Which translation of the bible is the most accurate

One thing is that no matter how much people change things, God said His word will be there till the end of time. So why am I trying to do what God says He will do?

Another thing is, don't pick apart verses, or words, that will take you in whichever direction you want it to, but rather try and catch what the writer is trying to say. I heard a well respected bible teacher once say that a good message is not backed up by scripture, but rather a good message comes out of scripture. Every religion out there backs up there views and traditions with scripture. The one thing that I've learned over the years which explains it the best, is that our Heavenly Father cares way more about one drug addict out on the street than any version of the bible.

It must be heart breaking for our Father to see his people arguing over which version is the best while there are so many that need to just hear his word. Richard McCabe For the New Testament, the older the source the less likely it is to have been altered. The exception to this is books that were known to be fraudulent when written. Early Church leaders made lists of accurate books as far back as the second century. The canon was formalized in the third century, although the Catholics continued to add books till the 's.

Some believe this is one of 50 bibles Constantine ordered sent by chariot throughout the Roman Empire. It does date to that era. I find it beneficial to look at multiple translations, the meanings of the words that were translated, and even where those same words were used elsewhere in the Bible.

For the Old Testament I believe the Jewish versions to be largely accurate owing to a tradition of rigorous quality and a multitude of copies worldwide. Thomas Holmes When we think about the various bible translations it is very important to have an awareness of the philosophy of the scholars who contributed to the translation and the principles they followed.

For instance, the NASB version prefaced its philosophy with a fourfold purpose: 1. The printed publications must be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It must be understandable. It should give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; therefore, no work will ever be personalized.

They are supported by the Lockman Foundation and committed to the integrity of scholarship and scriptural authenticity. They have revised their translations two times and a version will soon be completed.

As a student and pastor, I have invested significantly in a very thorough Bible Study software program that provide substantial resources to do Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, historical, contextual and comparative analysis on biblical words and passages, Seminary trained us to go underneath the words in the printed texts to find God in Christ with the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us to capture the original meaning-- literal, figurative and metaphorical and to be able to apply it to our current cultural context.

What God has revealed to me is a process for gaining knowledge, understanding and wisdom of God's biblical truths. I have found so many inconsistencies in interpretation of various passages which have only made me dig deeper into my exegesis so that I am true to 1Peter One major textual differentiation for my faith community is explaining why some versions eliminate the doxology in the model prayer in Matthew For my community the doxology is the power point in the prayer!

Some might say we have a problem Houston! After over 18 years of studying the Word, my process has evolved to the place where I totally depend on the Holy Spirit to guide my study of the sacred texts.

After reading at least 7 versions of the text, I am ready to ask the questions and begin my journey with God for meaning. My seminary thesis was "Faith Seeking Understanding" and what I wrote 14 years ago is very relevant to my walk today. Now there are some interpretations that are out of the realm of authentic scholarship such as the Jehovah Witness's "The New Translation of the Holy Bible" which was written with a specific "personalized" agenda.

When considering any of the authentic biblical interpretations, I believe we should not ask the question of whether one version is more accurate than another. We should ask the question what is the best process for rightly dividing the Word truth, drawing closer to God, and provides the greatest opportunity to receive the constant flowing of living water that flows through our souls with the revelation of Jesus Christ. Myron Robertson Seeking God's heart There is no way to name one translation as more accurate than any other because there are too many variables, nor is the actual translation anywhere near as important as the interpretation of the individual reader.

Naturally the translation problems impact that individual interpretation so they must be considered. I have found many good things, and many bad things in every translation I have examined. I have personal opinions as to which is more accurate than others, but that also is one of those personal interpretation things and should have little or no influence on anyone else's study.

You must examine these things for yourself under the guidance of the Holy Spirit or the study has no real validity. That does not mean you cannot seek the guidance of other godly people, but you must then recognize that each of us has our own idols of the heart Eze which causes our own blind spots, and which force our own personal opinions on scriptural interpretation unless we are willing to fully surrender those interpretations to God and cast down any idol of preconceived ideas, or incorrectly taught and believed doctrine.

The biblical rule is question everything see especially Dt 13, but there are many other texts in both testaments but most Christians are taught to question nothing if it is stated by the appropriate denominational officials. If you take the question everything attitude and look for proper confirmation of everything it becomes easy to cast down the idols you have been taught to worship in your past, no matter how poorly translated a particular version of scripture is.

This is translated by the Roman Catholic Church. Since every word spoken through a prophet is symbolism Num and usually is not even understood properly by the prophet Mt interpretation of the symbols in more important than proper translation of the words. All translations contain the seed of the word of God, and this is usually enough for any student who seeks proper interpretation of the symbols rather than an actual literal reading of the words.

It takes digging and a type of study that is very rare these days but is still in existence. The truth cannot be found with the kind of superficial or ultra literal interpretation that has always been very common.

God intentionally used the symbols to hide his truth from those who care more about supporting their own beliefs than seeking out his truth.

Dale Casselman Christian Find a comfortable read in each of the equivalence. Like Young's Literal, as your word for word. NIV, is one of my favs as far as a mixed read. It is somewhat formal, and also dynamic. So, get it for sure. I use the version, and I store my notes in it. CSB is also great in a study bible, as it gives a new Greek word in every chapter. NLT is good for a dynamic equivalency. But, you are also going to wanna get a paraphrase, and the NLT was a redo of the Living Bible, which by the way is a nice read.

The NIV is very readable. It was designed to be easy-to-read-and-understand for the international reader of English who might have learned English in a different country than the US or UK, or might have learned English as a second language.

The NIV is also sort of hybrid between word-for-word and thought-for-thought approaches to translation something like GWT. I have the old version. But the version is a reflection of how the English language is changing. But it also has some colloquialisms that other readers find quaint and not keeping with their expectations of what a Bible should read like.

MSG was published in In fact, it really belongs on the list of the Worst Translations of the Bible. GNT was designed specifically for non-native English speakers in Africa. It was published in The GNT is a looser, more colloquial version made to be accessible to the greatest number of readers.

Sometimes the GNT gets criticized for taking too many liberties in making it accessible, but we need to keep in mind that GNT was designed with a purpose and it is very good at fulfilling that purpose. The Phillips translation is an extended paraphrase by Anglican Clergyman J.

He prepared it originally for his church youth group, but it has become a favorite of Bible students and scholars for decades since it was first published in Phillips was a scholar of Biblical Greek who worked directly from Greek manuscripts. We could have a very long conversation about the many different translations and all the technical reasons to read one or another version of the Bible.

And different people may have different reasons for selecting the version they read every day. There are many good translations. And many people have their preferences. Here are some things to think about and questions to ask yourself when deciding which translation to get:. For many folks, just one translation will never do. If you are like me, you will have multiple translations around the house, on your computer and all your electronic devices. People might purchase a number of different Bibles, but which one do they actually read?

A Study Bible has cross references, parallel passages, maps and other helps designed to enrich your experience as you read the greatest stories ever told in human history. I just posted this detailed article on how to choose a study Bible. The important thing is that you find a translation that you like. You may like a translation that challenges you to learn. You may like a translation because it is more memorable because you like to memorize verses or even whole chapters of text.

You might even —as I do- draw from multiple translations to seek deeper meaning than you can get out of a single translation. Whatever the reason, you now know the top Bible translations to choose from. Is your Faith Founded on Fact? Have you committed to follow Jesus? What does the Bible say about husband and wife in marriage? God instituted marriage in the Bible.

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Unsure of the meaning of a word or phrase in the Bible? Check our glossary of terms. What we're doing. Find out how we work and where we work to bring the Bible to life for communities all over the world. Our website uses cookies to improve your online experience. Accept Find out more. Which translation?

Accuracy or meaning? Which is the best Bible translation? How do I choose my Bible translation? First of all, consider how you'll be reading the Bible I'm new to the Bible You might like to start with a translation that avoids too much technical language. I'll be reading with other people Decide whether it would help you to have the same version as everyone else or a different one so that you can see how different translators have translated the passage you are reading.

I'll be reading big sections at a time e. Translation guide Click on the title to find out more about each translation. Date first published: What kind of translation? Dynamic equivalence — still a translation but is often very colloquial and renders the original language loosely Average reading age?

Formal equivalence — literal, staying close to the original sentence structure but changing it where meaning is compromised Average reading age? Yes Often stated pros of the translation: Designed to be accessible to and is very popular among non-native English speakers, especially in Africa and the Far East. Its line drawings are iconic and help with understanding the text An easy-to-read and understand version Often stated cons of the translation: Often criticised for lack of depth in its phrasing Some feel that, occasionally, it goes too far from the original text in its attempt to communicate meaning Sample verse: 'If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God?

Jerusalem Bible JB.