Different versions of the Bible

GodLovesCats · May 15, 2019

yeshuaslavejeff said:
In the original language(s), they are not capitalized.

Old Hebrew (the variation used in the Torah) has no capital letters. Many years later, it was replaced with modern Hebrew that has all of the spelling and grammar rules we are familiar with. I learned this at my nephew's bar mitzvah, which was explained by the rabbi.

yeshuaslavejeff · May 15, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
Old Hebrew (the variation used in the Torah) has no capital letters. Many years later, it was replaced with modern Hebrew that has all of the spelling and grammar rules we are familiar with.

Old Hebrew , the original, was best.

The changes "modern" did not make it better.

GodLovesCats · May 15, 2019

The changes made the Old Testament easy to read.

yeshuaslavejeff · May 15, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
The changes made the Old Testament easy to read.

Yes.
All the "easy to read" versions have all the "modern" errors along with being easier to read. Some more than others. Some less than others.

GodLovesCats · May 15, 2019

What errors are in easy-to-read modern English translations?

yeshuaslavejeff · May 15, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
What errors are in easy-to-read modern English translations?

The list (online sources) is long, and very possible that none of the lists of errors is complete.
Way too long a list for this forum. (easily findable via internet searches though)

GodLovesCats · May 15, 2019

Do you know any specific examples from your own or church's Bibles?

yeshuaslavejeff · May 15, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
Do you know any specific examples from your own or church's Bibles?

It's not so simple ....
for example:

Could most modern translations be in error?

GodLovesCats · May 26, 2019

I finally went to Bible Hub and used the parallel versions feature.

GodLovesCats · Jun 5, 2019

What do you all think of the NRSV having gender-neutral text insstead of the original male pronouns?

thomas15 · Aug 22, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
What do you all think of the NRSV having gender-neutral text insstead of the original male pronouns?

not a fan

Bible Highlighter · Sep 4, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
The King James Bible is very hard to read because it is not a direct translation from its original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) to modern English, using English vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and syntax. Someone told me the New International Version is missing some verses that are in the KJV, so it is important to read the least readable Bible. Nobody can convince me I need to read a specific version of the Bible just like nobody can talk me into being a Catholic. I want to know more about different Bible versions that are readable for native English readers including the English Standard Version, American Standard Version, and similar Bibles.

I use the KJV as some people use the Hebrew and Greek. It is the final word of authority I go by.
When it comes to the gospels and the books on doctrine, the KJV is pretty readable. Other books like the book of Acts, and the Old Testament books can sometimes be challenging to read. So I use Modern Translations to update what the KJV is saying. If they line up, then that is great. But if they don't line up, then I side with the KJV. I use the AMP translation or the NKJV to help understand what the KJV sometimes says.

Many hardcore KJV onlyists have tricked themselves somehow to think that the KJV is always easy to understand. They do this because this is the only translation they read. But I have found that there are translations that have opened up what the KJV actually says.

For example:

Colossians 2:17 says in the KJV,

"Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
(Colossians 2:17) (KJV).

However, this is more clearly described in GOD'S WORD Translation:

"These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body [that casts the shadow] belongs to Christ." (Colossians 2:17) (GWT).

They say the same thing, but the GWT Translation clarifies what the KJV says.
Granted, the GWT Translation is a butchered translation in other cases. But in this instance, it shines the light of the truth really well.

Bible Highlighter · Sep 4, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
Old Hebrew (the variation used in the Torah) has no capital letters. Many years later, it was replaced with modern Hebrew that has all of the spelling and grammar rules we are familiar with. I learned this at my nephew's bar mitzvah, which was explained by the rabbi.

I think God preserves His Word for the times. When a culture or generation uses capitalized letters, I believe God is able to use that to His advantage to communicate to the people of that time period or generation. God does not have to remain stuck in the past on the way that He communicates to us.

HardHead · Sep 8, 2019

I use the NRSV daily and the RSV and ESV as a supplement. I prefer a bible in book form even though I do use bible software.

My guess is that you should pick a bible translation that you actually want to read and that suits you. For me that is the NRSV. For someone else, that may be different.

Most of the modern translations are excellent. I would not worry too much about which translation is best/correct as long as its not specific to denominations you do not want to be a part of.

For example, if you don't want to be Catholic, don't read the RSV-2CE but stick to the plain RSV instead, or try the ESV or the NASB.

This is really up to you and can best be chosen after talking to a pastor.

You may want to look up the videos by R. Grant Jones. He posts bible reviews and discussions on bible translations, how literal certain translations are, how readable they are, and how well they work in translating NT Greek, and how good the book bindings are in various editions from the publishing houses. I think his videos are informative.

thomas15 · Oct 8, 2019

When the venerable King James translation was being put together, the translators didn't have a complete manuscript for the greek New Testament. Most of it came from one edited source but not all in fact the translators used a similar text that was used for earlier English translations such as the Geneva Bible. Sections of Revelation were not available or limited editions in greek so some chapters were reverse translated from the Latin Vulgate. Most of the modern English translations use edited manuscript collections such as UBS 3 which is an attempt to get a consensus of the many available greek manuscripts for translation into English.

Then there are different styles of translation theory, for example the NIV uses a dynamic approach and the New American Standard strives for a more word for word accuracy at the expense of readability.

Probably the best approach is to use several translations and compare. All have strengths and weaknesses. As a individual that has over 100 Bibles in my collection I personally use the 1984 edition of the NIV, the 1995 revision of the New American Standard and the New King James translation. I have several college degrees, I say this to make the point that I'm not uneducated, but even so I struggle to get full understanding from the King James translation, which by the way most KJ Bibles sold today are not the 1611 version rather the Blayney update of 1769.

Mountainmanbob · Oct 8, 2019

Have found most versions of he Bible to be good and reliable.

Usually when we change Churches which is not very often we need to pick up a new version so to have the same as the church.

Pastor quotes from a couple different versions at times.

Keep a few handy.

66 book type.

M-Bob

HardHead · Oct 8, 2019

thomas15 said:
I have several college degrees, I say this to make the point that I'm not uneducated, but even so I struggle to get full understanding from the King James translation, which by the way most KJ Bibles sold today are not the 1611 version rather the Blayney update of 1769.

I get the KJV but I don't like it much for study purposes. I read the KJV for prose and for a change of pace for the most part.

I agree that its not clear what is meant by KJV in many cases. That is why specifying a date of the translation is important in most cases.

JackRT · Oct 8, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
Do you know any specific examples from your own or church's Bibles?

Here is one prominent example:

If you have been paying attention to more recent translations of the Gospel of John, you will have noticed that John 7:53 - 8:11—the story of the woman caught in adultery of whom Jesus says, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her"—has been getting some interesting treatment by the scholars. The evidence that it was not an original part of this gospel is clear. The verses are absent from a wide array of early and diverse witnesses (papyrus 66, papyrus 75, Aleph [Codex Sinaiticus], B [Codex Vaticanus] and a host of others), and there is evidence that some manuscripts of John place these verses after John 7:36, some after John 7;52, some after John 21:25, and one manuscript even has it in the Gospel of Luke after Luke 21:38.

GodLovesCats · Oct 8, 2019

I never saw the "at her" part. Which version did you get that from?

The NIV does have a note on one page that the following verses were not included in the original Bible. If I could remember where they are I would post them.

JackRT · Oct 8, 2019

JackRT said:
John 7:53 - 8:11

John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

King James Version.

Different versions of the Bible

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