It quickly became one of the most popular bibles in the englishspeaking world. I suggest charting a different course in determining good and bad bible versions. Here at we carry over 30 different english translations. There are however, some bible translations we must avoid. It was originally published in 1976 and revised in 1992. Much of the old testament hebrew was trans lated into the greek called the septuagint. Further, even poor translations of the bible deserved to be called the word of god according to the preface to the kjv. Before we can discuss english bible versions and where they fit in the spectrum of good, bad, and downright ugly, we first must consider what it means to say a version is good. If it helps reach people with the word, then its not bad.
I agree with those who have put up a defence of the message, in particular with patrick. Conservapedia hosts the conservative bible project, a project aiming to rewrite the english translation of the bible in order to remove terms described as liberal bias. Bad translations in the king james version jimmy akin. It barely edges out the esv, primarily because it is slightly more literal. Designed for someone who is new to the bible or for an unbeliever, the book. Book titles based on lines from the bible 195 books. The book is an authoritative yet easytoread text that brings the good news in a fresh format that is engaging for readers of all ages. They change meanings, pronouns, definite articles, and so on, and that drastically altars biblical doctrine. Why is my choice of a bible translation so important wayne. Full list order for the books of the bible with introductions and summaries including both the old and new testament. The book of genesis is foundational to the understanding of the rest of the bible. This effort started with ptolemy philadelphus arrangement for the translation of the hebrew bible into koine, in alexandria, on the island of pharos. Nor does he claim to be a translation, like the good news bible or, as some as my friends call it, the voodoo bible. Due to the large number of translations available online for free it is very easy to have access to a wide range of different translations.
The best bible translation will ultimately be determined by personal preference. A guide for the perplexed, religious educator 15, no. Among a few other outright agendadriven interpolations it includes a version of the story of moses and the wandering hebrews conquering canaan and killing all the inhabitants of a certain city. The first part of the new world translation was released in 1950.
I say whichever translation keeps you reading the bible is the best. The reasons for these differences usually fall into one of the following categories. Unsure of the meaning of a word or phrase in the bible. By far the worst and most disturbing translation ive ever seen was an illustrated childrens bible put out by a denomination i wont name here. From quotations in the dinkard and the shikand gumanik vijar theological works of the sassanian period, james darmesteter has supposed that one existed in pahlavi rev.
A brief description of popular bible translations resources. Translators do well when they adhere to updated research with respect to original manuscripts and also to changes in the language. September 5, 2008 scripture, top 10 lists nick norelli. The claim that modern bible translations such as the new international version niv, the new american standard bible nasb, and the new revised standard version nrsv are based upon corrupt editions of the greek and hebrew texts is a common argument of king james only advocates.
Designed for someone who is new to the bible or an unbeliever, the book features a topical helpfinder, book introductions, and indexes that help people find answers. This class has given me the opportunity to read over 100 books and articles in my library on bible translation. It can help to know a few basic facts about translations. The first translation of the complete bible into english was completed by john wycliff in 82, and now there are more different versions of english translations available than in any other language. In this video, well explore the concept of moral failure that underlies this important. The risky business of bible translation priceonomics. Depending on how one distinguishes a different bible version from a revision of an existing bible version, there are as many as 50 different english versions of the bible. The book, a contemporary, easytounderstand bible is available in the fastest growing bible translation, the new living translation. Click on the title to find out more about each translation. And the reason for that is very clear just from the title the book of god, the bible as a novel. In 1999, wycliffe bible translators announced vision 2025a project that intends to commence bible translation in every remaining language community by 2025.
The world english bible is based on the american standard version of the holy bible first published in 1901, the biblia hebraica stutgartensa old testament, and the greek majority text new testament. Over the past several decades, many new bible translations have been released. It is in draft form, and currently being edited for accuracy and readability. Since then, some people have commented on or questioned the accuracy of the new world translation because in places it differs from other translations of the bible. However, the writers of these works were qualified and respected in the field of biblical translation. The nas is written in a formal style, but is more readable than the king james version. In his overview of english translations, he demonstrates the evolution of the english bible up to through, and beyond the king he focuses mainly on the highlights of biblical translation relevant for the englishspeaking world, beginning with the first ancient translations jewish and christian, then following the path of modern biblical. Many people find that they need more than one bible and use different ones for different occasions. I think it is both slightly more accurate and slightly more readable than the new international version, which it was designed to replace. The gnt also known as todays english version or the good news bible was one of the first meaningbased or functional equivalent translations of the bible into english. If you dont want to believe a fundamentalist preacher, then maybe you ought to listen to an occultist like alice a. A handy reference of the names and order of the books in the bible, their meaning and the time.
With the youversion bible app, you can read, watch, listen, and share on your smartphone or tablet, and online at. In addition to those two translations, any bible version with a new in its title is guaranteed to be a less accurate translation than the kjv. Jan 27, 2017 see the section in the bible gateway store. The authors name does not appear in the book, but much unmistakable evidence points to luke. When i click in the bible book chapter verse, window to go to a different bible verse in my open bible, the book chapter verse window goes away and the bible never goes to that verse. Book titles based on lines from the bible theres a million books based on lines from the bible. The new king james version is not nearly as full of errors as many other new translations.
Study all bible books online in over 50 translations. If you want a book on bible translations in general, look elsewhere. About translations of the bible the short answer to that common question, which bible translation is the best. The holy bible, available in whole or in part to some 98 percent of the worlds population in 2,233 languages preface, continues to be the most translated book in the world. The latin vulgate translation was dominant in western christianity through the middle ages.
Bible versions and translations online bible study tools. It is so bad that the text has become immortalized by collectors as the wicked bible. The bible is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures. This gospel is a companion volume to the book of acts, and the language and structure of these two books indicate that both were written by the same person. Learn the history of various german bible translations, and read some of the most frequently. Reading his book, eat this book, i understand a lot more of what hes trying do. Title page from the first welsh translation of the bible, 1588.
Those books included in the bible by a tradition or group are called canonical. Revisiting sexualized, vilified, and marginalized women of the bible. It was realised that, at the rates of bible translation at that point, it would take until at least 2150 until bible translation began in every language that was needing a translation. Collectively, these three books are known as sifrei emet an acronym of the titles in hebrew. The holy bible a bad book the holy bible is a terrible book, and maybe the worst. With so many translations to choose from, which one should i choose.
Since then, the bible has been translated into many more languages. Psalms 112, new living translation nlt the bible app. Bring the beauty and truth of the bible into everyday life. The bible is the mainstay of many a publishing program. Heres why christians should be concerned about the passion. The received text of the christian new testament is in koine greek, a and nearly all translations are based upon the greek text. The bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of hebrew, aramaic and greek. Jun 25, 2018 bible translations are typically written by teams of scholars who are welltrained in the original languages. There have been singleauthor exceptions such as the wycliffe bible, the tyndale bible, and the popular paraphrase the message bible. Theres been much talk of the best bible translations recently see doug mangums post and tcs response, and doug mangum is quite correct that personal preference plays. Spam or selfpromotional the list is spam or selfpromotional. In order for a translation to be considered good, it should be reliable and readable. When i click in the bible book chapterverse, window to go to a different bible verse in my open bible, the book chapter verse window goes away and the bible never goes to that verse. May 01, 2010 sometimes you see a translated book where you wonder why they wanted to do that to the title.
Peterson and published in segments from 1993 to 2002 by navpress. Bible translations in german and english learn religions. Even people who believe that it was written by the creator and ruler of the universe havent read the whole thing. Did you know that there are currently over 450 english translations of the bible. It is not known at what time the first translations of the bible were made into persian. His father had been granted the title of royal printer by queen. I already know of many i havent had a chance to type up.
The book will impact the hearts and lives of people worldwide through the authoritative yet easytoread new living translation that brings the good news alive to readers of all ages. Inappropriate the list including its title or description facilitates illegal activity, or contains hate speech or ad hominem attacks on a fellow goodreads member or author. The translation of the bible into latin marks the beginning of a parting of the ways. Only then can we meaningfully discuss what would make a version bad, or, in the case of cultic mistranslations of the bible, ugly. Scholars had used discrepancies such as this to claim that the septuagint was a poor translation of the hebrew original. The holy bible new living translation, was first published in 1996. On so many levels, the bible is an extraordinary book, from its diverse content and literary styles to its miraculous preservation down through the ages. The translation of the bible into latin marks the beginning of a parting of the ways between western. First of all, the bible was originally written in hebrew, greek, and aramaic. In the first four months after its release, 100,000 copies of the new testament in contemporary english were printed by navpress, and 70,000 books. Is there really a need for so many different english versions of the bible. There is such a thing as bad bibles out there, but what i mean is, there are bad translations that do a disservice to the word of god. The king james version kjv, also known as the king james bible kjb or simply the authorized version av, is an english translation of the christian bible for the church of england, was commissioned in 1603 and completed as well as published in 1611 under the sponsorship of james vi and i.
The books of the king james version include the 39 books of the old testament, an intertestamental. Books with titles that are perfectly fitting for the book and that would be easily translatable no puns etc. This problem is caused by the windows ease of use mouse setting. And yet, in all particulars, only the original greek and hebrew text can be regarded as the word of god. This is a perfectly reasonable thing to wonder, particularly if youre new to the bible and are bewildered by the dozens of arcanelooking acronyms niv, esv. This title compliments the earlier titles on biblical prose and biblical poetry. Lots of people who have done this find that eugene petersons the message is the best bible translation for them, but i could never really get into that version. It includes the seven deuterocanonical books also known as the apocrypha. Review of the new living translation, second edition. Welcome to bible book club, helping you read the bible with your friends one book at a time. Again its another huge topic, but i want to introduce some basic issues, primarily so that you will know to trust your bible, even those different from other. Aug 01, 2011 the one that you have trouble putting down is the best bible translation for you. Jun 27, 2011 further, i had never thoroughly studied the topic of bible translation.
The bible in contemporary language was created by pastor, scholar, author, and poet eugene h. However, some christian scholars wonder whether too much good news can sometimes be a bad thingas a major new translation and waves of books marking next years 400th anniversary of the venerable king james bible inundate the market. Bible translations incorporating modern textual criticism usually begin with the masoretic text, but also take into account possible variants from all available ancient versions. Living bible you may as well know this too, timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a christian. The story of this socalled wicked bible presents an interesting visage. This post has been updated with the 3 missing terrible translations as well as links to all of them. Mar 06, 2018 the bad girls of the bible deserve a fresh look. In this brief book, awardwinning biblical translator and acclaimed literary critic. If you want a book on whats wrong with the tniv, buy this title. This page serves as a catalogue of translation problems in the king james version of the bible.
Comparing bible versions by reese currie, compass distributors we would hope that every person on this planet would have an opportunity to read the bible without anything coming between them and gods holy word. Mar 15, 2018 the word sin is one of the most common bad words in the bible, but what does it really mean. The gnt presents the message of the bible in a level of english that is common to most of the englishspeaking world. Title in order of the kjv, meaning transliteration translation, time period. Sometimes you see a translated book where you wonder why they wanted to do that to the title. This is not necessarily the best bible version for reading. Oct 19, 2010 the bible is the mainstay of many a publishing program. Throughout the years bible gateway has been online, weve heard one question asked regularly. The greek old testament, or septuagint is the earliest extant koine greek translation of books. Yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil. Translations weve gone through canonization, and weve gone though textual criticism, so chronologically we come up to the whole topic of translation.
The one that you have trouble putting down is the best bible translation for you. To make up ones list of good and bad versions based solely on familiarity, tradition, and usage, however, is unwise, no matter how popular and common the translation may be. Example of the book chapterverse navigation box that disappears. Youll notice that some of the same comments appear under pros and cons this is because some people regard something as a positive, while others regard exactly the same thing as a negative. Satan has crept into the churches through the alexandrian bible revisions. The old testament wasnt too bad but he really managed to make a mess of the. The douayrheims is the translation upon which nearly all english catholic bible versions are based. This is welldocumented elsewhere, for anyone curious enough.
The worst translations of book titles language librarything. Conclusions most recommended translations new american standard bible while no translation is perfect, the nasb is the best overall version widely available. The book, a contemporary, easytounderstand bible, is available in the new living translation. The word sin is one of the most common bad words in the bible, but what does it really mean. As with just about any subject, the more you study it, the more you realize how much you dont know.
Incorrect book the list contains an incorrect book please specify the title of the book. It was a bible that had four different translations in one edition. Books of the bible list order complete new and old testament. A key word in genesis is account, which also serves to divide the book into its ten major parts see literary features and literary outline and which includes such concepts as birth, genealogy and history. For just reading, i like to use the holman christian standard bible. While the bible is certainly not the oldest book in history, it is the only ancient text with existing manuscripts that number in the thousands. A great book to check out on the subject is how to choose a translation for all its worth by gordon fee. Until then, major bible translations in english had taken an approach now known as.
English bible translations also have a rich and varied history of more than a millennium. This of course presents a considerable challenge when choosing a bible. Stuff ive discovered by reading different translations every year. Best bible translation christian history for everyman. As i am document more translation problems they will be added here. It is a collection of 66 books written by about 40 authors, in three different languages, on three. A literary bible, by david rosenberg, is a large book though not.
35 771 665 423 274 635 578 390 1122 1517 588 979 1451 1242 161 1192 617 863 942 1074 299 1135 1262 516 1097 1034 730 30 55 260 519 778 213 365 683 609 577 1472