Bible Translations

People often ask me the following question: “Why are there so many different translations of the Bible?”

First of all, anything you read in one language that was not originally written in that language—whether it’s a history book, a novel, a science book, a recipe book, a comic book, a magazine, poetry, an instruction manual, or the Bible…is a translation.

The Old Testament was written in the common language of its day, which was Hebrew – approximately 1660s B.C. to the 400s B.C. The New Testament was written in the common language of its day, which was Koine Greek (1st Century A.D.). This means that all legitimate future Bible translations would of necessity have been translated from those two original Hebrew and Greek languages.

A Bible translation is typically the product of a team of Hebrew and Greek scholars, who have worked together to translate the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into a different language – like English. However, if they do not produce a word-for-word translation from the original Hebrew and Greek texts using legitimate English language equivalents, then all they have produced is a paraphrase, and therefore not a legitimate translation.

Paraphrases might be used for casual reading or interesting reference, but not as a guide to find absolute truth. Examples of paraphrases would be: “The Message,” “Phillips,” “The Living Bible,” or the “Good News Bible.”

So why are there so many translations? That’s really an easy question to answer. You see words and word meanings change over time with common usage. The way we talk, the words we use, even the meanings of those words, keep changing! Just think about the English language. Gay used to mean happy. Wicked used to mean something bad, but now it often means something good. Spam used to be canned meat—or something like meat, but now it’s junk e-mail. Cool used to mean cold. Coke was a drink, not a drug. And if someone was hot they just needed a fan.

Dictionaries are constantly being updated because word definitions change with common usage. WARNING: Modern dictionaries do not tell us how to speak, but how we are speaking. Why a warning here? Well, it’s because dictionaries do not always give the original definition of a word that is used in the Bible. Dictionaries simply give the definition of a word based on how the meaning or usage of the word has evolved over time, and how it is currently being used in culture. So beware! Use a reliable Bible dictionary to define Bible words, not the latest version of Merriam-Webster. 

God does not give any of us permission to change or arbitrarily decide how a word in the Bible is to be defined. The word of God does not change to accommodate the times!

So when the King James Version of the Bible came out in 1611, (over 1500 years after the last book of the Bible was written) it was translated from the Hebrew and Greek into the language of that day—which was King James English. That’s why the KJV has so many archaic words like “thee” and “thou” and verb endings that we no longer use today. That was King James English, and there is nothing holy about it, no matter how holy it might sound.

The KJV is an excellent translation. In fact, Bible scholars say it is one of the best ever produced. However, it is not the only reliable translation of the Bible, regardless of what the “KJV Only” crowd tries to say. The KJV is not “the one God wrote,” or the “Christ Authorized Version” as some in the “KJV only” crowd contend. THAT’S ABSURD! If the old English KJV is the only reliable version of the Bible, then I guess the Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Germans, etc. are simply out of luck, since there is no such thing as “King James Chinese” or “King James Russian” or King James German. The blessing and history of the KJV 1611 is tainted when it is elevated to more than what it was and is: a great translation for its time.

The Bible has to be translated into all 6,500ish languages, and each translation must be translated with word equivalents from each language that best match the original Hebrew and Greek texts. This is the only way to get reliable Bible translations in each language.

There have been many more translations of the Bible into English since the KJV first appeared in 1611, and there will always need to be more in the future since words, word usage, and word definitions are constantly changing.

Someone might ask, “But how about all those Bible “contradictions or “mistakes?” Others say, “The Bible is full of contradictions and mistakes because of so many translations.” It is true that all the versions we have (including the KJV) have translational errors in them, BUT… 1) we know about those errors; 2) they are trivial in nature; and 3) none of the commonly recognized “good” translations (KJV, NKJV, ESV, RSV, ASV, ACV, NIV, etc.) contain any errors that alter or adversely affect or eliminate any doctrine or truth. 

You can be sure that God has faithfully preserved His Word to us even if it doesn’t come in one single “perfect” translation. The Bible is the most documented, scrutinized, and historically supported book in all of human history. Its accuracy and authenticity in the reliable versions we have is beyond question.