I usually do my weekday Year of the Bible reading at my desk early in the morning. Rather than carry a Bible to and from work each day I poked around the web and found this wonderful site.
Bible Gateway offers the Bible in hundreds of versions and languages, including more than 30 versions in English. Personally, I use the New International Version (NIV), but it is very interesting to compare translations across the offerings. For example, here are today's first readings from Leviticus 6 in two comparative versions:
New International Version
The LORD said to Moses: 2 “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, 3 or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit— 4 when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, 5 or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. 6 And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the LORD, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. 7 In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the LORD, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.”
The Wycliffe Bible
And the Lord spake to Moses, and said, 2 A soul, that is, a man, that sinneth, and despiseth the Lord, and denieth to his neighbour a thing betaken to his keeping, that was betaken to his faith, either taketh masterfully a thing by violence, either maketh false challenge, (Anyone who sinneth, and despiseth the Lord, and denieth to his neighbour that a thing was given to his keeping, that was given to him in faith, or who taketh a thing by violence, or who maketh false challenge,) 3 either findeth a thing lost, and denieth it furthermore, and forsweareth, and doeth any other thing of many, in which things men be wont to do sin, (or who findeth a lost thing, but denieth it forevermore, and forsweareth, or who doeth any other thing of many things, in which people be wont to sin,) 4 if it is convicted of the guilt, he shall yield whole all things which he would get by fraud, (if he is convicted, and found guilty, he shall give back whole everything which he hath gotten by fraud,) 5 and furthermore (add) the fifth part to the lord, to whom he did [the] harm. (and furthermore add a fifth part to it, for the person to whom he did the harm.) 6 Soothly for his sin he shall offer a ram unwemmed of the flock (And for his trespass offering, he shall offer a ram without blemish of the flock), and he shall give that ram to the priest, by the value and the measure of the trespass;7 and the priest shall pray for him before the Lord, and it shall be forgiven to him, for all (the) things (in) which he sinned in doing.
I am gonna stick with the NIV!
1 comment:
In my mind, there are a roughly a handful of superior English translations of the Bible. They are:
King James 1769
NASB 1977 & 1995
ESV
NIV 1984
I also find that the NET Bible with notes is a very good, unbiased work ... great for reference.
If I had to pick a version I trust the most, it would be the ESV, as I find it to be the most accurate. But not by much. The NASB is very accurate as is the KJV. The NIV 1984 is, by far, the best dynamic equivalent translation, and the only DE I use.
Free translations (paraphrases), like The Message or TLB, are not trustworthy, which should go without saying.
One of my favorite reading versions has become the King James 2000, a little known version. It's not a translation, but is simply the KJV with some of the most difficult old English words modernized. It's very well done and is hardly noticeable. But the main thing I like about it is the Words of God in the OT are in red. I'm constantly astonished at how helpful that can be when reading/studying the OT.
I should add that we have no idea how fortunate we are to have this many superior translations of God's Word. Think back through church-age history and the days of Martin Luther, etc., and try to imagine how rare a thing the Word of God had become.
I do my best not to take this great blessing for granted, but no matter how hard I try, I always find myself doing just that.
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