Why are there so many different translations of the bible? Well this is a question I've definitely asked because at first glance it seems a little pointless to have so many versions - if they all have the same info, what's the point of so many - and if you are a new Christian or even an older Christian it can seem a little overwhelming. Also for the main reason that if we are going to live by something we want to know it's really the truth! It's good to ask these questions, How do you know which translation to use? Does it matter which one you use? Do they have the same information?
So after reading what the BibleX study had to say about the different translations and doing a bit of extra research myself, I'm excited to have found the answers! One of the main reasons for so many different translations is that groups of translators struggle with whether to translate the words or the idea from the original manuscripts.
Word for Word
If you focus on a word for word translation the problem is you have to take into consideration that each specific word might have different meanings in different cultures in different times. For a common example, the Hebrew and Aramaic languages have many versions of the English word love. So the meaning might change a bit because of the limitations of the English language. For another example, in Jesus time the word "Amazed" had a more negative feel. Saying you were amazed was more like saying you were a bit frightened and appalled by something. In America today, most of us think of the word amazing as a good, wonderful, positive thing. So in Mark 1:27 it states, "The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him." See how the difference of the tone in that one word changes the meaning of the verse. This is something the translators have spent a lot of time considering and perfecting.
However, on the other hand, focusing on ideas can be just as challenging because sometimes specific words are used by the writer of a part of the bible because it has a specific meaning. In deep study of the scripture you can determine why the author chose to use a specific word, maybe to make a stronger impact, maybe there's a deeper meaning?
So just to focus on a few popular translations in order to show you the difference;
- The New American Standard version is a word for word translation of the original language of each book in that exact word for word order
- The Living Bible communicates the ideas of each verse instead of focusing as much on the exact word. The translators subsituted the original word with an English word that best conveys the exact idea that verse was relaying.
- The New International Version tries to convey BOTH the words and the ideas as closely as the English language can get to the original scripts
However, one thing we can be sure of is that each translation has been very carefully studied and the ideas of the original scripts are still the same in the bibles we have today, no matter what translation.We can have confidence that our bible is the true word of God all these hundreds of years later. I'll leave you with what God has to say about the truth of his Word:
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