Bible Versions

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on November 4, 2013 at 7:04pm

Kayla,

You might find this article helpful:

http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-versions.html

Below is John 3 in the original 1611 KJV. What most read today as the KJV is one that has been updated to more modern language.

Joh 3:1-36 KJV-1611  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of ye Iewes:  (2)  The same came to Iesus by night, and said vnto him, Rabbi, wee know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can doe these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.  (3)  Iesus answered, and said vnto him, Uerily, verily I say vnto thee, except a man be borne againe, he cannot see the kingdome of God.  (4)  Nicodemus saith vnto him, How can a man be borne when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mothers wombe, and be borne?  (5)  Iesus answered, Uerily, verily I say vnto thee, except a man be borne of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdome of God.  (6)  That which is borne of the flesh, is flesh, and that which is borne of the spirit, is spirit.  (7)  Marueile not that I saide vnto thee, Ye must be borne againe.  (8)  The winde bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tel whence it commeth, and whither it goeth: So is euery one that is borne of the Spirit.  (9)  Nicodemus answered, and said vnto him, How can these things be?  (10)  Iesus answered, and saide vnto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  (11)  Uerely, verely I say vnto thee, We speake that we doe know, and testifie that wee haue seene; and yee receiue not our witnesse.  (12)  If I haue tolde you earthly things, and ye beleeue not: how shall ye beleeue if I tell you of heauenly things?  (13)  And no man hath ascended vp to heauen, but hee that came downe from heauen, euen the Sonne of man which is in heauen.  (14)  And as Moses lifted vp the serpent in the wildernesse: euen so must the Sonne of man be lifted vp:  (15)  That whosoeuer beleeueth in him, should not perish, but haue eternall life.  (16)  For God so loued ye world, that he gaue his only begotten Sonne: that whosoeuer beleeueth in him, should not perish, but haue euerlasting life.  (17)  For God sent not his Sonne into the world to condemne the world: but that the world through him might be saued.  (18)  He that beleeueth on him, is not condemned: but hee that beleeueth not, is condemned already, because hee hath not beleeued in the Name of the onely begotten Sonne of God.  (19)  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loued darknesse rather then light, because their deedes were euill.  (20)  For euery one that doeth euill, hateth the light, neither commeth to the light, lest his deeds should be reproued.  (21)  But hee that doeth trueth, commeth to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.  (22)  After these things, came Iesus and his disciples into the land of Iudea, and there hee taried with them, and baptized.  (23)  And Iohn also was baptizing in Aenon, neere to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.  (24)  For Iohn was not yet cast into prison.  (25)  Then there arose a question between some of Iohns disciples and the Iewes, about purifying.  (26)  And they came vnto Iohn, and said vnto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Iordane, to whom thou barest witnesse, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.  (27)  Iohn answered, and said, A man can receiue nothing, except it be giuen him from heauen.  (28)  Ye your selues beare me witnesse, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.  (29)  He that hath the bride, is the bridegrome: but the friend of the bridegrome, which standeth and heareth him, reioyceth greatly because of the bridegromes voice: This my ioy therefore is fulfilled.  (30)  Hee must increase, but I must decrease.  (31)  Hee that commeth from aboue, is aboue all: hee that is of the earth, is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: hee that cometh from heauen is aboue all:  (32)  And what hee hath seene and heard, that he testifieth, and no man receiueth his testimony:  (33)  He that hath receiued his testimonie, hath set to his seale, that God is true.  (34)  For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God: For God giueth not the Spirit by measure vnto him.  (35)  The Father loueth the Sonne, and hath giuen al things into his hand.  (36)  He that beleeueth on the Sonne, hath euerlasting life: and he that beleeueth not the Sonne, shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him.

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Permalink Reply by Kayla on November 4, 2013 at 7:22pm

So, the Tyndale is the oldest English version to the original Hebrew and Greek and the KJV is the second oldest (85 years after the Tyndale was written)?

Do any churches today use the Tyndale? I've never heard of it until tonight.

I was told by SEVERAL people that the NLT and NIV have slightly altered meanings in some of their verses (which is why I feel better going with the KJV) and I've also been told that the NLT and NIV having missing books. The KJV has more books. Why were they taken out? They're written for a reason I'm assuming...

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Permalink Reply by Seek on November 12, 2013 at 1:04pm

There are some comparison charts to use that might explain differences:

http://www.apbrown2.net/web/TranslationComparisonChart.htm

http://av1611.com/kjbp/charts/various.html

If you note the footnotes, on perhaps NIV vs. KJV, take for instance Matthew 18:11.  It is omitted in the NIV, and the footnote reasoning is:  "Some manuscripts include here the words of Luke 19:10."  They omitted the repetition and footnoted it.

Nothing really has been left out since footnotes are generally included to reference other version differences. 

I like how the first chart shows them all on a scale of Word to Word going to Thought to Thought.  More modern translations are based more towards the "thought" than the actual old words that modern understanding may not be able to comprehend. 

I find it preferable to always read KJV in conjunction with the other two I read and those are NLT and NIV.  You can tell who is really missing the mark, who is way out in left field or not, and you may gain some understanding side by side than you would reading only one where the language may be vague to you.

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Permalink Reply by Mary O on November 5, 2013 at 11:40am

Thanks LT. Great article. Do you like Biblegateway.com? Although I think you have to be careful with it.

Kayla, I have three versions (KJV, NIV, ESV). Sometimes the KJV has the "thous, thees, thines, saith and sayeth". IMO, it's good to have more than one Bible. I like to look at different translations.  

I'm glad we're not reading from the 1611 version. It's a little confusing.

Love,

Mary

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Permalink Reply by Colby on November 9, 2013 at 9:38am

The King James Version isn't the oldest English language translation of the Bible.  That honor belongs to William Tyndale, an English scholar and Protestant reformer, who had translated all of the New Testament and about half of the Old Testament before he was executed in 1536.  His was the first Bible to be mass produced using the newly invented printing press, and the first English language translation using as its sources the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.  The KJV New Testament is "83% Tyndale's, and the Old Testament, 76%," according to a source cited in Wikipedia.

 

Notably, in 1611, the 54 independent scholars who created the King James Version, drew significantly from Tyndale, as well as translations that descended from his. One estimate suggests the New Testament in the King James Version is 83% Tyndale's, and the Old Testament 76%, according to a source cited in a Wikipedia article.

Tyndale's version is older, but the KJV is the first complete English language version and the one that gained widespread acceptance.  Even before Tyndale and the KJV, former Catholic priest and Protestant reformer Martin Luther translated the Bible into German.  So let's give him some credit, too.

Before the Protestant reformation of the 1500s and the invention of the printing press, the Bible was preserved in handwritten copies of Greek and Hebrew texts, which were laboriously maintained and translated into Latin by Catholic scholars.  The Vulgate (Latin) Bible dates to the 4th century.  

All of this is interesting, of course, but one shouldn't leap to the conclusion that the oldest English language translation is necessarily the most accurate and reliable.  For one thing, the English language of today is very different today than it was when the KJV was produced in 1611.  Look at John 3, which LT posted.  It's difficult to read and understand--almost unrecognizable--though, in English.  Next, and more to the point, any English version of the Bible is a translation.  So we are relying on the efforts of others, biblical scholars who are fluent in ancient Hebrew and Greek and with a passion for God's Word, to translate the words of carefully preserved ancient manuscripts to apply their skills in translating the text into English.

Why are there many English language versions?  Is that a curse or a blessing?  Anyone who is fluent in two or more languages can readily grasp that there is more than one way to translate the words of the original language into the receptor language.  Grammar and sentence structures vary between languages.  Sometimes it is impossible to find a word that conveys exactly the same meaning.  Which is why we have some Bibles that employ a "thought-for-thought" approach to translation to make the Bible more readable in English while others come closer to a "word-for-word" rendering to be technically more precise.  Both approaches are valid, and many of the more popular English language translations today fall somewhere in between.

 

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