Hi Carol.
Appreciate your response (also your post on the Mormon
visitors was pretty awesome). Wanted to
add a quote from a Messianic Rabbi (Jack
Zimmerman) on the NIV: "While no English
translation is perfect, believe it or not, The NIV is
incorrect the fewest number of times, when one
compares it to the original Hebrew language, which, as
a Jew, I'm quite familiar with."
Below is taken from gotquestions.org:
"It is probably wise to have access to
at least two or three of the major translations KJV
(King James Version), NIV (New International Version),
NAS (New American Standard), NKJV (New King James
Version), ESV (English Standard Version), NLT (New
Living Translation), for comparison's sake. If a verse
or passage in one translation is a little confusing, it
can be helpful to compare it side-by-side with another
version. It is difficult to say which translation is the
"best." "Best" would be determined by a combination of
the translation method personally considered best and
your interpretation of the textual data underlying your
translation.
- For example, the KJV and NAS attempted
to take the underlying Hebrew and Greek words and
translate them into the closest corresponding English
words as possible (word for word).
- While the NIV and NLT attempted to take
the original thought that was being presented in Greek
and Hebrew and then express that thought in English
(thought for thought).
- Many of the other translations attempt
to "meet in the middle" between those two methods.
Paraphrases such as The Message or The Living Bible
can be used to gain a different perspective on the
meaning of a verse, but they should not be used as a
primary Bible translation.