Too Many Translations? - Daily Controversy #16
Good morning, readers!
I’m Joanna bringing you the Daily Controversy!
This post will be a little different from previous articles I have written.
Perhaps the most important thing in a Christian’s walk is having access to God’s Word, colloquially known as the Bible or some variant of the word such as Bibel (German), Bibliya (Russian, I think), or Bibbia (Italian, I believe), depending on what language you speak.
The sad truth is, despite Christ Himself praying for unity in the church, Christians are only rarely united. One of the most debated, most controversial (ha!) topics is probably Bible translations.
So here's today's question:
Is there a “best” Bible translation? If so, what is it? Are some translations better than others?
I AM NOT A THEOLOGIAN. OR A BIBLE SCHOLAR.
Translations
I’m a team policy debater (STOA debate for the win!), and the first thing you need to do in a debate round is define your terms.
1. Methods — Bible translation isn’t a game of telephone where new translations are based on older ones, instead, new translations go back and base themselves off of the original texts (hope this makes sense).
2. Differences — why so many translations in the first place? Newer translations’ purposes are often to provide Christians with a Bible in a more modern version of their language.
3. The KJV (King James Version), originally having been made in the 1600s (I think). More (relatively) recently the NKJV (New King James) version was made. It was meant to be simply a more modern version of the KJV so that you could read both at the same time and follow along at the same time.
4. The NIV, however, was made to be a thought-for-thought translation rather than a word-for-word. So, while the wording is not the same as the original texts from the early church, the thoughts are meant to have the same meaning.
I Read the NKJV version, but it’s not like you’re unsaved if you read the NIV or something–they are both good translations, I simply prefer the NKJV.
Which translation is best?
In all technicality, the best translations are the original early church/Old Testament manuscripts. But, unless you can read ancient Hebrew, Greek, and other languages, you should probably find a translation in your own native language.
1. KJV — oldest English translation (I’m pretty sure).
2. NKJV — KJV but easier to read, however mixes up a few words. For example, the usage of both ‘lust’ and ‘covet,’ in a way that implies they mean different things (spoiler alert, lust and covet are the same thing)
3. NIV — I just–I just don’t like the way it reads. There probably are some legitimate flaws but I cannot think of them right now. 🙂
4. ESV — This is a double-edged sword. While replacing terms such as man with men and women, some of the original meaning is lost. For example when Paul writes that “we are all sons in Christ.” What this means is that both sons and daughters have equal standing with each other. If he had originally written “sons and daughters”, (as translated in the ESV) that would have implied to the early church readers that there were two separate classes of heirs, the sons being more privileged. However, the ESV can be used to reach someone who believes the Bible is sexist/misogynist.
Of course, I have not read every single translation out there. Additionally, this article is not comprehensive when it comes to translations specific to certain denominations.
What Bible translation do you read? I never thought I would say this, but don’t let the debate get too heated… 🙂
Happy arguing!
— Joanna ❤
Image credits: https://livingstrategically.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/diverse-religious-shoot.jpg
Ok, first of all there are definitely better translations. My list of the ones in your list would read as follows:
ReplyDelete1. ESV: Best readability and more accurate translation due to the fact that it goes back and uses some of the oldest manuscript.
2. NKJV: Better readability than the KJV
3. KJV: Older translation and less modern, only uses one text for Greek translation, leading to less accuracy.
4. NIV: Same reason as the author of this article.
However, often translation accuracy will bounce back and forth between the 1 and 3, but I believe that ESV is often more accurate. I do wish they had left out the men and women part, but I don't find that it takes too much away from the original message.
Secondly, I believe that the oldest translation is actually the Wycliffe Bible, but KJV is probably the oldest translation in popular use.
Yeah I'd still probably read the ESV if AWANA didn't use NKJV, lol. I didn't really list them in a particular order, but in hindsight I should have... (i suppose if i had my order would have been 1. NKJV, 2. ESV, 3. KJV, and 4. NIV). And thanks for mentioning the Wycliffe Bible, I'd never heard of it! (not a Bible scholar...)
DeleteI like 1) ESV, then 2) KJV, then 3) NKJV.
DeleteQuicko PSA, there actually are bad/heretical Bible translations out there, so be careful!
ReplyDeleteI read the ESV because that is the most used one; it is used in my church and in my summer camp. I also sometimes will read the NIV, but mostly I read ESV.
ReplyDeleteI read the Duay Rheims version, at least I think so. Apologies if I spelled that wrong.
ReplyDeleteI believe there are way too many translations of the Bible. Only a few should be enough.
ReplyDeleteI read the ESV and sometimes the KJV. (Actually, the KJV is not the oldest translation. I think the oldest is the Tyndale Bible (TYN). The KJV was written in 1611, but the TYN was written in 1535.
ReplyDeleteOops. I forgot to address the point. No. I believe that there are not too many translations. Now, there are a few that need to be evaporated from history and never be read again (The MSG (super watered down and cringy), or worse, the TPT (heresy; do not read))
DeleteI guess it may seem that I contradicted myself. What I mean is, there are not too many translations of the Bible if they are biblical.
Good points!
Delete