We need to understand the individual words, but
also the surrounding phrases, to give ourselves
the best chance at reading a passage in the Bible
correctly.
Bible Translations
As we’ve mentioned, the Bible is a collection of
books written over a period of thousands of years.
Therefore, it stands to reason that the books
contained within the Bible were not written in
modern-day English. Actually, they were not written
in any English, old or modern. Hebrew, Greek, and
Aramaic are the three languages which comprise
the original writings we read in the Bible. It then
follows that the writings need to be translated into
a language we can understand.
The goal of understanding the Bible is the goal
of understanding the ideas of God. We must
recognize that the English words are not the sacred
words of the Bible. It is the ideas and teachings of
God presented through the English language, or
any other modern day language, which gives the
Bible its sacredness.
Resulting from the tension of understanding
words, understanding context, and understanding
overall ideas as presented through the Bible, there
are three different methods of translating the Bible
from the original language to our modern day
English.
them in an easy to read modern language.
Examples: The Living Bible, The Message, Phillips
Choosing Your Bible Translation
Each translation has its positives and negatives.
The best combination of replicating the original
structure of the writings, along with communicating
the ideas in understandable English is the dynamic
equivalent translation. Within each translation, you
also need to consider the time period for which it
was written. The King James Version (KJV) of the
Bible was translated in 1604. It is an expression
of old English language, but not a user friendly
expression of the ideas of God in modern day
English.
My personal recommendation is to use the New
Living Translation (NLT) version. It keeps as
close to the original structure of the writings as
possible, while giving the message of God in
an easy to understand presentation. The best
recommendation is to pick a translation from all
three categories, and to read them together. This
helps you get the full shade of meaning from the
original languages.
Where to Begin Daily Reading
We’ve established the reason for daily reading,
and we’ve established a method to choose a
translation for daily reading. Now, we must decide
where to begin our daily readings.
Literal Translation
I believe you should start reading whatever best
Literal translations attempt to stick as close to suits your interest. God will speak to you through
the original language as humanly possible. The His word, regardless of where you start reading.
grammar, style, and word organization remain If you’re interested in learning terse sayings to
presented the same way, or as close as possible, to remember, read the book of Proverbs. If you’re
the way they were written in the original language. into poetry, read the psalms. If you want to learn
Examples: KJV, NSAB, RSV
about Jesus, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
If you want to read about practical matters of faith,
Dynamic Equivalent Translation
start with the book of James.
This translation focuses less on exact replication My personal recommendation to new believers
into English. The goal of this type of translation is to start reading the book of John. Here’s why:
is to express the meanings of words presented The book of John was written to gentiles (people
in the original language in a way that is both outside of the Jewish faith) to show them that
understandable in the English language and also Jesus came to forgive them of their sins. Most of
as closely organized to the structure of the original us are gentiles. Therefore, this book explains some
language as possible. Examples: NIV, GNB, NLT things about Jesus in ways the other gospels do
Free Translation
not because it was written with a different audience
The translation is the least representative of the in mind.
original language structure. However, this type of Following the book of John, I recommend reading
translation explicitly focuses on taking the ideas Mathew, Mark, Luke, and then Acts. Following the
expressed in the original language and presenting book of Acts, I recommend re Y[