As mentioned in an earlier post, the Bible was originally written in Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek. That means you will be relying on a translation of the Bible, unless you can read the original languages. However, as the saying goes, there is more than one way to skin a cat and, as anyone who has studied languages knows, there is more than one way to translate any given sentence.
While you will need a primary Bible you will also want to have a couple of other versions to use for comparative study. Sometimes the wording in one translation may be difficult for you to understand while another translation may clear it up. For example compare Colossians 3:5 in the following translations.
My Literal Translation
You all kill, therefore, the members on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, desire evil, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
King James Version (KJV)
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
New Living Translation (NLT)
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
The Message
And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy.
From the above comparison, you can see that there is quite a difference between the different versions. Some add a lot to the text while others may be harder to understand. In this particular verse the ESV seems to strike the best balance between literalness and readability.
If you were using the KJV as your primary study Bible and had a hard time understanding what “mortify” meant in this context, after reading a couple of other versions you could be sure that it meant “put to death/kill”.
Notice that the NASB changed the main verb from “kill” to “consider.” In my opinion this is an interpretation not a translation.
As you can see from this one example, comparing translations of the Bible can be very helpful in trying to understand what a difficult verse is getting at.
Recommendations:
- Go cheap when buying Bibles for comparison.
- I would not worry too much about the quality of the binding and cover of these Bibles since they will mostly stay in one place. Standard pew Bibles will work just fine.
- Of course, if you study near your computer, tablet or smart phone you could easily and quickly use the internet or a Bible app to help with comparing different translations.
Question: Which Bible translation do you like to use for comparison and why? You can leave a comment by clicking here.