These commentaries are presented for informational purposes only. Since no one is ever likely to agree on the perfect bible version, the Mod's simply encourage you to use discernment and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in choosing a version."
Questions about different Versions of the Bible
Q. Why are there so many versions of the bible?
A.- from: http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/the-simple-gospel/
……..man has done a good job at making religion seem complicated, but God made it simple. It doesn’t matter which translation of the Bible you read or what language you read it in. They all agree on three basic things.
1. There is a God who created you and will judge you according your behavior (Romans 1:18-20).
2. Knowing you couldn’t possibly survive such a judgment, He sent His Son to pay the penalty due you so you could be forgiven (John 3:16).
3. His Son died in your place and then rose again to prove His death was sufficient to save you (1 Cor. 15:3-4, Romans 10:9-10).
Every legitimate translation states these 3 things clearly. To receive salvation all you have to do is believe them and ask in faith for His forgiveness. If you do that you’ll inherit eternal life. It’s called the Gospel and it’s that simple.
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Q. What is the difference between the various versions of the Bible?
A.- from: http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/the-niv-and-the-king-james/
……..the King James and the NIV are translations from early Greek manuscripts. The King James is drawn from the popular translations of its time, while the NIV relies on older ones. All are copies of earlier originals and differ slightly. In addition, the King James is a word for word translation while the NIV tries to focus more on translating thought for thought to make for easier reading. There is vigorous debate on which is better, and frankly both have their weaknesses.
Many scholars believe that the NASB is the most literally accurate New Testament translation, but any of the popular translations will serve the average Bible reader well. I personally would stay away from paraphrases, which are less faithful to the original language and more reflective of the translators’ personal biases.
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Q. How do I know which version of the Bible to study?
A.- from: http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/bible-versions/
[One thing you can do is]…….get something called a Parallel Bible. These have several translations side by side. There are various combinations of translations you can choose from, but be sure one of them is the King James, and try to avoid the so-called para-phrases, like the Message and the Living Bible. (For the New Testament, the NASB is the most literal translation of the original Greek.)
Then you can read a passage and see how each translation treats it. This will help you avoid translation errors and help you understand the King James better at the same time.
A.- from: http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-translations.html
It is probably wise to have access to at least two or three of the major translations KJV (King James Version), NIV (New International Version), NAS (New American Standard), NKJV (New King James Version), ESV (English Standard Version), NLT (New Living Translation), for comparison's sake……
……. 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).
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Q: What are the different English Bible versions?
A.- from: http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-versions.html
Depending on how one distinguishes a different Bible version from a revision of an existing Bible version, there are as many as 50 different English versions of the Bible. The question then arises: Is there really a need for so many different English versions of the Bible? The answer is, of course, no, there is no need for 50 different English versions of the Bible. This is especially true considering that there are hundreds of languages into which the entire Bible has not yet been translated. At the same time, there is nothing wrong with there being multiple versions of the Bible in a language. In fact, multiple versions of the Bible can actually be an aid in understanding the message of the Bible…….
Listed below are [links to information on the] the most common English versions of the Bible…..
King James Version (KJV)
New International Version (NIV)
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
New King James Version (NKJV)
English Standard Version (ESV)
New Living Translation (NLT)
More versions listed at http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-versions.html
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Final thought ~
“Regardless of which translation you prefer, the New Testament is by far the most thoroughly documented of all ancient books, second only to the Old Testament. There are over 5600 partial manuscripts still in existence dating as far back as 130 AD with a 99.5% internal consistency and covering nearly all of our modern Bible.”
from Jack Kelley - http://www.gracethrufaith.com
