Bible Translations

I have recently been receiving several questions on bible translations, which one is the best or which one I prefer.  My main concern is that everyone is readying their bibles.  We will soon be getting ready to start our read through the Bible program for 2014.  I pray that everyone will take this challenge and go ahead and try your best to stay in the word in 2014.  One question that sometimes arises is why do we need newer translations?  The Authorized Version, aka the King James Version, was written sometime and ago so why a newer translation.  The answers is simply this, the Word of God never changes, but language does!  Let me give you an example, the word "gay" 50 or 60 years ago meant "to be happy" but now means someone who has embraced a homosexual lifestyle.  In a similar manner, many words we use today are different then in 1611.  One example would be from Genesis 4:1:

"And Adam Knew Eve his wife; and she conceived" (King James Version)

vs.

"Adam was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived" (Holman Christian Standard Version)

In the above passage, for a modern reader "to know" someone does not mean sex, it simply means "to be aware" of someone.  So for a modern, especially young reader the King James could prove difficult to understand.  These are just a few of the reasons why there will always be a need for newer translations, because English, like all languages, are constantly evolving.  I have selected the Holman Christian Standard Version as more or less of a default translation for preaching and teaching at Grace Baptist Church.  I selected this translation because of its accuracy and readability giving it the ability to satisfy a wide array of Bible students from the most seasoned serious student to the beginner!

I would also recommend the following translations as excellent ones to own:

·         New American Standard Version- very literal word for word translation, sometimes readability is difficult.  Not the best translation for public reading of Scripture, but a must have for study time!

·         English Standard Version- Designed to bridge the gap between the New American Standard and the New International Version, this translation strives to be as biblically literal as the NASB and seeks to be as readable as the NIV.

·         New International Version (1984 version)- very readable written on an eighth grade reading level, but this is also it's weakness.  some words like propitiation is translated simply as atonement, and the Greek word doulas which means slave is often translated servant instead of slave.

·         King James Version- written on a twelfth grade reading level, one must be familiar how to read old English in order to get the most from this translation.  The strength of the KJV is it's poetic beauty of old English coupled with being more like the Greek in using thee and thou, making it easier to tell if we are talking about you-singular vs. you-plural.

Here is a helpful video about the Holman Christian Standard Bible.