Seven Steps to Better Bible Browsing

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Seven Steps to Better Bible Browsing

• Which Translation of the Bible?

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Which Translation

• The first translation of the Hebrew Bible was
  into Greek and is known as the Septuagint.
• The Latin Vulgate by Jerome was based upon the
  Hebrew Masoretic text for those books of the
  Bible preserved in the Jewish canon and the Greek
  text for the rest.
• Most medieval and modern Jewish translations were
  derived from ancient Jewish translations, such as
  the Aramaic Targums, which conform closely to the
  Masoretic text.

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Which Translation

• Historical translations include Wyclif's Bible
  (1383) which was based on the Vulgate.
• Tyndale's Bible (1526) based primarily upon the
  Vulgate and Greek texts faced opposition from the
  Church and William Tyndale was jailed in 1535 for
  translating the Old Testament.
• Others include Coverdales based upon the Vulgate
  and German translations (1535), Matthew Bible
  (1537) and the "authorised" Great (due to its
  size) Bible (1539)
• Modern translations usually use the masoretic
  text, but also take into account possible
  variants from all available ancient versions.

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Bible Translations
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Which Translation

• There are four types of translations of the
  Bible
• literal or Word for Word (Translated directly
  from the Hebrew and Greek texts)
• meaning for meaning
• a combination of word for word and meaning for
  meaning
• Paraphrase (a rephrasing or interpreting of the
  text or passages putting them into different
  terms)

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Which Translation

• Literal (word for word) translations include
• 1611 King James Version (KJV)
• 1881-5 Revised Version (RV)
• 1901 American Standard Version (ASV)
• 1946-52 Revised Standard Version (RSV)
• 1971 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
• 1982 New King James Version (NKJV)
• 1989 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

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Which Translation

• Meaning for meaning translations include
• The Good News Bible/ Todays English Version (TEV)
• The New English Bible
• Word for Word/ Meaning for Meaning blend
• New International Version
• Paraphrase versions
• J. B. Philips
• The Living Bible

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Translations of the Bible

• Some are better than others.
• Some are word for word translations i.e. they
  try to follow the original wording as exactly as
  the English allows. (AV, RV, RSV, NASB)
• Others are sense for sense translations these
  try to express the same ideas in English. This
  kind of translation depends very much on what the
  translator thinks the original is saying. (NIV,
  GNB)

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Translations of the Bible

• Comparing translations
• Revelation 213
• King James
• New King James
• New International Version
• New Living Translation Look, the home of God is
  now among his people! He will live with them, and
  they will be his people. God himself will be with
  them.

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Translations of the Bible

• ton huion ton monogene
  edoken
• the son the only-begotten
  he gave
• He gave his only begotten son (AV, RV, NASB)
• He gave his only son (GNB)
• He gave his one and only son (NIV)
• NIV, GNB contradicts Gal. 45-6 and Heb. 212
  Heb. 126 but AV, RV, NASB confirm it

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Which Translation?

• That's all folks!