How many different versions of the Bible are there and which is the right version?

Question

I heard there are something like 2500 different iterations of the Bible.

Answer 1

The Bible is generally considered to be the world's most translated book.

1: a) It has translated into at least 2,285 language, in whole or in part.

b) There are at least 145 translations of the Bible into English.

2: Which version of the Bible is the right version?

a) The original Hebrew (Tanakh), Greek (New Testament), and Aramaic ( Tanakh, New Testament) would be the most accurate, in as much as they are the languages the Bible was originally written in.

If there is only version of the Bible in your native language (Klingon, for example), then that will be the "Right" Bible, by default.

b) If there are several translations into your native language, then select them by whether you prefer "dynamic equivalence" or "formal equivalence" translation. To explain: "The phrase" "out of sight, out of mind". A "formal equivalence" translation might render it is "invisible, insane". A translation that uses "dynamic equivalence" might render it as "Gone away, and forgotten".

b: i) Paraphrases are a sub-category of their own. Publishers like to include them in charts showing the range from "Dynamic Equivalence", to "Literalness". The reason for this, it makes their translation look more "middle of the road". Paraphrases are not meant to be used for study, but simply to gain a slightly different perspective on a passage of the Bible. The two most popular paraphrases ion English are _The Message_, and _The Living Bible_. A popular paraphrase of the New Testament is _The Cotton Patch Gospel_.

b: ii) Jay P Greene's _Literal Translation of the Bible_ is generally regarded as the most literal of the "formal equivalence" translations of the Bible.

b: iii) _The New International Version_ is probably the most extreme of the "dynamic equivalence" translations.

c) The next factor to consider is what has been translated into your language.

Again, if only one version exists in your language, you will have to accept it. If there re two or more versions, you might have a choice here.

If you are a member of _The Church of England_ you probably would like your Bible to include the books that are considered to be apocryphal by The Church of England.

c: i) If you are a member of _The Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church_ you probably would like your Bible to include the books that they consider to be Deuterocanonical. _The New Jerusalem Bible_ is probably the best study Bible for Catholics.

c: ii) If you are a member of _The Greek Orthodox Church_ you probably would like your Bible to include all of the books that they consider to be protocanonical, deuterocanonical, and apocryphal.

c: iii) If you are an Evangelical Fundamental Protestant Christian, you probably just want the 39 Books of the Tanakh, and 27 of the New Testament.

c: iv) If you are Jewish, you probably only want the Tanakh. More specifically, _The Stone Edition Tanakh_.

c: v) All of those groups consider different books to be legitimate parts of the canon. For English readers, _The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha_ is generally considered to be the most ecumenical study Bible available.

d) The manuscript, or language that is used as the source text.

If you support the theory of Aramaic Primacry, then consider a translation such as _The Lamsa Bible_.

If you prefer a translation that is based upon the "majority" of Greek Texts, then consider _The Majority Text_ .

If you prefer a translation that is based upon the Latin, then consider the _Douay-Rheims_.

Most contemporary translations are based on either the United Bible Society Texts, or Nestle-Alland Text for the New Testament.. The words of these two texts are the same. They differ in punctuation, and similar items.

For the Tanakh, _The Westminster-Leningrad Codex_ or _Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia_ are the two standard texts to use. There are some minor differences between these two texts.

e) Finally the theological slant of the translators. This _might_ affect the translation.

e: i)_The New World Translation_ is probably the best known example, of a translation done to accommodate the theology of the organization.

e: ii)The theological slant of the translators will will affect the study notes. As an example, study notes for Isaiah 53 from a Fundamental Protestant Evangelical Dispensational Christian perspective, will explain in elaborate detail how this prophecies the Messiah --- in specific, Jesus. From an Orthodox Jewish perspective, this passage is simply a continuation of Cyrus, back in chapter 45.

e: iii) The official / semi-official / unofficial Bible translation of the group that one worships with. In some instances, this is the most significant reason for selecting a translation. [This is especially true with churches who pastors advocate "King James Only". ]

Answer 2

Whatever the number, there are plenty of translations of the Bible available. The best answer is the original texts, which are no longer in existence. The best text for the Old Testament would be the Masoretic Hebrew text.
The best text for the New Testament is the so-called "Majority" Greek New Testament. It is a text that is supported by over 90% of the existing individual Greek manuscripts of the New Testament.
The reason for so many translations is that no one translation from one language to another ever catches all the nuances of the original. And,in truth, each major translation/version of the Bible has both its strong points and weak points. So, in my personal opinion, no one English translation is the best. My personal choice is the New King James Translation. Overall, it is truer to the Hebrew and Greek texts in its translation, plus it is in easily readable modern English.

Answer 3

Hmm, I'm not exactly sure how many versions there are. There are different transaltions that help you understand the Bible more. Personally, I like the Living Translation the most because it is the easiest to understand. But I also have a New King James version which I use, also. Having different translations helps me understand all of what God is saying. =)

Answer 4

That depends on what the sect is trying to get across and how good the material was that they translated it from.
for Christians ,which I believe you are asking about. the old testament in the full Hebrew/Jewish Torah writings and translations.The new testament the words of Jesus "the Christ" if you can find a copy that wasn't written by descendants of the disciples years after Resurrection sometimes centuries.
Forget the King James version as he had the word of god changed to free his hands form the restrictions that the church of the time was using to keep him from doing things that he wanted.
the different versions are mostly translation errors due to the condition of the material that was used and its legibility.also from one language to another with words that were no longer in use and they made a best guess.

Answer 5

I don't know how many translations there are of the Bible, but the best version is the Douay--Rheims. It is a more direct translation than even the King James Version. Of course, if you're ambitious, you can learn Greek and read it in the original!

Answer 6

There is no "rite version" as you put it becuz all the versions are different translations of The Holy Bible. I like to read NKJV becuz its easier for me to understand as a young 15 yr old christian.

Answer 7

well in my opinion the Bible is a really good fictional story book and holds "some" pretty good virtues but is still simply a story book. There are lots of versions and in my opinion none are "true" because i see it as a fictional book its right there with Harry Potter and Curious George.

Answer 8

the Bible in it's original form is the inspired word of God, Hebrew for the old testament, Greek for the New Testament. all other forms must be read with discernment since they cannot capture the true nuances of the original.
for example, when Jesus said in John 8:58 "... 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.'" what he meant by "I AM" would properly be expressed in English as "i have always been and will always be" in Greek or Hebrew this is one (or two, i'm not certain here) word that is used as one of the names of God.

Answer 9

once you pass away out something like the Ascension, specific, it fairly is a extensive distinction. you will possibly desire to comprehend that till the 4th century, there grew to become into no one unified Bible in print sort - there have been scattered books, and jointly because it grew to become into often believed that the somewhat some churches under their bishops knew what grew to become into fact and what grew to become into forgery, that grew to become into not universally the case. Christendom has on no account been in possession of an entire, unique text cloth of all of Scripture - basically, no "unique" texts exist. As such, as quickly as we've compiled Scripture, we've on no account relied upon completely one source checklist, as we've been compelled to depend upon multiple. this provides upward thrust to the version in translations (NIV, KJV, NASB, and so on). the translation of books of the Bible referenced on your cite - the Codex Sinaiticus - has often been used as area of a translation yet in context with different manuscripts and fragments (ie, the Codex Vaticanus, the Biblia Hebraica, the Septuagint). So temporarily, none of them incorporate the completed fact - they have required pass-referencing and study. yet once you doubt the Ascension as a results of fact books are lacking from the Codex Sinaiticus, you will possibly desire to settle for the Ascension as a results of fact those books are contemporary in the Codex Alexandrinus.

Answer 10

Actually around 20 different translations that I know of. KJV is the most accurate in my opinion because their translators don't make as much translation mistakes as other Bibles.