Bible Translations

[Jedediah Smith]

immanuelkant

Jedediah Smith

thejesusfreak

Some Bible versions (like The Message Bible) are made to get young teens (such as myself) and adults understand the Bible better.

I find 'the Message translation' to be an OK version but I don't agree with its translation strategy or structure. However, its good for starters and those who don't understand Jewish theology. I find NLT (New Living Translation) good for younger teens also.

The Message and NLT are paraphrases, so of course they aren't going to be solid grounds for doctrine and Bible study. I just use them for morning devotions because sometimes (when I already know the technical application) I just want to read it in plain language. I would not recommend the NLT or Message as a Bible for doctrinal purposes.

Indeed. The main purpose of NLT and the Message is to get a modern understanding of scripture.  

[nikochik450]

Jedediah Smith

Sadly, there are many debates about Bible translations within a church or denomination. Few Protestant fundamentals hold only to the King James Version (KJV) because they believe that King James translation is the only word of God. They will state that any other translation besides the King James Version is "New Age" and devilish. This is commonly called "King James Onlyism" and I would strongly call this teaching a heresy.

Even though the King James Version has its weaknesses, it is an excellent translation and by far the best version available today. I myself am one of those who believe the KJV is the only Bible to use. While others may be......alright many versions have changed the Bible to interpret things in a manner that is more accepting to their beliefs. This changing of the Bible turns that book into the word of man instead of the Word of God.
Here are a few reasons why the Protestants believe this version if the best one to use.

1) It was translated by men who are unsurpassed in their knowledge of Biblical studies.

2) The translators were pious men of God who believed in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.

3) It is the mature fruit of generations of English translations as well as the careful work of its translators.

4) The King James Version is based upon the Received Text rather than the critical Greek text of modern versions.

5) It is a word-for-word translation which faithfully and accurately reflects the originals.

6) The language is one of reverence and respect which gives honor to the majesty of its Author.

7) Of all the English versions of today, it alone is the Bible of the Reformation.

8 ) Our spiritual forefathers thought so highly of it that they were willing to suffer and even die for it.

9) It is the version which has been recognized for generations and generations as the Bible God has given to His English-speaking Church.  

[Jedediah Smith]

[ Message temporarily off-line ]  

[immanuelkant]

nikochik450

1) It was translated by men who are unsurpassed in their knowledge of Biblical studies.

Versions of the Bible today are translated by men and women who spend their entire lives studying Hebrew, Greek and Roman culture and language in order to understand ever nuance of the cultural background involved in both the Old and New Testament. We have much greater knowledge today than then about past cultures and many more copies of the texts being translated.

nikochik450

2) The translators were pious men of God who believed in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.

This is true of the translators today as well. You would be hard pressed to prove that the current translations are not also by pious men and women.

nikochik450

3) It is the mature fruit of generations of English translations as well as the careful work of its translators.

There was only one English translation before the KJV (the Douay-Rheims). There was the Geneva Bible, which was in German, and the Latin Vulgate, which was used by the Catholic Church, but no other English translation existed.

nikochik450

4) The King James Version is based upon the Received Text rather than the critical Greek text of modern versions.

The Old Testament was originally in Hebrew. Modern Translators use the oldest Hebrew documents to translate the OT along with the Septuigant to accurate translate while the KJV translators only had the Latin Vulgate and Septuigant.

nikochik450

5) It is a word-for-word translation which faithfully and accurately reflects the originals.

The word "love" in the New Testament is replaced by the word "charity" in the KJV... I don't think Jesus commanded us to have charity on one another. The accurate reflection comes from knowledge of the cultural background of the text and the multitude of translations by which to check the meanings.

nikochik450

6) The language is one of reverence and respect which gives honor to the majesty of its Author.

The "language of reverance" you refer to is simply the everyday speech of englishmen of the time. King James specifically comissioned the translation to be free of ecclesiatical terms.

nikochik450

7) Of all the English versions of today, it alone is the Bible of the Reformation.

As noted above, the Geneva Bible was the Bible of the Reformation. The KJV didn't exist until 1611.

nikochik450

8 ) Our spiritual forefathers thought so highly of it that they were willing to suffer and even die for it.

Are you neglecting the 1500 years of spiritual fathers before the KJV? What about the early church fathers who died for the original texts? Or the early Catholics who died for the Latin Vulgate? Or the modern matyrs who die for the NIV or the NASB? The fact is that they don't die for a translation, they die for God's word, whatever the language may be. There isn't a KJV in Hawaiian Pigeon, but they still die for God's word.

nikochik450

9) It is the version which has been recognized for generations and generations as the Bible God has given to His English-speaking Church.

Do you know the percentage of the global church that is English speaking as a primary language? About 10%. God didn't inspire the KJV. He inspired the original text and he protects the translations of all future texts that are accepted by the church. It also wasn't entirely accepted by the English speaking churches until nearly 100 years after it was written. So the "generations and generations" you speak of are merely 300 years, as opposed to the 1600 years prior, from the time of Christ's death and resurrection. Are we to neglect that entire period of church history?  

[nikochik450]

hmmm I guess I should reply to your posts...before I forget.

I'm feeling a little lazy right now though.

Take a look at this....if you have problems with what this says than....I'm sorry.
KJV Version  

[Jedediah Smith]

nikochik450

hmmm I guess I should reply to your posts...before I forget.

I'm feeling a little lazy right now though.

Take a look at this....if you have problems with what this says than....I'm sorry.
KJV Version

I read the website page and its very miss leading about KJV being the official "Reformation Bible."

The issue here is that King James Translation should not be promoted as the only translation of the Word of God. I know there is a textual criticism issues but KJV cannot be the authoritative translation when compared to other translations.

I had personal experience with KJV, which I discover inaccurate text. I compared KJV to Greek & Hebrew text and I discovered many errors in certain areas.  

[LearningtoBreath63]

truthfully, i don't like the king james version of the bible, i never want to read that version. king james did very uncristian things, and even though i am not supposed to judge, i woul rather read a bible version like NIV  

[immanuelkant]

Do you think God would allow a version of the Bible so widely spread to be fallacious just because one man did "unchristian things"? King James didn't translate the Bible, his scholars did, and I highly doubt he had anything to do with it other the fact that his name is on the Bible translation.  

[[agape]]

I have two different types of Bibles. One is the Extreme Teen Bible, and the other one is well goodness I can't reamember what kind it is. I'll find out and post it later. domokun  

[Fushigi na Butterfly]

I have the Extreme Teen Bible too. In fact, that was the first Bible I ever owned. It's a very good one if I do say so myself.  

[freelance lover]

The problem is the original Greek and Hebrew is so complicated. When Jesus asks Peter of he loves him three times, he uses three different words, each which mean love but with a different connotation.

I really wanna learn Greek and Hebrew so I can go straight to the original source!  

[thejesusfreak]

What about the "The Message"(MSG) version of the Bible?  

[Captain_Theoretical]

Quote:

I really wanna learn Greek and Hebrew so I can go straight to the original source!

The problem is we don't have the original bible, but we have a pretty early bible.

And ancient Greek is different from Greek today.

That's why there are so many discrepancies.  

[Torrent Turran]

I have a couple NIV's, a NKJV (extreme teen bible xd ), a KJV, and a few others that I'll have to check on. As Jedediah said, I also think that looking at multiple translations is good to try and understand a passage better. You would have to be a scholar to be able to read the originals, but I suppose that is something that pastors are for. My pastor explains the original language, and the meaning of the words, to help us understand better. I agree that God protects most translations from being corrupted, but a few are obviously not of God.  

[thejesusfreak]

What about the "The Message"(MSG) version of the Bible, is it okay?