Bible Translations (and preferences)

 (My very next post is going to be a review of a Bible I recently got. For now, I wanted to talk about the various Bible translations.)

Reading the Bible is fundamental to the Christian. Some of us have trouble with (and questions about) the various translations.

For me, the KJV is my favorite for quoting from but I don't find it easy for general reading and Bible study. The NASB has been my go-to translation for Bible study. The first concern I had when I started reading and studying the Bible on a regular basis was the translation accuracy. I'd rather struggle to read an accurate translation rather than enjoy reading a less accurate one.

When I started serious Bible study, I pulled out every Bible I happened to own at that time:

• a KJV study Bible
• an NASB study Bible 
• an Amplified Bible
• an NIV red-letter edition
• a large, ornate KJV family Bible

I stuck mostly to the KJV and the NASB. I avoided the NIV because I was unsure about the translation. Finally, I looked up the key differences between the most common (English language) Bible translations. I cannot find the original source but this chart I found on God's Word is close. 

Got Questions (a go-to resource!) explains the differences further here. For a visual, I will use Christianbook's Genesis 3:8 verse examples of 1 translation from each of the 4 types shown on the above chart:

King James Bible (KJV)

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)

In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking around in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees in the garden.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

The Message

When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.

Personally, the "retelling" versions are way too loosey-goosey for me to ever use as a study resource but I could see someone wanting to use them for reading to a child or for their own casual reading. I love reading the ESV in the evenings while in bed.

By the way, since my next post will be a review of an ESV Bible, here's that translation of Genesis 3:8:

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

When trying to decide which translation to use, I again refer to what Got Questions has to say. They go into more detail and have a video for the subject, but this is the part I take away from it:

There are many more Bible translations than the seven mentioned above. It is wise to have a personal method for determining whether a particular Bible translation is accurate. A good technique is to have a set of Scripture verses you know well, and look those verses up in a translation you are unsure of. A good idea is to look at some of the most common verses that speak of the deity of Christ (John 1:1, 14; 8:58; 10:30; Titus 2:13) to make sure a Bible translation is true to the Word of God. Despite the multitudes of English Bible translations, we can be confident that God’s Word is truth and that it will accomplish His purposes (Isaiah 55:11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12).

I put emphasis on what I think is most important out of that suggestion.  It bears repeating:

A good idea is to look at some of the most common verses that speak of the deity of Christ (John 1:1, 14; 8:58; 10:30; Titus 2:13) to make sure a Bible translation is true to the Word of God.

The deity of Christ is the crux of Scripture. Anything that challenges, changes, or twists that fact is to be defended against. We defend our faith in the Lord every day as we live in this world, I don't want a Bible that attacks the very thing it is meant to stand for.

Whichever translation(s) you choose, do read and study the Bible. I never realized the importance of that until I began. I was raised in a church that taught erroneous doctrines and many people still follow those errors. They are relying on the words and interpretations of pastors who may or may not be willingly deceitful. There are church leaders and teachers who twist the Bible to make themselves rich or powerful - or worse. The pastor I was under was a good man but I no longer agree with many of his teachings - not after prayerfully reading the Scriptures for myself. 

Okay, I'm through ranting! I will have the next post up as soon as I can.

Peace

--Free