Bible Translations...

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Dan Z
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by Dan Z »

I prefer the ESV as well for what its worth.
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Hats Off
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by Hats Off »

Mostly I use the NKJV, it is similar enough to the KJV that I figure it might be an easier sell. I find it frustrating when the minister reads the KJV and then has to spend time translating it into language the congregation can understand. Why not use the NKJV or whatever is the better version?
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Adam
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by Adam »

lesterb wrote:
Bootstrap wrote:
Chris wrote:I seriously lean towards the KJV in English but reference the Strong's interlinear. I do think there are many more errors on the original intent in many of the other versions. These things can make a serious difference. I think King James did a very good job, but strong's MAY be more accurate.
For word meanings, Strong's simply tells you how the word was translated into the KJV, no more, no less. So it won't be more accurate than the KJV. And it's usually less accurate, because the KJV translators were looking at the Greek in context in a way that you can't unless you know Greek.

If you don't read Greek, not with an interlinear but the same way you read English, I don't know how you can tell if there are more errors on the original intent in the other versions.
I've wondered already how many times some dictionaries simply give the meaning that the translator used rather than the actual meaning, or they may add the meaning. I can't think of an example off hand, but I've noticed cases where one meaning (the one used in the KJV) was given and then a group of other meanings that seemed unrelated. I don't think that is fair to the student, and is one reason that I seldom use Strong's, except sometimes for a second opinion.

But everyone has their own way of doing things.

I tend to use Thayer's for Greek definitions and BDB for Hebrew. But I get about as much help by comparing versions. Right now I have the KJV, the ESV, the NET, and the NLT side by side on my screen. That's another nice feature of E-sword.

Some of the rest of you, What are your favorite resources?
I love the Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Frederick William Danker. It is one of the few New Testament Greek lexicons that actually gives definitions for words and not just glosses (i.e. one-word translations). The layout is really easy to use. This is the Danker who represents the letter D in BDAG, which is the standard Greek-English lexicon for New Testament studies (a great resource in itself but very bulky and way more information than is helpful for quick reference purposes). But for a quick reference the Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament is by far the best in my opinion.
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Adam
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by Adam »

Hats Off wrote:Mostly I use the NKJV, it is similar enough to the KJV that I figure it might be an easier sell. I find it frustrating when the minister reads the KJV and then has to spend time translating it into language the congregation can understand. Why not use the NKJV or whatever is the better version?
Unfortunately, that is what some ministers believe their role is--to translate the KJV into modern language and explain it to their congregation. We have similar problems in Papua New Guinea, where ministers like to read the Bible in English (which is usually the third language of their congregation). They do this partially to show that they are educated enough to read and understand English well. The other reason is due to the prestige of the English language. KJV also carries prestige I suppose, and there may be a certain pride among those who understand well its archaic language and who want to demonstrate their knowledge to their congregation.
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Josh
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by Josh »

Bible reading in dialects that carry "prestige" is something Christians have been afflicted with for quite some time.

Interestingly, the original New Testament is in Koine Greek, which at the time was not a prestigious dialect. Ancient Greek would have been the more "logical" choice.

In our present day, many Christians feel almost a sense of sacrilige when hearing Bible verses read in the same language they speak at home, at work, and in the music they listen to. My opinion is that the desire to put holy books into prestigious, inaccessible dialect is a religious urge - but not at all a Christian one.
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Wayne in Maine
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by Wayne in Maine »

Josh wrote:Bible reading in dialects that carry "prestige" is something Christians have been afflicted with for quite some time.

Interestingly, the original New Testament is in Koine Greek, which at the time was not a prestigious dialect. Ancient Greek would have been the more "logical" choice.

In our present day, many Christians feel almost a sense of sacrilige when hearing Bible verses read in the same language they speak at home, at work, and in the music they listen to. My opinion is that the desire to put holy books into prestigious, inaccessible dialect is a religious urge - but not at all a Christian one.
My old Boss always said that the decline of the Catholic church in America was largely due to the loss of the magic of the Latin mass. When people actually listened to the mass recited in their own language it didn't sound religious enough anymore. I believe non-catholics experience the same thing when they put away the KJV.

One of my favorite versions is the Contemporary English version. It's vocabulary is at about an 11 year old level, and IMHO, the text is crystal clear and non-religious sounding. It sounds much more like common everyday conversational English.
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GaryK
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by GaryK »

I use the NKJV for everything, including preaching. We as a church are planning to start a discussion on what translation to use in our church services. Currently we have people using KJV, ESV, NASB and NKJV. I feel it would be good to have one agreed upon translation for the sake of our community visitors who are not very Bible literate.
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Neto
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by Neto »

GaryK wrote:I use the NKJV for everything, including preaching. We as a church are planning to start a discussion on what translation to use in our church services. Currently we have people using KJV, ESV, NASB and NKJV. I feel it would be good to have one agreed upon translation for the sake of our community visitors who are not very Bible literate.
Our congregation used to insist that all public reading be done in the KJV. When I taught SS, I would print the KJV text in my notes, and used it to be compliant. But I never liked it. I've heard both sermons and SS lessons where the main points were based on faulty understandings of the KJV text. I'm not talking interpretational differences, but really way out stuff. (I have also heard sermons by nationally known Evangelical preachers where the main point of the sermon was based on a simple lack of considering the context. An example: Right after the episode of the Gentile demonic in the Gospel of Luke, the next story begins with "And when Jesus returned, large crowds came to meet him." The sermon was about how the healed & freed Gentile man had fulfilled Jesus' command to witness to his own people, but the events recorded were about what happened immediately, back on the Jewish side of the lake.)

Now one of our pastors even reads shorter passages from the Living Bible (the original paraphrase, not the translation). But unfortunately this new "openness" only came with openness toward lots of other things we do not approve of (rings, small veils for the sisters, TV, sports events on Sunday morning, etc.). My wife prefers the New Living Translation, my sons both use the ESV (I think), but I still use the old NIV (1978 version).
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MaxPC
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by MaxPC »

Adam wrote:
I love the Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Frederick William Danker. It is one of the few New Testament Greek lexicons that actually gives definitions for words and not just glosses (i.e. one-word translations). The layout is really easy to use. This is the Danker who represents the letter D in BDAG, which is the standard Greek-English lexicon for New Testament studies (a great resource in itself but very bulky and way more information than is helpful for quick reference purposes). But for a quick reference the Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament is by far the best in my opinion.
Catholic academic world prefers these sources as well for Greek courses. Prior to that they used Bauer and a few others.

It gladdens my heart to see excellent scholarship still being produced to maintain translation integrity: great work, Adam! I've encountered too many "self taught, self-appointed experts" who think they can read Greek without being formally trained in it.
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Max (Plain Catholic)
Mt 24:35
Proverbs 18:2 A fool does not delight in understanding but only in revealing his own mind.
1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God
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Josh
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Re: Bible Translations...

Post by Josh »

MaxPC wrote:
Adam wrote:
I love the Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Frederick William Danker. It is one of the few New Testament Greek lexicons that actually gives definitions for words and not just glosses (i.e. one-word translations). The layout is really easy to use. This is the Danker who represents the letter D in BDAG, which is the standard Greek-English lexicon for New Testament studies (a great resource in itself but very bulky and way more information than is helpful for quick reference purposes). But for a quick reference the Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament is by far the best in my opinion.
Catholic academic world prefers these sources as well for Greek courses. Prior to that they used Bauer and a few others.

It gladdens my heart to see excellent scholarship still being produced to maintain translation integrity: great work, Adam! I've encountered too many "self taught, self-appointed experts" who think they can read Greek without being formally trained in it.
At the leading Roman Catholic university I used to be a part of, these sources were not preferred either by the theologians in the theology department nor the on-site convent of lay religious sisters.

The last time I can remember a Bible reading, the Message was used.
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