This is in response to David Stevens letter.  I’m not a scholar – just a devout layperson who LOVES bibles.  I have a full collection of many different translations – and I read and refer to them all (some more than others).  I just wanted to share that the one version I go to when I want a translation as accurate to the original texts as possible is YOUNG’S LITERAL.  Although it may be tough to read in old English (I prefer modern English) it is an awesome translation because it is a literal word-for-word translation – it also maintains the syntax (word order) and the TENSE (which are important elements that the KJV does not always do).  I fully agree with the premise of YLT that if God put something in the present tense – why change it to past or future, just to make it more readable or logical to us (if doing a “literal” translation)???  We should endeavor to change our thinking to understand what the writers wrote – not change what they wrote according to how we best understand it.  And we need to keep in mind that our scriptures are from the ancient near east and are derived from different ways of thinking.

Understanding tense in scripture can be just as important as knowing exactly which words were used.  Even with that said, as long as I know how to look up what God actually said, I find merit in most translations – even admitted paraphrases like the New Living Translation (which I also really enjoy) – because they bring out different shades of meaning and understanding and pull it together in a smooth, readable way.  Certain words can hold several different meanings and we should keep that in mind also.  It is important to know what it is said, but I don’t think there is anything wrong in finding different or modern ways to express the same thought (like The Message Bible).  Praise God for the many ways to say “I Love You”.

But if a translation clearly distorts the intended context or meaning of a passage – I don’t burn the whole Bible; I ignore that rendering and continue to pray for discernment.  Men (or women) translating from the original languages are usually doing their best and as humans, are prone to make mistakes.  There was a time that you could be burned for having an English bible so I’m very thankful to have too many bibles than none at all!  The Complete Jewish Bible is also an important work.

Below is a link to the Revised Young’s Literal online – it is a work in progress to get the English updated, praise God.

http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/rylt/rylt.html

Disclaimer:  I HAVE thrown out the New World Translation (Jehovah Witness’s version) and any “scriptures” related to Mormonism (my hubby is an ex-Mormon).  The same would hold true for any “holy” books from other religions or E.T. sources (unbelievable, but they’re out there).  However, I do believe many apocryphal books are worth reading for history, like the Deuterocanonicals and also the “lost” Book of Enoch (which is a part of the Ethiopian (Orthodox Christian) Bible, by the way).  If you’re open and interested, a great website that has a good selection of “additional texts” is www.insightsofgod.com.  After reading many of these writings, you can get a feel for what seems to line up with scripture, and what does not (like the Gnostic gospels out there – Dan Brown variety).

Hope that helps someone.  I appreciate all the posts.  God bless all you doves.  I’m looking up for the King…
 

Princess