Which Bible translation do you prefer? Do you know why? Yes, we all have a favorite Bible translation and that is good - for that will help keep us in His Word daily, or at least more often.
But, I am sure that we all, at one time or another, have had one similar experience. You are traveling away from home and look for a local church where you can worship that Sunday, or you visit another local church with a friend, or maybe you have moved to a new city and have found a new local Christian fellowship to be your home church.
That Sunday morning you get comfortable in this new church, stand for Responsive Scripture Reading - and suddenly get the feeling that you are standing in a room full of folks who are speaking foreign languages. How did that happen?
Well, what really happened is that the Responsive Reading leader is reading from his favorite translation, let's say a KJV - and you are reading from your favorite translation, let's say the NASB - and the person on your left is reading from an NIV translation - and the person on your right is reading from a NKJV translation - and the guy in front of you is reading a Holman translation - with the guy behind you reading from a Good News Bible or a Message paraphrase Bibles.
Put it all together and you get Greek! When that happens to me, I get so confused that I just stop reading and try to listen.
One way I have seen that "Greek speaking" problem solved was to project the Scripture passage on the screen or wall so that we all were reading from the same translation - and you will be amazed at how the volume and joy of reading together rose to a new height.
But, which Bible translation to choose for your own personal study and for use in your worship services is a matter of choice. The main goal is to encourage everyone to be in God's Word daily.
Personally, I often use different translations. In my studies and in my writings I use the NASB and NKJV most often. But, when the NIV or the KJV better illustrates the point I want to make, I will use one of them.
However I will stay away from the paraphrase versions of the Bible, such as the Good News Bible, The Message, and similar paraphrases. While paraphrase versions can be useful to get the gist of a Scripture verse or passage, I would never use nor recommend them for serious Bible study. I view paraphrase versions as being more similar to commentaries than to Bible translations.
There are basically three schools of translation, and the one you choose depends upon what you want to accomplish. These are the Formal Equivalence, Dynamic Equivalence, and the paraphrase.
Are you doing a serious study of God's Word? If so, you should stick with the Formal Equivalence Bibles which are "word-for-word" translations. The KJV (King James), NKJV (New King James), and NASB (New American Standard Bible) translations fall into this category. The Holman would probably fall into this group also.
Or, are you are looking for a Bible translation which offers God's Written Word, but in a more readable style of English? If so, you will find the Dynamic Equivalence translations which are "thought-for-thought" translations to be more to your liking. Examples are the NIV (New International Version) and NAB (New American Bible).
The third category - paraphrase - is not really a translation. It is more akin to a commentary. Basically, the writer takes a Bible translation and writes, in his own words, what HE believes the original writer meant. That description better fits a commentary than a Bible translation.
All of this is an introduction to this series of short videos takenfrom the series entitled, "Which English Translation of The Bible is best for Christians to Use Today? Is the King James Version of the Bible the only perfect translation today?" This series was published on Oct 14, 2011.
I pray you find these videos helpful.
God bless, Bill
But, I am sure that we all, at one time or another, have had one similar experience. You are traveling away from home and look for a local church where you can worship that Sunday, or you visit another local church with a friend, or maybe you have moved to a new city and have found a new local Christian fellowship to be your home church.
That Sunday morning you get comfortable in this new church, stand for Responsive Scripture Reading - and suddenly get the feeling that you are standing in a room full of folks who are speaking foreign languages. How did that happen?
Well, what really happened is that the Responsive Reading leader is reading from his favorite translation, let's say a KJV - and you are reading from your favorite translation, let's say the NASB - and the person on your left is reading from an NIV translation - and the person on your right is reading from a NKJV translation - and the guy in front of you is reading a Holman translation - with the guy behind you reading from a Good News Bible or a Message paraphrase Bibles.
Put it all together and you get Greek! When that happens to me, I get so confused that I just stop reading and try to listen.
One way I have seen that "Greek speaking" problem solved was to project the Scripture passage on the screen or wall so that we all were reading from the same translation - and you will be amazed at how the volume and joy of reading together rose to a new height.
But, which Bible translation to choose for your own personal study and for use in your worship services is a matter of choice. The main goal is to encourage everyone to be in God's Word daily.
Personally, I often use different translations. In my studies and in my writings I use the NASB and NKJV most often. But, when the NIV or the KJV better illustrates the point I want to make, I will use one of them.
However I will stay away from the paraphrase versions of the Bible, such as the Good News Bible, The Message, and similar paraphrases. While paraphrase versions can be useful to get the gist of a Scripture verse or passage, I would never use nor recommend them for serious Bible study. I view paraphrase versions as being more similar to commentaries than to Bible translations.
There are basically three schools of translation, and the one you choose depends upon what you want to accomplish. These are the Formal Equivalence, Dynamic Equivalence, and the paraphrase.
Are you doing a serious study of God's Word? If so, you should stick with the Formal Equivalence Bibles which are "word-for-word" translations. The KJV (King James), NKJV (New King James), and NASB (New American Standard Bible) translations fall into this category. The Holman would probably fall into this group also.
Or, are you are looking for a Bible translation which offers God's Written Word, but in a more readable style of English? If so, you will find the Dynamic Equivalence translations which are "thought-for-thought" translations to be more to your liking. Examples are the NIV (New International Version) and NAB (New American Bible).
The third category - paraphrase - is not really a translation. It is more akin to a commentary. Basically, the writer takes a Bible translation and writes, in his own words, what HE believes the original writer meant. That description better fits a commentary than a Bible translation.
All of this is an introduction to this series of short videos takenfrom the series entitled, "Which English Translation of The Bible is best for Christians to Use Today? Is the King James Version of the Bible the only perfect translation today?" This series was published on Oct 14, 2011.
John Ankerberg Show (KJV vs New Translations)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI7fbQc1Oyw&list=PL0EE0E14EA7B25055&index=1
I pray you find these videos helpful.
God bless, Bill
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