What Version of the Bible should we trust?

[Guest :Crusader:]

This is one of the reasons I so desperately want to become fluent in Latin. Then I don't have to worry which is which!

The value of having a father who's a pastor is this: I have access to about 5 or 6 differently translated bibles. When I study, I cross reference so I get a real feel for what's trying to be said. You might try the same thing on a different level.

[Guest lovinghim4ever]

The best answer to your question I can give you is this: ask the Lord to help you find something you can get the most out of. Then, read it.

Good answer. That's what I was going to say!

[findmysheep]

I know that Bible versions is generally a hot topic but it may well be worth asking ourselves a few questions when thinking about this:

1) What version of the 'bible' did the early church use?

A. They only had the Greek or Hebrew OT and then it was held by the synagogue as it was handwritten and extremely expensive.

2) When the Apostles and others spread the gospel into the non-Jewish world what scriptures did they have?

A. Probably none.

3) If God can reach the whole of the known world in the lifetime of the NT apostles without the 'bible' in the way we understand it is He going to be bothered about which version you read?

4) Which is more important, what version you read or how you act upon what you read?

Be blessed.

[findmysheep]

I wish to thank all those that has gave me their input and all of your responses spoke to my spirit and can be summed up by saying this......i need to listen to the Holy Spirit speak to me and He "will".....regardless of which version I am reading. I guess my panic button was slapped down on by satan momentarily and i began to question a bit too much and worry a bit too much regarding if i was trully getting the "correct" interpretation of God's Word. However, with help from His Spirit and guiding hand, i now realize that no matter what version i choose, His Spirit will guide me and instruct me.

God Bless you and keep the faith

In love, :

robin

BRILLIANT!!!

[MeCajunboy]

I am trully concerned lately as to what version of the Bible I should depend on to be as clear and concise to the "True" Word of God. I use to read KJV (Authorized) and within the past few years, I started reading my new Bible (NLT). Little did i know until last night, it is really a revised version of "The Living Bible". Which was one of the versions that I had main concerns with.

Anyways, I trully have enjoyed being able to read from the Amplified Bible I have because it brings out a much more clear and understanding of the scriptures. However, once again, I want to read the version that God is pleased with and not man.

In Revelation, it speaks about adding to the Word of God and taking away from the Word of God and the plagues and curses that will fall upon anyone who does this. So my question is this......with all these different translations....isn't that exactly what "man" has done? And if so, should we not be concerned with what our Lord has to say about it.

I am seriously considering going back to my KJV Bible, but I am concerned that I won't have the clear understanding that I have had with other translated Bibles.

So, I am very interested in hearing from other's here and what God's spirit is revealing to you on this matter. I am not wishing this to become a debate, but we all know, that with most concerned topics, it can lead to that. My prayer is that we discuss this and not debate.

Keep the Faith,

cherished faith

That would be my choice as well. Prayers and blessings with your knowledge, love and wisdom. Also, Go to God whenever in doubt! Note that HE has shown you this variation if not directly through HIM , at least through HIS people. Amen?

[Massorite]

I am trully concerned lately as to what version of the Bible I should depend on to be as clear and concise to the "True" Word of God. I use to read KJV (Authorized) and within the past few years, I started reading my new Bible (NLT). Little did i know until last night, it is really a revised version of "The Living Bible". Which was one of the versions that I had main concerns with.

Anyways, I trully have enjoyed being able to read from the Amplified Bible I have because it brings out a much more clear and understanding of the scriptures. However, once again, I want to read the version that God is pleased with and not man.

In Revelation, it speaks about adding to the Word of God and taking away from the Word of God and the plagues and curses that will fall upon anyone who does this. So my question is this......with all these different translations....isn't that exactly what "man" has done? And if so, should we not be concerned with what our Lord has to say about it.

I am seriously considering going back to my KJV Bible, but I am concerned that I won't have the clear understanding that I have had with other translated Bibles.

So, I am very interested in hearing from other's here and what God's spirit is revealing to you on this matter. I am not wishing this to become a debate, but we all know, that with most concerned topics, it can lead to that. My prayer is that we discuss this and not debate.

Keep the Faith,

cherished faith

Speaking from personal experience and many comparisons I believe that we should not trust any of the newer versions of the bible because they have been retranslated to suit the false doctrinal teachings of men. Compared with the King James and other older versions there are many words have been changed or watered down. There has even been whole sections of verses that have been removed or changed all together in the name of a more perfect translation. Even King James made changes that effect our more intimate understanding of many sections of scripture.

Languages change over time and many words that were used 3 or 4 hundred years ago are not used any longer and so on.

[Guest lovinghim4ever]

The best answer to your question I can give you is this: ask the Lord to help you find something you can get the most out of. Then, read it.

Good answer. That's what I was going to say!

I LOVE and HIGHLY RESPECT the Bible as God's word. I do not dismiss the scripture as just another book of good stories. I have great REVERENCE for the things of God, and I do my best to live by the scripture as I am lead by the Holy Spirit.

However, throughout time, as we know it, man has been translating the Word of God into easier reading material. Yes, I do believe it was originally written by men as they were inspired by God, but they were still humans who were capable of making mistakes and misinterpreting God's intention (just as we do today). The Bible has been translated so many times (by humans) that I just can't believe there are no translation errors. It has been translated into other languages, and it has been paraphrased so many times that I am very thankful for the Holy Spirit who witnesses to my spirit as to what God wants for my life.

We should find a version of the Bible that is easiest for us to understand, but always remember . . .

FAITH in GOD is the key!

So, my prayer for us all is that we have faith in God and that we trust HIM to always lead us where HE wants us to go; not where others think we need to be.

[Kansasdad]

I read as much of the NT as I can in Greek. For English translations, it has been my personal experience that the NASB (New American Standard Bible) is the truest translation from Greek into today's English language.

However, I find many of the scriptures unfamiliar to me in NASB, so I also read NKJV becuase it is more like the KJV, but with the glaring errors corrected and the language updated somewhat to be more appropriate for today's use.

As the Scripture states, there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. Using several translations can often give you the best insight ...

shalom -- shlomo

The problem is your NT Greek is a translation from a different source. The original greek does not exist.

The Latin Vulgate is the only direct translation from the original manuscripts. It is the closest we have to the originals.

Amazingly when compared to the the few scraps of original text that have been found, the latin vulgate counterpart has matched exactly. The Douay-Rheims Bible is the best english translation of the Latin Vulgate. I have also found that when I compare it to the King James I usually find very little difference.

God Bless,

K.D.

Shalom KansasDad --

I think that you should look at this more closely.

True - there are no surviving autographs (original documents).

However, the Latin Vulgate is *not* the oldest extant NT manuscript.

The oldest NT manuscripts are all Greek and they are not translations (as you suppose), but copies.

For instance, Paul writes a letter to the Church at Corinth. That letter gets copied and sent to five other churches.

Each of those copies gets copied and sent to ten other Churches, etc. The original letter eventually ages and is lost.

But the copies and the copies of the copies survive.

Particular collections of copies are named, such as the Nestle-Aland and Textus Receptus (which I used in seminary and read today).

The Latin Vulgate was translated from these NT Greek manuscripts.

As I recall, the Vulgate's source for the OT was the work of Jerome and I believe he primarily used the Masoretic Text...

As I think you are probably aware the process of these copies became quite muddied. There were several different copies of the Greek manuscripts and they all didn't match. In fact the first copy of the Textus Receptus was credited with over 200 errors. Jerome used manuscripts that were in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, I think around 200Ad, where as the copies of the Greek manuscripts used in the Textus receptus were copies of copies of copies for a period of about 1600 years (not exactly sure on that could have been 1400 years) either way these copies did have quite numerous differences.

God Bless,

K.D.

[EnglishKate]

I am trully concerned lately as to what version of the Bible I should depend on to be as clear and concise to the "True" Word of God. I use to read KJV (Authorized) and within the past few years, I started reading my new Bible (NLT). Little did i know until last night, it is really a revised version of "The Living Bible". Which was one of the versions that I had main concerns with.

Anyways, I trully have enjoyed being able to read from the Amplified Bible I have because it brings out a much more clear and understanding of the scriptures. However, once again, I want to read the version that God is pleased with and not man.

In Revelation, it speaks about adding to the Word of God and taking away from the Word of God and the plagues and curses that will fall upon anyone who does this. So my question is this......with all these different translations....isn't that exactly what "man" has done? And if so, should we not be concerned with what our Lord has to say about it.

I am seriously considering going back to my KJV Bible, but I am concerned that I won't have the clear understanding that I have had with other translated Bibles.

So, I am very interested in hearing from other's here and what God's spirit is revealing to you on this matter. I am not wishing this to become a debate, but we all know, that with most concerned topics, it can lead to that. My prayer is that we discuss this and not debate.

Keep the Faith,

cherished faith

Dear Member,

I just recently discovered this myself with my mother once when her were study the different verisons...and found out how different they are and what important scriptures they leave out...but we came to the answer that......we as believers have the Holy Spirit as our guide, and yes, God gave the bible, but he gave us the spirit to guide us whereever you go....I don't believe we carry around a bible everywhere we go, but we do have the spirit of God whereever we go...and so I believe that God can use any verison, because the spirit knows the truth and whatever God wants to show you at the time he will show you whatever verison you are reading, because I do know one thing...God is not limited to what man does, rather man limited to what God does so...saying it matters what verison you read is saying that God is Limited to one type of verison....So if God is not limited and the spirit is in you working and guiding you whereever you go...does it really matter what verison you read? If anything dear member, read the verison you feel most comfortable reading...the one he puts on your heart to read. That's the best answer I know to give. I hope I have helped you a bit more....God Blessings dear members.

You want the closest verison to the orinigal text...when we did our study we found the KJV(King James verison) or NKJV(New King James verison) verison to be the closest.

I would like to say, I understand your concern, and I was wondering the same thing before the study my mother and I did together. God will show you the right one...as long as you listen to the Holy Spirit and try your best to understand by study the scriptures and do your best to do what you learn, I believe that's all God asks of us.

[WillingToDie]

I read as much of the NT as I can in Greek. For English translations, it has been my personal experience that the NASB (New American Standard Bible) is the truest translation from Greek into today's English language.

However, I find many of the scriptures unfamiliar to me in NASB, so I also read NKJV becuase it is more like the KJV, but with the glaring errors corrected and the language updated somewhat to be more appropriate for today's use.

As the Scripture states, there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. Using several translations can often give you the best insight ...

shalom -- shlomo

The problem is your NT Greek is a translation from a different source. The original greek does not exist.

The Latin Vulgate is the only direct translation from the original manuscripts. It is the closest we have to the originals.

Amazingly when compared to the the few scraps of original text that have been found, the latin vulgate counterpart has matched exactly. The Douay-Rheims Bible is the best english translation of the Latin Vulgate. I have also found that when I compare it to the King James I usually find very little difference.

God Bless,

K.D.

Shalom KansasDad --

I think that you should look at this more closely.

True - there are no surviving autographs (original documents).

However, the Latin Vulgate is *not* the oldest extant NT manuscript.

The oldest NT manuscripts are all Greek and they are not translations (as you suppose), but copies.

For instance, Paul writes a letter to the Church at Corinth. That letter gets copied and sent to five other churches.

Each of those copies gets copied and sent to ten other Churches, etc. The original letter eventually ages and is lost.

But the copies and the copies of the copies survive.

Particular collections of copies are named, such as the Nestle-Aland and Textus Receptus (which I used in seminary and read today).

The Latin Vulgate was translated from these NT Greek manuscripts.

As I recall, the Vulgate's source for the OT was the work of Jerome and I believe he primarily used the Masoretic Text...

As I think you are probably aware the process of these copies became quite muddied. There were several different copies of the Greek manuscripts and they all didn't match. In fact the first copy of the Textus Receptus was credited with over 200 errors. Jerome used manuscripts that were in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, I think around 200Ad, where as the copies of the Greek manuscripts used in the Textus receptus were copies of copies of copies for a period of about 1600 years (not exactly sure on that could have been 1400 years) either way these copies did have quite numerous differences.

God Bless,

K.D.

As I recall, these differences were rather minor: punctuation, spelling errors, etc. Perhaps someone who is more familiar with these texts can expand on this.