Bible versions-Is there only one?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Is there only one true version of the Bible?


  • Total voters
    21
Jun 10, 2019
4,304
1,659
113
Hmm

genesis 2:
19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
 
Aug 10, 2019
552
437
63
Canada
Interesting post above biblical language is there any human language that is what is spoken in heaven or does God use what humans have developed the language.
The point I was making with my appreciation for the language of the KJV was a personal one....we all know that Jesus spoke Aramaic, not English or even the ancient Greek the Gospels were written in. I've found language has become, more familiar and less formal in tone as the years have gone by....the English of even Dickens is far more beautiful to my ear than most of what I hear today.
 
Jun 10, 2019
4,304
1,659
113
The point I was making with my appreciation for the language of the KJV was a personal one....we all know that Jesus spoke Aramaic, not English or even the ancient Greek the Gospels were written in. I've found language has become, more familiar and less formal in tone as the years have gone by....the English of even Dickens is far more beautiful to my ear than most of what I hear today.
Well I think Jesus was multilingual
 
Jun 10, 2019
4,304
1,659
113
Isn’t a relationship with God a personal one in which He speaks the language, would God want to exclude people who speak English I think it’s allowed how else is God going to reach folks if we can’t understand the language. Probably best to embrace them and rightly divide where one is lead.
 
Jun 10, 2019
4,304
1,659
113
James Murdock uses formal words that I have too look up all the time haha.

The Second Epistle - Chapter 2
14 Of these things admonish thou them . and charge [them,] before our Lord, that they dispute not, with unprofitable words, to the subversion of those who hear them.
 

Angela53510

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2011
11,786
2,957
113
I voted no, there is no perfect translation in English, because I read Greek & Hebrew, I studied Greek under a scholar who has been on the translation committees of many modern versions, and he explained hundreds of translational issues. You can't even begin to translate Greek into English, because the mechanism for word order, syntax and grammar are totally different. Some words just not directly translatable.

German is much closer to Greek, but still not identical. (Don't forget Martin Luther translated the NT into German in 1522, and the OT in 1534! Well before the KJV! And the earliest French version was in 1530, although it was substantially revised by 1535.)

People who think the KJV is the only true Bible simply no nothing about translating. The receiving language is as important as the sending, which means the people reading need to understand it. So, a Bible from the 1600th century, with obsolete grammar and words is simply not acceptable.

As for manuscripts, do most people know the TR, or Textus Receptus, sprang into being in the 800 to 900 century in the Byzantine Empire? All the other families of texts, date back to much earlier. The TR was copied over and over, with many addition and notes in the margins creeping into the actual text. Lower textual critics can trace most of these errors back to the original mistake. The TR, is probably the worst set of manuscripts in existence. If one wants to talk about corruption, the TR (also called the "Majority Text" because they were recopied by Greek scribes, complete with errors, and springing up almost a millennium after the original autographs were written.) is the most corrupt set of manuscripts. Again, they have no origin, meaning it was translated somewhere within the Byzantine Empire very late, and became the standard for Greeks. Even Jerome's badly translated Latin version was made in the 4th century, centuries earlier than the so-called TR!

However, I agree with many others, that all bibles, modern and much older preach the true gospel, and all are valuable for every Christian to grow and learn more about God and how to serve Jesus Christ. People should read the Bible daily, in a version they understand. Stay away from cult versions, like the JW Bible. Stay away from paraphrases, until you have read a more formal translation, KJV, NASB, ESV etc) 10 or my times.

I started reading the Bible through yearly, when I was saved in 1980. I've read it in 10 different translations, the NT in Koine Greek, many books of the OT in Hebrew, the whole Bible in French, and parts in Spanish. I'm reading an updated Martin Luther German version, making good progress.

My point is that read the BOOK! Stop claiming you have the only "true" version. God has preserved his Word in many languages and translations, our job is to read it in our heart language, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, and obey it!
 

Lucy-Pevensie

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2017
9,386
5,725
113
Probably still learning English language it wasn’t very old quite young I’ve read it’s invention was somewhere between 550-1066CE. I could understand typos mistranslation just in the shear fact the language was fairly new. I read a lot of different versions too actually I enjoy it I seem too learn a lot more about languages and presentation
Yes. Pre 1066 old English (Anglo Saxon) is unrecognisable as English by the Middle English period of the KJ era.
All the Latin and French was introduced into the language by the after the Norman Invasion.
 

Lucy-Pevensie

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2017
9,386
5,725
113
The point I was making with my appreciation for the language of the KJV was a personal one....we all know that Jesus spoke Aramaic, not English or even the ancient Greek the Gospels were written in. I've found language has become, more familiar and less formal in tone as the years have gone by....the English of even Dickens is far more beautiful to my ear than most of what I hear today.
I can agree with that. That's great for formal occasions or when I'm in the mood for a bit of poetry. But for serious study I don't like it.
 
Dec 30, 2019
1,266
290
83
Before bashing God’s word, you should learn how the English language really works.
I do not care how the English language works because the Bible is written in Hebrew and Greek. If you remember God confused the languages at Babylon and that is what we are having to deal with today. (Genesis 11:19) I do believe that English is a universal (world wide) language. I believe English is a confused version of the Hebrew used to write out Bible. We should be teaching our children in Kindergarten the meaning of the letters. We teach them phonics but we do not teach them the symbolic meaning of the letters so they can understand the meaning of the words.
 

Attachments

Dec 30, 2019
1,266
290
83
What about the most important truth that God’s word is 100% true and reliable. Why would someone want to study partial truth?
Partial truth does not work. Even my machinist friends work within a tolerance of a millionth. They talk about factory seconds. These are the first items to come off the line before they get everything up and running smoothly. The universe is very fine tuned. I have been balancing rocks, sort of a Zen thing and I can see how fine tuned & balanced things are.
 

Attachments

Dec 30, 2019
1,266
290
83
Some with a strong preference for the KJV (despite documented errors in it) often despise any and all other translation versions.
That gives them a false sense of security. For example we learn that Adam and Eve: "sewed fig leaves together". So we see photos of Adam and Eve wearing leaves. When actually even 40,000 years ago they had sewing needles made out of bone and they were able to take the fiber from fig trees and make clothing pretty much like the clothing we have today. Only the clothing was not very warm and God showed them how to make clothing with animal skins so they could stay warm. When I was younger before thinsulation came out I had a down jacket that was very warm in the winter.
 
Dec 30, 2019
1,266
290
83
People who think the KJV is the only true Bible simply no nothing about translating.
The KJV has to do with Authority and what they are calling a Decree. We are told that God is watching over His word to perform His word. (Jeremiah 1:12) This has to do with the promises of God.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
What a terrible wager you face. It's so much better to trust the Lord of the book.
By trusting the Lord don’t you mean by trusting what He said and the written testimony about Him? God and His word cannot be separated.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
The final authority is Jesus & Moses.
Moses? By Jesus, you mean what He has said and the testimony written about Him in Scripture. Scripture is the final authority.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
I voted no, there is no perfect translation in English, because I read Greek & Hebrew, I studied Greek under a scholar who has been on the translation committees of many modern versions, and he explained hundreds of translational issues. You can't even begin to translate Greek into English, because the mechanism for word order, syntax and grammar are totally different. Some words just not directly translatable.
Wow! Angela found something God cannot do....speak His word into English.

Who cares about a words for word translation. That’s the case for all languages. Can’t God preserve His word into any language He sees fit, and that translation be the pure words of God in that language? Is God bound by language?

We see all throughout Scripture, someone speaking one language and what was said was translated into Hebrew or Greek and that translation is the so called “originals.”
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
People who think the KJV is the only true Bible simply no nothing about translating. The receiving language is as important as the sending, which means the people reading need to understand it. So, a Bible from the 1600th century, with obsolete grammar and words is simply not acceptable.
It’s not obsolete if we read and study it daily.😀

Are we that lazy that we need it dumbed down into a broken form of English so we can understand it without study? That’s false anyway. Here are some comparisons. Which is easier? So much for updated language.

Matthew 9:17 - NASV / wineskins - KJV / bottles
Matthew 1:11 - NASV / deportation - KJV / carried away
Luke 6:22 - NASV / ostracize - KJV / separate you from their company
1 Thes. 2:18 - NASV / thwarted - KJV / hindered
1 Tim. 3:3 - NASV / pugnacious - KJV / striker
1 Tim. 3:8 - NASV / sordid - KJV / filthy
1 Tim. 6:16 - NASV / a pang - KJV / sorrows
Hebrews 7:2 - NASV / apportioned - KJV / gave
Hebrews 12:1 - NASV / encumbrance - KJV / weight
Revelation 6:8 - NASV / ashen - KJV / pale
Revelation 18:1 - NASV / illumined - KJV / lightened
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
As for manuscripts, do most people know the TR, or Textus Receptus, sprang into being in the 800 to 900 century in the Byzantine Empire? All the other families of texts, date back to much earlier. The TR was copied over and over, with many addition and notes in the margins creeping into the actual text. Lower textual critics can trace most of these errors back to the original mistake. The TR, is probably the worst set of manuscripts in existence. If one wants to talk about corruption, the TR (also called the "Majority Text" because they were recopied by Greek scribes, complete with errors, and springing up almost a millennium after the original autographs were written.) is the most corrupt set of manuscripts. Again, they have no origin, meaning it was translated somewhere within the Byzantine Empire very late, and became the standard for Greeks. Even Jerome's badly translated Latin version was made in the 4th century, centuries earlier than the so-called TR!
We’re you there to see this, or did your PhD professor teach you this?

PhD = post hole digger

Amazing God chose to use this corrupt Bible to spur the greatest revival the world has ever seen.

And you know, Angela, older does not mean better. Older simply means, we have them because they were not used and passed around, put on a shelf, rejected.
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
25,489
13,797
113
By trusting the Lord don’t you mean by trusting what He said and the written testimony about Him? God and His word cannot be separated.
Trusting in God goes beyond what is written in His word.