Favourite Bible Translations

  • 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.
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
As poet as the KJV may sound, it's far from ideal for serious Bible study in the modern age.
Oh I think if you can understand it, you can use it for study as well as any other version

its just if your going to use it alone, with no help from the original text to overcome the interpretative errors, you not going to get a complete and perfect understanding of what the Bible says
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
So the parents should teach their kids a dead language?
Dead language? I use it daily. Here's an example of how easy the KJV wording is compared to the NASB:

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

SoulWeaver

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2014
4,889
2,534
113
Are you saying we are dumber in the "modern age" and need the bible watered down for us?
It's not dumbing things down, language is a living structure, it constantly changes. Set any normative and with enough time it becomes obsolete. It's a linguistic reality. My people also abandoned Old Slavic Bible which was the first translation we had, nowadays it's literally another language, and then came a few other versions in between as the language evolved, into modern version. I notice it's only English speakers who stick so persistently to this not very readable version (and don't get me wrong I like KJV myself) because the translation is revered as God for some reason.
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
Dead language? I use it daily.
emphasis on you

as far as education of the English language goes, it’s a dead language, words have different meaning or are used differently today, that language is not taught in schools

again, are parents supposed to teach that language?

you failed to answer the question. and tried to change the subject, typical action from those who basically have no argument
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
again, are parents supposed to teach that language?
Absolutely! I taught my kids. It's not hard if you start young, and even then it's not difficult. It's a matter of desire.

At the time of the 1611 translation, the words thee and thou and the such were no longer in use, but in order to make the verses accurate, the KJV translators used them.
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
Absolutely! I taught my kids. It's not hard if you start young, and even then it's not difficult. It's a matter of desire.

At the time of the 1611 translation, the words thee and thou and the such were no longer in use, but in order to make the verses accurate, the KJV translators used them.
Ok, should I tell the president or whoever controls these things to make parents teach their kids old English?

(do you realize how ridiculous this sounds?
 

SoulWeaver

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2014
4,889
2,534
113
emphasis on you

as far as education of the English language goes, it’s a dead language, words have different meaning or are used differently today, that language is not taught in schools

again, are parents supposed to teach that language?

you failed to answer the question. and tried to change the subject, typical action from those who basically have no argument
There's no argument, it's cultural conditioning, and arguing from emotional attachment.
Believers who were not culturally conditioned by being native English speaker and by Anglocentrism, do not have this relationship with their Bibles. People just need to imagine being a Christian speaking another language. Which is a great majority of Christians who were ever born into this world. I'm not even a native English speaker, but the propaganda is so prevalent, and I'm genuinely ashamed that I initially fell for some of this stuff myself about Bible versions, until I actually studied the issue.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
Ok, should I tell the president or whoever controls these things to make parents teach their kids old English?

(do you realize how ridiculous this sounds?
Nope, that's a preference thing. I speak modern English, but I study the word in the KJV English. It's really not that difficult. Again, it comes down to desire. There are many things in all versions that are difficult to understand. People single out the KJV because there are some of us that actually believe it is God's holy word preserved in English.
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
25,472
13,785
113
Reading levels are according to the amount of words per sentence, length of thoughts and flow. The KJV is superior! And btw, the English used in the KJV was not even the English spoken of the day in 1611. The words were chosen for their correct manner of speech.
That's another in a long line of silly arguments. The difference in difficulty is not in the number of words per sentence, length of thoughts, and flow. Rather, the important difference is in the familiarity of the words. Terms which are no longer used in everyday English, or which have a different meaning today than they did in 1611, are going to make the KJV more difficult to read than a modern version.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
There's no argument, it's cultural conditioning, and arguing from emotional attachment.
Believers who were not culturally conditioned by being native English speaker and by Anglocentrism, do not have this relationship with their Bibles. People just need to imagine being a Christian speaking another language. Which is a great majority of Christians who were ever born into this world. I'm not even a native English speaker, but the propaganda is so prevalent, and I'm genuinely ashamed that I initially fell for some of this stuff myself about Bible versions, until I actually studied the issue.
I understand your argument, but what about when it comes to facts? There are truths that are different within the versions.

Luke 10:1

NASB - Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.

KJV - After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

Which is true? Did the Lord send out 70 or 72? This is about truth not salvation. This is about trustworthiness.
 
Nov 23, 2013
13,684
1,212
113
It's not dumbing things down, language is a living structure, it constantly changes. Set any normative and with enough time it becomes obsolete. It's a linguistic reality. My people also abandoned Old Slavic Bible which was the first translation we had, nowadays it's literally another language, and then came a few other versions in between as the language evolved, into modern version. I notice it's only English speakers who stick so persistently to this not very readable version (and don't get me wrong I like KJV myself) because the translation is revered as God for some reason.
It's revered as God because the bible is the spirit of Christ. Why do you think the bible calls Jesus the Word of God? It's because the spirit of the bible is the same spirit of Christ. You can't separate the two, both are the same, one is tangible and one is not.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
17,130
3,689
113
That's another in a long line of silly arguments. The difference in difficulty is not in the number of words per sentence, length of thoughts, and flow. Rather, the important difference is in the familiarity of the words. Terms which are no longer used in everyday English, or which have a different meaning today than they did in 1611, are going to make the KJV more difficult to read than a modern version.
Not according to the experts...see also post #824
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
There's no argument, it's cultural conditioning, and arguing from emotional attachment.
Believers who were not culturally conditioned by being native English speaker and by Anglocentrism, do not have this relationship with their Bibles. People just need to imagine being a Christian speaking another language. Which is a great majority of Christians who were ever born into this world. I'm not even a native English speaker, but the propaganda is so prevalent, and I'm genuinely ashamed that I initially fell for some of this stuff myself about Bible versions, until I actually studied the issue.
Yeah conditioning is a major issue that has occurred since the beginning (the fall) I think.
that’s why we should never trust anyone as flawless
 

SoulWeaver

Senior Member
Oct 25, 2014
4,889
2,534
113
It's revered as God because the bible is the spirit of Christ. Why do you think the bible calls Jesus the Word of God? It's because the spirit of the bible is the same spirit of Christ. You can't separate the two, both are the same, one is tangible and one is not.
A translation is a translation. Which is wonderful, of course, I appreciate all translations, but it's still not and never will be the original text, which finds us having to check the original when we deeply study something. There are no true perfect synonyms over languages, except for "Ok" and "Coca-Cola", every language has its own system for conveying thought. I don't share the notion that translations are inspired, not in the same degree. I also don't share the notion that the Bible is the Spirit, the Spirit quickens and gives understanding, but as for the Bible, it speaks about God, but to an atheist it's useless, he will not see the light even from the original. I'm sorry... I revere the message, but the Bible text is still an object to me - even original - no matter how I turn it, I am wary of revering objects might be a personal thing.
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
Nope, that's a preference thing. I speak modern English, but I study the word in the KJV English. It's really not that difficult. Again, it comes down to desire. There are many things in all versions that are difficult to understand. People single out the KJV because there are some of us that actually believe it is God's holy word preserved in English.
actually it is you who single yourself out

you your own worse representative as the arguments you make only make sense you you. Other people just try to point that out to you

fact is, If god made an old English Bible perfect he can also update it to modern language so everyone can understand
 
E

eternally-gratefull

Guest
That's another in a long line of silly arguments. The difference in difficulty is not in the number of words per sentence, length of thoughts, and flow. Rather, the important difference is in the familiarity of the words. Terms which are no longer used in everyday English, or which have a different meaning today than they did in 1611, are going to make the KJV more difficult to read than a modern version.
Yep

good example is verily verily I say unto you

to anyone wh has no grasp of old English these words are useless