how do we know that we are reading the right version of the Bible?

Answer 1

Your questions suggests there is a "wrong" version. I do not believe that is so. Each version has been translated during times that were different and among people of various cultures. The slight variance in language from one version to another is of little consequence. The message is the same.

If you read the King James version for the beauty of the language and one or two others for clarity, you will increase your understanding of the scriptures and enjoy the experience. If you join a Bible study group, you will benefit from the discussions.

One of the interesting things about the Bible is that it speaks to you at different levels each time you read it. The same words can have different meanings to you when you approach them from one point of view or another. The same words will instruct, encourage and inspire, depending on your need and your relationship with your Creator.

Answer 2

Read the New World Translation online at the link below.

For those who lyingly say that it is a poor translation or a mistranslation, I have two suggestions: Obtain the NWT Large Print Reference Bible and note all the footnotes and appendices.

Also take your KJV and Strong's Concordance and where the KJV reads different than the NWT look in Strong's. You'll see that the NWT is just as viable, and in many cases more so, than the KJV and many other "approved" translation.

One benefit of the NWT and other modern English translations is the fact that the very languages into which the Bible is translated undergo changes in the course of years. The English used by 14th-century Bible translator Wycliffe differs greatly from the language used by the translators of the King James Version in the early 17th century. And the English language has seen a vast number of changes even since then. Some words have actually taken on opposite meanings. Thus “let” in King James’ day meant “to hinder,” but today it means “to allow.”

Answer 3

The original Greek New Testament and the original Hebrew Old Testament are the only "right" or some would say inerrant, versions of the Bible. All the true translations go back to them. If you don't know ancient Greek and ancient Hebrew, a Strong's concordance is the next best thing. It will assign a number to each time an English word is used in the King James Version. You use that number to look the word up, in the Greek or Hebrew dictionary included in the back of a Strong's concordance. (The alphabets are different from English, so it has to work by numbers.) With this system, you are not relying on the translators, you are going back to the Greek and Hebrew yourself. Many act like God wrote the King James Version and it IS mostly correct, and very trusted. As in all translations, some parts are incorrectly translated from the ancient texts. Many passages, too, are so Elizabethan than they are hard to understand to the modern English-speaker. So first get an inexpensive KJV to use with a Strongs. And then for your regular reading, get a nice copy of one of the modern versions so you can hear it in your native tongue, modern English. The NASB is the best. NIV is good too. If you are catholic the NAB is excellent. NKJV feels familiar to those who grew up in protestant churches, since it tries to keep the cadence of the KJV without so many thees and thous.

The New World Translation is not a translation. It is very subtly changed to back up the doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses, and it dies not jibe with the original Greek and Hebrew. Stay away from it unless you want to be like them.

Answer 4

I agree accuracy is more important than right.

Notice how accurate the NWT is comparied to many english bibles today.

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

I would recommend not using bible with the word "version /s" in the title as your main bible.

This means that the translators used other bibles and not the original languages for the majority of there translations.

example "King James Version", used the latin Vulgate as it's main source text.

Where as a "Translation" used the original as the main reverence work.

Example "New World Translation"

Answer 5

There are translations directly from the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic texts called the King James Authorized Version.

There are interpretaions that attempt to modernize the King James Version, which are Bibles like the New International and The Word "bibles" . Often times deletes "offensive language" , are politically correct and change the true meaning of the Gospel and takes the power of what it says from it.

Answer 6

The Holy Bible is the Holy Bible- if there are scriptures that are completely off from others in other versions, I would not read them- only because they are not in align with the King James- which was one of the first bibles to be written in our language. But many translations are the same as King James- just easier to understand- look up scriptures and compare- all it is is using different adjectives with the same meanings....and some are worded simpler than others- King James is more "poetic" which is nice...but many prefer simpler text.

Answer 7

There are several reputable versions of the Bible. You need to find the one you understand the best. If you go to the link I pasted below, someone will read various versions of the Bible to you and you can decide which one you like best.

Answer 8

There is no "right version" - all modern translations are fairly good.

If you want to make sure your translation is "accurate" (which is different from "right" or "wrong", I don't think there is such a thing...) - then learn to read Greek or get a decent Greek Interlinear Bible.

Stay away from anything published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Those are not translations. They are mis-translations

Answer 9

KJV bible is t he right one, everyone written after that has taken away from God's word, telling you that it is "easier to understand" and that is not true. Because the only reason these "easier to understand versions" were made is for the sole purpose of putting patent pending licenses on them. They have changed the wording and the meanings so much that they are no longer the word of God, but have become the word of man.

Answer 10

Well you need a good concordance so you can interpret the original meaning of words in the Hebrew and Greek.