Frequent Asked Questions on Bible Translation

There is always something lost in translation. Nonetheless, translators and translation committees are generally quite skilled.

Don't pick and choose a particular translation because it suits your point. "Translation shopping" can lead to incorrect results.

There are two ways to avoid errors when using translations. First, always be careful with context. Be sure that the wording you choose fits the overall context. Second, compare translations. If there are significant differences between major translations, that tells you that there are some issues involved in that verse.

Related Links:

• Translations and Bible Study
  Discussion of the difficulties of relying on translations and choosing a translation based on your theological preferences.

Some elements of the young earth creationist movement tend to use the KJV and to defend its use either as the exclusive or the primary Bible for Christians. They have various reasons for this, including the alleged theological liberalism of translation committees.

There is no necessary relationship between the two positions, even though they often use similar arguments, and modern versions do not generally read substantially differently in the key passages. If you're going to interpret a passage to support the young earth position from one version, you will likely be able to do so with equal logic from any of the modern versions.

Note that many modern translation committees are very conservative as well, such as the NKJV NLT, and ESV.

Related Links:

• Creationism and the KJV
  A look at some defenses of the KJV put forward by young earth creationists.

Besides normal considerations of readability and accuracy, a pew Bible needs to meet the needs of a congregation in corporate worship. This can involved reading in unison, following scriptures during sermons, and even support of small Bible study groups. As a result you will need to consider the general educational level of the congregation, their experience as Christians and your church's mission. For example, if you are trying to reach unchurched people or youth, you need to consider a pew Bible that will be easily accessible to them.

The key is 1 Corinthians 14--do everything to build up of the body.

Related Links:

• Choosing a Pew Bible
  Key considerations when choosing a pew Bible for your congregation.

While no translation can be final, you can guard against major errors and difficulties in interpretation by paying close attention to context and by comparing various translations before coming to any conclusion. At a minimum, checking different translations can alert you to places that are controversial, since you can see where translators have rendered a particular passage differently.

Related Links:

• Finding an Authoritative Translation
• Finding an Authoritative Translation - Supplement A

A revision starts from an existing translation. You can't be certain based simply on the name whether you are using a revision or a new translation from scratch. The King James Version, for example, is technically a revision, while the New International Version is a new translation.

The reason it is hard to tell the difference is that in either case a translation committee will start from the source texts in the original languages. In a revision, they will change the base text (the one their revision is based on) only as necessary. In a new translation from scratch, translators will still compare the work of others.

Thus both types of translation are based on the original languages, and translation committees will very rarely keep a translation they do not think is ideal simply because it's in the base translation.

Related Links:

• Revision and Translation

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