David of Derby Posted December 23, 2007 Group: Senior Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 77 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 780 Content Per Day: 0.13 Reputation: 150 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/29/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/20/1983 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Hey everyone. I'm going to be buying a Bible pretty soon, unless someone in my family bought me one for Christmas, but that doesn't seem terribly likely. So I need to decide what version to get. I'd like the most accurate translation possible - unfortunately I don't read Ancient Greek or Hebrew so I need it in English - but I'd like to avoid modern language and simplifications if I can. I tend to lean towards the King James Version but I understand there are some questionable translations in there. The famous phrase about not suffering a witch to live springs to mind. Can anyone offer me any insight or opinions on which way to go? I don't have any trouble understanding the thees and thous and so forth so no need to avoid that stuff. Thanks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted December 23, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.23 Reputation: 9,763 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted December 23, 2007 I have a New King James Version, but I also use a concordance, a Greek and Hebrew dictionary that coincides with my concordance. Some swear by the KJV, but I do not. You may be better off understanding what you read then to be confused by words you never heard of. OneLight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trusting Jesus Posted December 24, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 66 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,050 Content Per Day: 0.34 Reputation: 22 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/12/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 09/09/1952 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I also use the New King James. I really like the King James (I usually use it when quoting the Bible) but there are some words that have changed their meaning over the years. I don't like NIV or the Living Bible or the Message. But it is important to understand the original meaning and intent of the words and I agree that a concordance is important. I like http://www.blueletterbible.org (it has a concordance that you can look at online). I also like http://net.bible.org. <>< ><> Nathele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraught Posted December 24, 2007 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 105 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,741 Content Per Day: 0.28 Reputation: 28 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/23/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/30/1959 Share Posted December 24, 2007 the new living translation (or nlt) is being touted as the most accurate translation yet. and in my opinion, it's very easy to read and understand. when i'm looking for cross-references thru-out, i like the nasb (new american standard bible) try them both online at biblegateway. com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted December 24, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.23 Reputation: 9,763 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted December 24, 2007 You may also try Strong's Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicon online. OneLight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunterpoet Posted December 24, 2007 Group: Removed from Forums for Breaking Terms of Service Followers: 0 Topic Count: 128 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,704 Content Per Day: 0.44 Reputation: 25 Days Won: 1 Joined: 05/29/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/08/1950 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Hello David, I like the KJV, but I have found other translations to be helpful along with the commentaries offered on the Power Bible cd. I do not like the NIV. The other day steve(in chat) suggested the Analytical Literal Translation (new testement only) becasue it has very good greek translations. I can tell you from the short amount of time I have been studying that the greek and hebrew definitions are paramount regardless of what bible you use. Your brother in Christ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsSealedEternal Posted December 24, 2007 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 8 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 474 Content Per Day: 0.07 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/31/2006 Status: Offline Share Posted December 24, 2007 My favorite bible study resource is e-sword. You can look into and compare various translations like the ALT, ASV, ESV, KJV, NASB, etc., along with the Hebrew and Greek with concordance references, and look at certain commentaries. Any resource that enables you to do that makes for a wonderful bible study resource. We have multiple translations of the bible in our home also, but the one I tend to use the most is the NASB Ryrie Study Bible. The NIV is especially controversial because of the use of paraphrases. I don't use it often, but we have the bible on cd's that are from an NIV translation. We bought that before we knew much of anything about the translation controversies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svnthdysthsbbth Posted December 24, 2007 Group: Members Followers: 0 Topic Count: 0 Topics Per Day: 0 Content Count: 6 Content Per Day: 0.00 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/15/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted December 24, 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Receptus *Edit Google video* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherEljohari Posted December 24, 2007 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 6 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 158 Content Per Day: 0.03 Reputation: 2 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/23/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 07/20/1984 Share Posted December 24, 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Receptus Thats what my pastor speaks of textus receptus and the authenticity of the KJV. God bless- Heatheroxoxox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewA Posted December 24, 2007 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 82 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 469 Content Per Day: 0.07 Reputation: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/31/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 09/21/1967 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Best way is to read different versions extensively and get the one you are most comfortable reading. King James is a slog to read for many people and reading the bible should not be a struggle. There is an updated new king James avaialble which you may find a little more easier to read. despite what some people will tell you it is perfectly fine to own a bible other than King James. There is nothing wrong with the NIV for example. The so called missing verses in my NIV are not missing at all but are recorded as footnote with explanation that not all manuscripts had this verse in it. King James isnt that a perfect translation, no bible can give a perfect translation from the original Greek and Hebrew, which is why it is a good idea to have at least a couple of Bibles , preferably study Bibles as you can gain a wealth of info in the foot notes on most verses. If you really want to get into perfect meanings then you need Strongs, this gives a reference number to each English word, you look this number up to see the original word it was translated from and gives a proper dictionary description of what that word can mean. Peronally I have a Revised Standard Version, King James Study and a NIV Study Bible. I also use Esword which is alot easier when using Strong Numbers as you can simply click a link rather than spending ages thumbing pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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