Translations Examined

English Bible Translations Examined

There are many new translations and paraphrases of the Word of God. A common question is how do you determine which one is the best and when is it inspired? There is a lot of debate between God fearing Christians on this matter. I will give you an answer, but there will be some that disagree on both sides of the issue. My objective is to please God rather than man. We must stay true to the Bible how it was originally written.

The Word of God was written by men of God who were told what to write by God. They wrote in three original languages; Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. The original texts are 100% accurate. They of course are Divinely Inspired by God. Scribes would copy ever jot and tittle or smallest part of a letter accurately onto a scroll otherwise they would destroy the manuscript. The Bible is inspired in its original languages. The translations that go directly from the original languages into English are the most accurate and should be used. The following is a brief history of translations to show that there was a Bible prior to 1611. (Side note, I have fellowship with those who mistakenly hold to 1611 as the beginning of the Bible. This is a minor debate and not worth parting ways over. I, also, fellowship with believers who use several translations and not just the two I recommend.)

In or around 386 to 405, Jerome (note not Jerome of Prague) translated the Bible from its original languages into Latin. This time period is around Augustine's time. The Latin Vulgate would become the text for the Catholic Church. There were other Christian groups outside of the Catholic Church who didn't use the Latin Vulgate. This translation served as the main text for Christianity for nearly 1000 years. Early on Latin had replaced Greek as the common language, but as time progressed the language of the people changed. The trouble was that most people didn't read Latin, so only the religious authorities and scholars new what was said. The average person had to rely on the religious leaders to be truthful in teaching it. As time progressed, the average person also didn't read Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.

In approximately 1324, John Wycliffe felt that the Bible needed to be in the common man's language. Since, he spoke English, he translated the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English. Wycliffe held strongly to the doctrine of election. Wycliffe was an early Baptist and his followers were referred to as Lollards. He was persecuted by the corrupted Roman Catholic Church as were his followers. Wycliffe gave the Word of God to people in the own language. The Roman Catholic Church was outraged and burned as many Wycliffe Bibles as they could and they martyred many Christians too.

In the 1450's Gutenberg invented the printing press which made it possible to put the Word of God more readily into individual's hands. The printing press greatly reduced the cost of printing. Until this time only the rich could afford copies of the Bible. This event helped to make the Bible more readily available to the common man.

The next translation was the William Tyndale translation. Tyndale translated the Bible directly from Greek and Hebrew into English. "In 1525, smuggled copies of his New Testament began circulating England."1 About 90% of his wording made it into the KJV. Some call Tyndale the father of the English Bible, but others hail Wycliffe. "Tyndale had abandoned traditional terms, substituting "repent" for "do penance," "congregation" for "church," and "elder" for "priest.""2 Tyndale and his translation was tied very closely to the followers of Martin Luther. Luther translated the Word of God into German. 3 Tyndale and Luther both believed strongly in the bondage of the human will and election. The Church of England was infuriated with Tyndale and martyred him in 1536. The Roman Catholics were just as infuriated with Luther and was persecuted as well. Tyndale was imprisoned prior to completing the translation of the entire Old Testament. Myles Coverdale and John Rogers completed the translation for Tyndale. The complete English translation is commonly known as the Coverdale translation. 4 John Rogers was burned at the stake by Queen Mary, a Roman Catholic. 5

In 1560, the Geneva Study Bible was introduced. What makes this unique is that it is a Study Bible with notes to help the reader better understand the text. In our modern day we have many Study Bibles and Chain Link References, but in 1560 this was very unique. The Geneva Study Bible notes taught the Doctrines of God's Sovereign Grace. Here is a sample verse from this Bible.

Hebrews 1:1,2 "God, who at ¹ sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets", "Hath in these ^a last days spoken unto us by [his] ^b Son, ² whom he hath appointed ^c heir of all things, by whom also he made the ^d worlds; "

In 1611, King James of England commissioned the translation of the Bible from the original languages into English. This translation was a literal translation insuring its accuracy. The scholars tried to stay true to the original texts. There are some people today who think Jesus spoke King James English, which is of course not true. At the time it was written, the KJV was the best and most accurate text of its day. Wycliffe's text though good was not translated from the original languages. Another problem of the 1611 version is that it had a Roman Catholic addition called the Apocrypha. 6 The Bible warns in Revelations of adding to it. When the 1611 KJV was introduced "the people did not initially accept it. They were already familiar with the older versions and resented and opposed the KJV." 7 As time went by the spoken and written English changed making the 1611 hard to understand and read. The 1611 KJV was translated using Classical Greek, but in the 1800's through archeological finds it was proven that the original texts were written in Koine Greek (Common Greek) the spoken language of the people.

In 1884, The King James Version was revised into what we have today. Since then it has been revised again into the New King James Version. The 1884 version is what we read and many think is the 1611 version. Here are two quotes from Hebrews 1:1,2 Notice the change in spelling and slight change in wording. The 1884 version is more readable than the 1611, but retains the meaning.

1611 KJV, "God who at fundry times, and in divers manners, fpaken in time paft unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in thefe laft days spoken unto us by his Sonne, whom he hath appointed heire of all things, by whom alfo he hath made the worlds."

1884 KJV, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds."

The common spoken English of today doesn't reflect the 1884 version's English. Many groups have sought to translate the Bible into a more readable form. Some translations are from Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic and some are merely paraphrases of what is already translated. My father studied Greek under Dr. Gleason Archer who helped translate the New American Standard Version. The NASB was translated from Greek using Koine Greek and is thus more accurate than prior translations of the Bible. The NASB used the literal approach as did the original translators of the KJV. The KJV doesn't have any copyright restrictions. Unfortunately, the NASB does have copyright restrictions as the Lockman Foundation tries to recoup its expenditures on the translation. A problem with the Lockman foundation is that Dewey Lockman, the founder, was a member of a masonic order.

Another popular translation is the New International Version. I met some years ago one of the people who helped translate this version and overheard some problems he had with this translation. This translation was an ecumenical work and some were not as scholarly and accurate in their translating as they should have been. I will not mention his name as he wasn't totally positive on this translation. He would be totally appalled by the ownership transfer of Zondervan in 1988. Another problem with the NIV is that the copyright is owned by Zondervan and Zondervan is owned by Harper Collins,8 the publisher of the satanic bible, so each time you buy a NIV you are giving money to satanists.9 I strongly discourage the use of the NIV, because what concord can Christ have with belial? There are other works like Good News for Modern Man which shouldn't even be entertained as they aren't scholarly or accurate.

Many people get tied up in arguments over translations, but if we have the best in hand and don't use it then it is to no effect. Use the translation you do have and then I recommend buying one of the two below.

Based on all the translations available today, the two best are the 1884 KJV and the NASB.

Side note, the KJV that is widely used today is the 1800's version and not the 1611 as many think. The advantage to the KJV is that it isn't copyrighted and can be quoted in any document regardless. The KJV's two set backs are that it is in Middle English and harder to understand than the NASB and the KJV was translated from Classical Greek instead of Koine. The NASB is better from a translation view point and understandability, but the set back is that it is a copyrighted material. God did not put a copyright on His Word, man did. You the reader must determine for yourself which translation you wish to use. I would strongly encourage the KJV or the NASB, but let the Holy Spirit guide you to the best.

1. Wycliffe.org, A History of Bible Translation.
2. Christianity Today, Translation Wars March 1, 2002 , Elesha Coffman and Tony Lane
3. Wycliffe.org, A History of Bible Translation.
4. Wylliamtyndale.com The History of the English Bible
5. Greatsite.com English Bible History, John L. Jeffcoat III.
6. Greatsite.com King James Pulpit Bible: First Printing of the Most Printed Book in the World
7. PSU.edu The History of the King James Bible, George Dickens
8. Zondervan.com Zondervan Corporate Growth ,"In 1988, Zondervan became a division of HarperCollinsPublishers, one of the largest publishers in the world."
9. Nivexposed.faith.web The NIV exposed, Bob Walker.