find an original Hebrew Bible?