Changes to the Bible

Some of the newer translations of the Bible alter passages majorly.

An example is this verse:

"When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife." (Geneiss 26:8 ESV)

"Now it happened, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah."

And this older one is way more sexual,
"But when they had been there for a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out of a window and saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah." (NAB, NRSV)

Those are three vastly different translations of what Isaac is doing to his wife. The more Protestant translation has sanitized it majorly, the more Word for Word is using caressing, but the older translations are stating Isaac is doing something far beyond caressing.

What other changes do you come across and say? Which is it? Which translation is sound and which is an attempt to cover up something that might not sit well with Puritan sensibilities?

a bit off topic, but to me, the New International Version is not a good translation.

misses a lot of the meaning of too many verses..

So many translations omit the clarity of the Greek, they change it to be more opaque,
for instance Revelation 2:4-5, a lot of translations say, "you have fallen away from your first love,"
The Greek and NLT says, "You no longer love me or each other as you first did." That is clearer and goes with Jesus saying The greatest commandments are to, "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, this is the chief and greatest command, the second it is like it, love your neighbor as you love yourself."

For something to be "altered", it must also have an "unaltered" state. What is the unaltered state to which you appeal?

Wait..those are ALL modern translations themselves. How about the KJB? Or others much older than those ones.

Genesis 26:8 KJV - And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

Sporting has similar meaning to caressing.

But no matter ..the Bible is truth so if it sounds intimate that's the way it is

I would probably go crazy if I tried to read all the different versions , I call them versions rather than translations because that is what they r . There is a difference , I think that a version can only b called a translation if , it has been re translated from scratch and all of it . Twerking a few words is not a translation in my eyes . To save myself from going crazy I just stuck to one translation . Others may enjoy comparing etc but I would just rather read and enjoy than spend time nit picking over different versions just to annoy my own self 😆 . Peace not strife ❤️ .

The fondling translation of that verse is the NRSV and ASB, so those are not modern translations..

Its a problem because a Muslim told me, "we don't trust your Scriptures, they have been changed." So it makes sharing trust in Scripture hard when the "versions" as you said, much better way of describing them than translations I agree, are at variance with each other.

Well, the obvious solution is for everyone who wants to read the Bible to learn Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, and only have Bibles in those languages; problem solved.

Actually Aramaic, Hebrew, and Koine Greek (not modern Greek).

But that's dismissive of the problem of translating. We are suppose to trust these Bible Translation Societies, and yet it is clear bias is involved, and they choose the words they prefer.

One of the reason I did like the NLT a lot was it had 100 Translators from all Denominations, not just one Denomination of Christianity.

All I can say is caveat emptor.

We do have accurate English rendering of the original Hebrew and Aramaic.

5000+ manuscripts evidence that mostly harmonize with eachother.

The copying and translating has been done meticulously.

Have a look at the preface to the KJB.

I wouldn't worry too much about what a muslim says , if they were interested they probably wouldn't b so contentious . Remind them how islam is 600 years younger than Christianity and of how much they have appropriated from the Bible .

When i read the opening post i went to my KJB also to see what it said.. Yes Isaac was doing stuff with his wife that made it clear to Abimelech that Rebekah was not his Issac's Sister.. It is important not to add too or take away from the Word of God..

I have a problem with the NIV.. Thats why i will go and open up the KJV.. When i read quotes from other Bibles..

Isaac wasn't doing anything "far beyond caressing." He was holding Rebekah and laughing with her. That's the more complete meaning of the Hebrew tsachaq. The NKJV actually has the overall best rendering in my opinion: "and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife."

read.listen, hear from any translation. At the end of each day, take it all to Father and Son as Won in prayer, to get told the truth of it all in god's love for us all, no sugar coating

Don't look up, don't look down. Look straight forward and face reality, in whatever is going on presently
Those that do not deny God, will see and face reality seeing Ecclesiastes a time for everything, t least to me in my short walk here on earth, before eternity is set in, in my willing death as well as Jesus did. Amazing. Then see new in the risen and that is so far beyond physical

Ah Lectio Divina and doing what the Scripture says,
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (John 14:26)

1 John 2:27
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Amazing too get set free and remain harmless in awareness, God does it all as I see it suspect you are doing also