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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Bible Versions - How to know which version to choose

For a new believer, or for anyone wanting to step up their bible reading, this can be a daunting task.  For some it can even seem overwhelming. Don't let this question of choosing a bible version keep you from reading it at all.

For those who don't speak English, this task is much easier because most other languages have few versions. So they just have to pick the one that is written in their own language.  But for English speaking people there is an untold number of versions and even variations of the bible.

We must be careful!  It is important to know a little bit about how we got the bible in our language. It is good to know a little about how God preserves His Word.  I don't want to make this sound too complicated.  You don't have to be a bible scholar or a seminary graduate to understand this.  It is a lot simpler when we ask for Gods help.

Gods Word is perfectly accurate. There is no error in what He said. The Holy Bible is true and can be trusted completely.  But there is a problem when sinful people begin to try to interpret it from an ignorant sinful perspective.  That becomes a bigger problem when those sinful people begin to make their own interpretations and publish it "as the bible".  We are not trusting in men when we read the bible, but are looking to God our heavenly Father.

"20Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." -2Peter 1:20-21 

The most important thing to realize about choosing a bible version, is to be seeking God with all of your heart.  1Thessalonians 1:5 says: "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake."  And look at this scripture...

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." -John 6:63

I spoke about some of this in my post on 6/13/2010 entitled,  How to read the bible.  It is a good article.  If you get the chance I highly recommend reading it. 

It takes some effort on our part if we want God to deliver us from the spiritual darkness.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." -Hebrews 11:6

In this scripture quote, I am placing the emphasis on seeking God diligently.  Any one who is really looking for God with their whole heart, regardless of their bible version, is not going to be left out!  God rewards those who are seeking Him. If you have a version of the bible that is not considered to be very reliable, that doesn't mean you will not come to the knowledge of the truth.  God may eventually lead you to the correct version. I like the King James Bible the best but I am not a KJV only person. I believe that God can use other versions to speak to your heart if you are truly seeking Him.  Remember that God is not limited in what He can use. He is not confined to a box like some religions believe. An example of this is the story in the bible where in the book of Numbers chapter 22:21-35 God spoke to the sorcerer Balaam through a donkey! If He did that, then I'm sure He could use any version of the bible He wants to. I do however believe that as you grow as a Christian, and as you allow God to lead you, that you will find there are fewer reliable bible versions. The King James is the most accurate English version for what I have discovered.

However, I believe also that there are dangerous things that some have done to distort the truth of Gods word in these end days. I believe that there are "versions" that are not true translations of the Holy scripture. There are some versions that are known to eliminate certain words or entire verses from the Holy scripture! This is extremely dangerous! Some people take Gods word lightly. There are even churches that quote from paraphrased bibles, making their congregations think they are reading scripture when it is nothing but a twisted rendition. Are they doing it ignorantly? God's Word says: ...

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." -Hosea 4:6 

I believe that it is the believers responsibility to honor Gods Holy Word!  It is our responsibility to respect God by taking His word seriously.  We should be concerned about all of the "new" changes in new translations, commentaries, and transliterations of the bible. The bible says:

"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." -Deuteronomy 4:2

If you do a little history check you will see what I am referring to. Here are just a few of the problems:

In the King James Version of the bible (which is the one I use the most), the first edition printed in the year 1611 contained an apocryphal section. These books were removed from all printings in 1885. That is only 125 years ago. Such a short time for something that was existing in scripture since the Septuagint that existed in the Jewish temple since the time of Jesus! Why they took it out is because of the label it contained. The word "Apocrypha" is supposed to mean "not inspired". This label was put on these books by the Catholic bishop Jerome in 300 AD.  Note that the Catholics did not put these apocryphal books into the bible, they only labeled them "Apocrypha."  It is important to note that these things are too technical for new believers to have to worry about. Like I said earlier, the main thing is to be seeking God for who He is, and to not get hung up on these other technical issues.  I am only bringing it out in this article because I think people should be aware of a little bible history, and how we got some of the modern translations.  Even though I believe that the King James Bible is the most accurate of all English bibles, I am still curious to know why the changes were made to it. Most Christians don't even know about these things.

I visited a church who uses "The Message" as their main version for preaching. I actually heard a preacher there mock people for questioning him for using that so called version.  People will not know there is something important missing from a version until they do extensive research on it.  The "Message" is only one mans slang paraphrase that he decided in his own words, "to get playful with it!"  This is a dangerous mistranslation of scripture! Why is it accepted by believers?  Here again, I think it is due to their lack of knowledge.

The New International Version of the bible actually leaves out entire verses, and changes meanings! There are other versions as well that do the same. A couple examples of this are Matthew 18:11.  It is missing from the NIV completely. In the KJV it says, "For the Son of man is come to save that which is lost."   Another scripture missing from the NIV is Mark 11:26.  In the KJV it says, "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."  These are just a couple of examples of two scriptures that we can not live without!  There is a long list of many more startling changes and omissions from this NIV bible as well as many others. 

There are many sites online that will allow you to do version comparisons of the bible. Biblegateway.com has over 100 different versions on line that you could compare. Not all of those are in English though.  I think about 21 of them are English versions.  biblos.com   is another incredible site for studying and comparing different versions of the bible. It includes other languages as well and many study resources.

I don't know how the bible is or was translated into other language versions, but I hope that it is accurate.  This blog has a Language Translator widget at the upper right hand side for non English speaking folks to see it in their own language.  I wonder when they use it and the KJV scripture quotes I have on this page are translated into other languages, how accurate is that translator.  I wouldn't want to be guilty of changing Gods word!  I don't know if transliteration and meaning is lost when those scriptures change languages.  I wonder if they use the biblios.com site at the above link, if it is the same as using the translator widget.  If someone knows the answer I would appreciate you sending me an email to my contact info in my profile. Thank you. I can only pray that those people are able to get an accurate version in their own language.

Another important thing to note is that the Word of God isn't going to change just because a version or language software tried to change it!  God's Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

"Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." -Luke 21:33

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." -Matthew 5:18

I keep coming back to this one thing because it is the most important.  If you get anything out of this post, remember this one thing.  No matter which version of the bible that you use, if you are seeking God with all of your heart, He will never let you down!  He will always take care of you. He will always lead you out of spiritual darkness and into His light. He is faithful! Trust in Him to guide you and lead you. Don't forget, your relationship is with your heavenly Father through Jesus Christ.  With Him you can never go wrong!

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