Why the need for several different versions of the Bible???

Question

Someone posted on another question regarding the differing versions of the Bible: " I have a King James, a NIV, a Amplified, and a Giddeon. I read all three. They all say the exact same thing."

Im curious - what it the need for owning (or, for that matter, writing, reading or even publishing) four different Bibles - if they all "say the exact same thing?"

I suspect this person is terribly mislead, or should be forgiven for misleading others, as she has already deluded herself greatly... (name withheld so that I am NOT insulting any participants...so please dont flag me just because my question upsets you...)

What do you think?? And, exactly how many versions of the Bible are out there?? And which one is the "truth" - because they cant ALL be.....

Answer 1

There have been a lot of "versions" of the Bible written. Of course, the original manuscripts of the Bible were written in Hebrew and some in Greek. Since I do not understand any of those languages, I choose to use the earliest version in English - The King James 1611 - this is the closest English version to the original writings. There have been a lot of later "versions" based on the original King James, but these change wording to appease the so-called understanding of the Word of God, and I believe that The King James 1611 is my readable and infallible Word that God has allowed me to have - read the history of The King James 1611, and you will see how much effort and dedication went into its creation - I believe that God was in it all the way. Some of the perversions that are out there like the Living Bible (just to name one) change key words and meanings of the original scripture. For me it is the King James 1611 and no other.

Answer 2

The translations of the bibles versus. Yes, they mean the same thing but now days people have hard time understanding some versions. My first bible was the King James, I had hard time understanding. Then I found a student bible at a garage sale and I found it good because it has a study guide and some notes. I have several different versions. The message really points it out as is. My pastor likes to joke about how the amplified version is a woman's bible because it has so much to say:) NIV, Kids NIV, Living Translation, and more, just can't remember. I like to use all. Just remember to believe.

Answer 3

I feel that man has attempted to find ways to clarify his understanding of the Word with these "modern translations" of the Bible. I'm no genius, but I find that in several of these translations that verses are taken out of context and even OMITTED from the texts they were translated from. The KJV says that we're going to give an account of "every jot and tittle", and "every word that proceedeth out of the MOUTH OF GOD." Also, it says, "The LORD giveth and the LORD taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord." These things mean that we are NOT to edit or interpret the Bible OUTSIDE the scope of God's will so that we can justify our own selfish actions and desires! In so doing, we've created a "religious soup" of sorts. We've changed the "flavor" of the Bible by doing WHAT WE THINK is right for the "recipe" in order to make it more palatable. Religion has ruined what God intended and now, we're left with more questions than ever before about serving God than we've ever had in human history despite the increase in our knowledge and the ability to read and comprehend Scripture! Yet we still feel the need to "interpret" the Bible into something people can understand? That insults what little intelligence I have! Anyone who cannot read a KJV and know that "thee" is plural for "thou" which means "you" and etc. is simply not wanting to put in the EFFORT to understand it more! The KJV was the most PERFECTLY translated edition EVER created! How do I know? Consider the history....It took 50 men 7 YEARS to translate it from the original languages and the Hebrew scholars didn't approve it for production even then until THE ENTIRE TEXT had been proofread for error by ALL the scholars! If they found even ONE ERROR, the transcript was destroyed and they started over again. Therefore, I feel there's NO NEED for any other "translations", merely for more understanding.

Answer 4

The true one would be the untranslated Hebrew and Greek. But most of us don't read Hebrew or Greek. I use the King James version because he had a group of scholars get together and retranslate it from the original Greek and Hebrew. The versions at that time had been translated into English from the Latin translations used by the church. My religion believes that King James was inspired and that this version is one of the most accurate. This is also the classic version of the bible that most people read. It may have translational errors and archaic expressions, but it is one of the more universally accepted versions of the bible so saves confusion when talking to other people.

Answer 5

There as way too many versions too count if you include ones in different languages. KJV is the most acurate translation since its straight from the greek and hebrew texts. The need for other versions is that KJV can sometimes be hard to read for certain people. Thats about when NIV came out. Since then other versions have popped up. Below is a link where you can look at the most popular versions.

Answer 6

Some people have more than one, because they find some verses hard to understand, and the newer versions make it easier to interprut. Almost like asking a friend, or researching something confusing, by diffrent means.

There are MANY versions, and new ones published every year. The Bible says not to add one jot or tittle from the law.

The truth, in my opinion, is ONLY the KJV. It was translated from the ORIGINAL Greek ane Hebrew texts, by 51 scholars, over 7 years, and they were instructed NOT to add words, or omit them.

On the other hand, if any version helps someone get to Salvation, to love God and follow him, will he really care what version brought them there, or will he just rejoice that they got there?

Answer 7

They don't quite say the same thing, but the basic jist is the same. I read from the begining using 8 different Bible version, but I quickly threw out the "Living Bible" as being so radically different from the other 7 as to not be worth using as research.

Answer 8

Different translations of the Bible allows us to better understand the Bible in our own languages. The KJV of the Bible is great but we don't speak in Old English today in the modern world. Or at least not the majority of us, so, different versions of the Bible like the NIV are appropriate.

Answer 9

Nobody knows what the "true" bible is. People have beliefs. I, personally, don't believe all of any of the bibles that exist. I am a christian and I believe in God, but I have some serious doubts about all the bible speaks of.
The bible was written by man. Then translated by monks BY HAND several years later and translated again and again over time. People have had ample opportunity to add or erase segments of it as they so desired. I believe in being a good person and loving my fellow man. I don't believe all homosexuals will go to Hell or that you shouldn't crossbreed cattle or wear clothing of mixed fibers and I don't believe a man survived being swallowed by a whale.

Answer 10

Languages change.

The meanings of various words change.

Sometimes older manuscripts are discovered which help us get a better understanding of ancient languages, etc. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a good example of this.

Some translations are translated with a bias toward a particular belief. For example, the KJV has a strong trinitarian bias.

I personally use several different translations.

The best translation I have found is at the link below: