Bible Translation/Version Suggestions?

The NIV has real problems. For example, in Hebrews 11:11, the NIV attributes an important instance of faith to Abraham, while the general consensus is that the faith in that instance was Sarah's not Abraham's.

Yet another reason to study multiple translations.

Beware the Christian of one translation...
 
Dream said:
You may just as well be reading Lord of the Rings unless you focus on the principles in the commands and laws. The stories are a way to connect with those until such time as a particular principle intersects with your own life. I started with KJV as a child but did not really read it but then read NIV. Years later I started understanding the laws which helped the stories make sense, but the stories were and are helpful with the laws, too. I think if my focus had consistently been to look for guidance towards self improvement and good will, then either KJV or the NIV would have been good enough.
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Yet, one will find that the principles are distorted by the pejorative usage of the words chosen.
Just look at the Tenach (the bible minus the NT) for a prime example and the varieties of Hebrew words which are quite different to denote God.
There are about a dozen different specific words used in the Hebrew which all have quite different meanings implied which are boiled down to one word in the NIV.
This will create bias for a specific doctrine which is what the aim seems to be.
That is only one example.
The NIV was designed to promote the God-man mythos of the sacrifice of the God-man Jesus to save the poor sinners.
That is it's function.
To promote and perpetuate a very simplistic understanding of a version of a story.
The NIV should not be used for that reason.
But people can do as they will and if they wish to read myth, then that is their choice.
 
On the whole, I think it should be easy to read the Bible. Then you can think about it and focus on those parts which you feel have answers for you. To begin with we have stepped completely outside of its original method of transmission, so version differences actually are small change. Here is the most extreme example I have found of an dynamic translation change between the NIV and the dictionary meanings:

NIV Psalm 146:4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.

RSV Psalm 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
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Most people wouldn't even skip a breath whichever version they read. Its really the person that matters more than the version.
 
Dream said:
On the whole, I think it should be easy to read the Bible. Then you can think about it and focus on those parts which you feel have answers for you. To begin with we have stepped completely outside of its original method of transmission, so version differences actually are small change. Here is the most extreme example I have found of an dynamic translation change between the NIV and the dictionary meanings:
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They all have their issues it appears to me. Some so wordy and full of thees and thous you can't get your head around them... or need such deciphering ..breath/spirit hence my affinity to reading seven at a time...

The message so often cuts to the crux and speaks to me and at other times misses the point by a long shot...and then in one case it changes the mustard seed to be a poppy seed (so it is smaller) and then to a pine nut (so the end result is larger)...
Most people wouldn't even skip a breath whichever version they read. Its really the person that matters more than the version.
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reminds me that what comes out of our mouth is more important than what goes in.

note: btw so nice to be able to connect a face to a post....
 
wil said:
They all have their issues it appears to me.
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At the end of the day, all translations are imperfect. After all, every version of the Bible that's available to us today comes from a copy of a copy of a... You get the point.

...In one case it changes the mustard seed to be a poppy seed (so it is smaller) and then to a pine nut (so the end result is larger)... reminds me that what comes out of our mouth is more important than what goes in.
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Do certain translations really turn "mustard seed" into "poppy seed" and "pine nut?" (Just checked my copy of the ESV, which arrived today; for the record, it states "mustard seed." :D)

As for your paraphrased biblical quote, it's one of my favorites. I'm always tickled by those statements attributed to Jesus that "get tough" on the fundamentalists (e.g., the Pharisees) of his day. Seems like many of them needed a reminder to live according to Spiritual Law, rather than dogmatic laws.

...Btw so nice to be able to connect a face to a post....
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Do you mean me/my "face" in the sense that we've shared an exchange in the Esotic sub-forum? Just making sure I understand to whose face you refer. :D
 
Dragonseer:
At the end of the day, all translations are imperfect. After all, every version of the Bible that's available to us today comes from a copy of a copy of a... You get the point.
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This is one reason why there are so many denominations who all think they have it straight and the other guys are in error.
The problem just compounds the further on down the line we go.
This is why it is crucial to look at original documents whenever possible as the preference and the first choice rather than just going with what reads easy or feels nice.
Just try reading a schematic that was distorted and then building the device based on that error filled diagram.
If it doesn't work there, why should it be acceptable in theology/spirituality?
 
note: btw so nice to be able to connect a face to a post....
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Yes I know what you mean. Its like when I fell in love with an avatar. It took me time to realize she was just paper and ink. Meeting real people is special.
 
Dragonseer said:
I would like to know the following information:

1) Which Bible translation (and specific book title) do you prefer to read for your own personal study/devotion?

2) Do you belong to any particular religion that encourages the use of your preferred Bible translation? (If so, please specify it.)

I know the very title of this thread is likely to open a can of worms; so I hope that everyone who replies does so in a kindly and thoughtful fashion. In other words, please avoid the temptation to respond with: "How on earth could you consider reading that version of the Bible? The X-version is so much better!" You get my drift. ;)

At the end of the day, I'm merely curious to know what people are reading and why. :D

Namaste,

Dragonseer
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I'll read whatever bible is in front of me. My upbringing was on the Latin Vulgate, KJ, NKJ American Standard and NIV. I also have read the Masonic Bible (which stops at the new testament).

v/r

Q
 
Dragonseer said:
I have, by the way, compared many Bible translations online. Like you, I find the NIV to be eloquent, but it's a bit more dynamic than I'd like. What's really funny about that statement is that I'm nowhere near what most people would call conservative. But for whatever reason, I like the idea of my Bible's text to be a fairly literal (word-for-word) translation.
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Greetings, Dragonseer.

It's been awhile since I've spent any serious study time in the Bible, but I have in times past gone through from cover to cover, primarily in a Gideon's KJV. Yes, the Elizabethan Old English is a bother to translate, but it is what I was raised on.

In the following years I find myself referring back to my teddy bear Gideon's KJV (all of my extensive notes are written in that book), as well as a reprint of the 1611 KJV (which includes the Intertestamental Apocrypha), the Pesh!tta (translated from the Aramaic) and my go-to study Bible is the Interlinear. If what you are seeking is a literal, word-for-word translation from the Hebrew, Chaldee and Greek; that is precisely what the Interlinear is (except in a few spots where prevailing politics still hold sway...). Do not expect an easy read from the Interlinear, it still requires a bit of translation (not least, reading the Hebrew backwards from right to left).

My two cents, for what it is worth.
 
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I saw it when I was doing something else amd thought you might enjoy having a jazzed up version.
 
Three good study aids that I have found helpful:

Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible, Vols I & II, by Geoffrey Hodson

Esoteric Christianity, by Annie Besant

The Gospels as a Mandala of Wisdom, by Geddes MacGregor

The last book, by MacGregor may be out of print, but is available on Amazon.com for as little as $2. Granted, it treats only the Gospels of the New Testament, but many would argue this is the heart of Christian teachings anyway. The other two sources go quite in depth, the two volumes of Hodson's book especially so. Vol. I focuses on the Gospel story, Vol. II examines the Hebrew Pentateuch.
 
I don't base what Bible I use on what I can understand the easiest. Then I might end up reading some garbage like The Message. I read versions that are closest to an absolute literal word-for-word translation, like the ESV and HCSB. Those are the best versions for free-thinkers who want to postulate their own theologies and not read others' interpretations in thought-for-thought translations. The KJV is riddled with many numerous errors. The NKJV is a little better. I don't like either of them.
 
Then you should try to get one of the remaining copies of the original Revised Version. Several other versions were based on it, but they are not the same thing. I have never seen a copy, but they say it is special in word for word. The rumor is that it ruffled too many feathers, so it was scuttled. I don't know if the rumor is true, but its enough to keep me curious to find a copy.
 
Very interesting. I read some stuff about it on wikipedia, and it said it was accepted in America as the American Standard Version, and is nearly the exact same. If I remember correctly, the American Standard Version is still around today, though I do not know if it is the same as the original 1901 version.

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/
 
I found a comment on a used book site:

Description
The Revised Version was produced in the nineteenth century by a collaboration of British and American scholars. It was the first real revision of the KJV and the basis for the American Standard Version. It draws on manuscripts discovered in the 19th century and incorporates the improved understanding of Hebrew and Greek which came from them. The revisers tried as far as possible to translate particular words in the ancietn texts consistently by the same English word. The RV consequently has value for serious students who do not read theoriginal Bible languages.

Availability: X Sorry this book is not available
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