I found many version of bible. Which one is correct and why is it so compare to other version?

Question

I've read some versions of Bible and make me confused. Some of it is different and contradict to each other. I live in Australia. Here, Catholic, Anglican and Protestant have different bibles. They make me confused which to follow and to read cause they themself tend to believe their bible is the correct one. I have faith in Bible, but I want to confirm that what I believed in is the correct one. All of these versions make me even confused.
Some pastors and priests explain to me that Bible has undergone some changes in its context and rewritten by many authors even hundred years after Jesus crucified. That makes me asking of the Bible originality. If the author is a man (eventhough he's a Bible scholar), isn't that make Bible bias and full of human interest instead of God words and messages?
That makes Bible to be a history book which prejudiced by interest of the sovereign ruler.
That's why I'm asking serial of questions in this Yahoo page and I look for the truth. Anyone know?

Answer 1

The only "correct" version is in the original language. The same words can be translated accurately many different ways, giving different emphasis or a slightly different meaning. Probably the two most accurate are the New Oxford Revised Standard Version, and the New Jerusalem Bible. They have the advantage of great linguists and more current historical background. I like to read several different translations if I'm really studying a passage, to see all the ways the same phrase was translated, to help get a better sense of the original intent. You can buy parrallel editions of the Bible with several translations side by side. Its the next best thing to the original language.

Answer 2

Instead of giving you my opinion, please read.

Old Testament:
In fact, the New World Translation is a scholarly work. In 1989, Professor Benjamin Kedar of Israel said:
"In my linguistic research in connection with the Hebrew Bible and translation, I often refer to the English edition as what is known as the New World Translation. In doing so, I find my feeling repeatedly confirmed that this kind of work reflects an honest endeavor to achieve an understanding of the text that is as accurate as possible. Giving evidence of a broad command of the original language, it renders the original words into a second language understandably without deviating unnecessarily from the specific structure of the Hebrew....Every statement of language allows for a certain latitude in interpreting or translating. So the linguistic solution in any given case may be open to debate. But I have never discovered in the New World Translation any biased intent to read something into the text that it does not contain."

New Testament:

While critical of some of its translation choices, BeDuhn called the New World Translation a “remarkably good” translation, “better by far” and “consistently better” than some of the others considered. Overall, concluded BeDuhn, the New World Translation “is one of the most accurate English translations of the New Testament currently available” and “the most accurate of the translations compared.”—Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament.

“Here at last is a comprehensive comparison of nine major translations of the Bible:

King James Version,
New American Standard Bible,
New International Version,
New Revised Standard Version,
New American Bible,
Amplified Bible,
Today's English Version (Good News Bible),
Living Bible,
and the New World Translation.

The book provides a general introduction to the history and methods of Bible translation, and gives background on each of these versions. Then it compares them on key passages of the New Testament to determine their accuracy and identify their bias. Passages looked at include:

John 1:1; John 8:58; Philippians 2:5-11;

Colossians 1:15-20; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1

Jason BeDuhn
Associate Professor of Religious Studies, and Chair
Department of Humanities, Arts, and Religion
Northern Arizona University

Answer 3

The Saint Joseph version in the most complete Bible I've ever found, it's a Catholic Bible and in the New World Translation format, but you don't have to BE Catholic in order to fully understand what other Bibles are lacking......The most popular version now is The King James, but King James took the original Bible, thanks to the "advise" of his adviser, Constantine, and removed several of the original books and had the ones left rewritten to suite his and Constantine's personal views. This is a proven fact, I too lived by The King James version for years until this was proven to me by dozens of websites and many, many people.

Answer 4

King James Version is internationally recognized as the standard. While it is not the first English translation, it is the most widely used.

Answer 5

There are many different versions, the easiest to read is "The New Century Version"

Answer 6

That my friend profs bible has changed by people and it's no the same !

Answer 7

Is your "s" key sticking? Because you seem to have a hard time using plurals.

Answer 8

use a version control system and apply one for your age.