Bible Translations Part 1

What’s The Deal With Bible Translations

I get asked about Bible translations frequently. People want to know which one I use, which one I preach from. People want to know which one they should use.

First of all, this is a big issue, but it’s not one to stress about. Read the Bible, whatever you’ve got. That is the starting place. Our society, and churches, are becoming more and more biblically illiterate. People don’t know the Bible. I want to encourage people to read the Bible. Start reading it, read it consistently, and then investigate translations.

Here is a primer on Biblical translations. It is not an exhaustive discussion, but a starting point.

Original Bible
The 66 books of the Bible were written in ancient Hebrew, koine Greek, and some Aramaic. So, unless you know those languages you need a translation. If you go to a bookstore in Mexico and buy a book that is written in Spanish, you will either need to learn Spanish or have a translation of that book.

The best option is to learn the original languages. I have studied Hebrew and Greek for the purpose of being able to study the scriptures in their original language. I am not as proficient in those languages as I would like to be, and need lots of help from good resources, but that is the place that I start all of my sermon preparation. I would encourage anyone to learn the original languages.

Until you ( and I) are fully proficient in the original languages we need a translation. There are a seeming plethora to choose from. So, how do you choose the right one?

Although there are so many, they can all be put in 3 basic categories. These categories are methods/philosophy of translation. The method or philosophy used to translate makes a big difference. And, there are no perfect translations. All of them have pros and cons. Some of them are better than others.
Here are the categories with a brief explanation and some examples.

Essentially Literal

This philosophy is to translate attempting to stick as close to the original wording as possible. It is a word for word translation. If there is a word in the original, then that word will be in the translation.

Examples: the most common types are King James, New King James, New American Standard, and the English Standard Version


Dynamic Equivalent

This philosophy translates in a thought for thought process. The translation might leave out a word or two in order to keep a more dynamic flow to the English. This translation is more concerned with making the English translation more readable based on common English grammar.

Examples: The New International Version


Paraphrase

This philosophy does not concern itself with the original wording. It is more interested in producing a bible that reflects the common vernacular. This translation is not a real Bible. It is purely someone’s interpretation of the Bible.

Examples: The Living Bible, The Message



Coming Up In The Next Blog: The answer to the question, “which is best?”