Versions of the Bible?

Question

I am looking for the most accurately translated (english) Bible from the original document text, I don't know if it was written in Hebrew or Aramaic. Or maybe even a web-site that will let you view original documents, with an english translation. Documents..ie.. OT & NT..dead sea scrolls maybe?

I also read an answer to a different Q that talks about 'how did Cain find a wife if Cain and Abel were Adam and Eves only children.' I took up my Bible and found that when he was talking to God about being exiled, Cain said that who ever finds him will surely kill him, then he found others in Nod. Genesis 2:1 says that God made all the creatures and hosts. Another member said that host translated to what I don't know, means-mass of people- or something like that. Any recommended sites on translating single words?

I did say the MOST accurate, not the exact. I know I can't get that.

Answer 1

On the New Testament side, there's an on-going fight between two source documents. One is the "Textus Receptus", compiled by Erasmus in the 16th Century from several 10th Century Greek fragments. The other is currently called the "Nestle-Aland", based on a 4th Century and a 5th Century manuscript, with updates from other sources as they become known. The Textus Receptus was the basis for the King James version and several subsequent translations. The Nestle-Aland is used for the NIV and NRSV, among many others.

The sources are close, but vary in several critical places. The TR people say there are a lot more copies of their version around and the older texts are defective. The N-A people say the later texts have had longer to be corrupted by copy errors. Each side has many arguments to make in their favor.

On the Hebrew side, there's the Ben Chayyim "Masoretic Text" and Rudolph Kittel's "Biblia Hebraica". The MT people accuse the KBH people of tampering with scripture while the KBH people feel they are correcting it in the light of other manuscripts. It can be confusing because the newer discoveries are the older manuscripts. Scholastic tempers can flare over the issue.

So, if you can determine which source is the most accurate, you can choose a translation. Keep in mind, Greek and Hebrew are different languages from English. Word order and syntax, idioms, words with multiple meanings, "poetry", all present challenges to the translator. The more exact the translation, the harder it is to understand. The TR-based American Standard Version of 1903, for example, is rigorously "accurate", but not very pleasant to read, especially aloud. It was never very popular.

There are terms to describe the standards for translation. "Form-based" means a translation that tries to match the words and sentences as closely as possible, at the risk of losing some meaning in the translation. "Sense-based" tries to convey the original intent of the author without slavishly matching the exact words. These translations are usually more natural-sounding, but there is a risk of "interpreting". The least accurate and most interpreted versions, such as the New Living Bible, are called "paraphrases".) Most translators today try for a mix of styles, more form-based whenever possible, more sense-based when necessary. But no translation is perfect.

One website that has the Masoretic / TR with an Emglish translation is
http://www.godrules.net/library/hebrewgreek/inter.htm
To properly see the Greek and Hebrew, you'll need to install two fonts, Web Hebrew Monospace and Koine-Medium. Oh yeah, you'll have to learn the Greek and Hebrew alphabets too, and maybe a little vocabulary.

The Nestle-Aland New Testament with word lookups can be viewed here:
http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/AnaServer?NTtranscripts+0+start.anv
Instructions here:
http://nttranscripts.uni-muenster.de/

A straight N-A New Testament (and many other versions) is here:
http://bibledatabase.net/
http://www.biblekeeper.com/Greek-Nestle-Aland/index.php

There's an on-line version of the Biblia Hebraica:
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Hebrew_Index.htm
and another (requires a plugin):
http://www.netwaysglobal.com/biblia/

This site has downloadable bibles and "modules" (Some may need unlocking $):
http://www.onlinebible.net/

That should keep you busy for a while...

Answer 2

The problems you have going from English to Hebrew are:
1. Hebrew has many words for 1 word in English.
2. The idoms of Hebrew don't translate well into English.
3. Context of the verses have to be consider.

In short there is no one English tranlsation that is the best.
The parrel verision let you compare one to another. The more the better.

Me I like a NIV study Bible, a good exhaustive concordance, and Hebrew interline Bible.

Not a simple answer but you are trying to do what people have been doing for thousands of years.

Answer 3

the original was in aramaic, but good luck getting a view of the original. It wasn't translated into Enlish until several thousands of translations later. It has been translated millions of times so there is no way you could get a completely accurate Aramaic to English translation. There are only a handful of people who speak Aramaic in this day. I would try the catholic church first. They have a historic division that keeps records of most items. But, they disavow various scrolls etc..so you probably won't get everything you need.
Good luck

Answer 4

Hebrew is OT, Greek, Latin and Hebrew for NT. Can't really tell you which translation is most accuarate. People say King James Version, but let me tell you this, most of what we have in English has been hacked to pieces. Lots of stuff has been cut, mostly by those who put together the King James Version, soooo, there you go.

Answer 5

well i use the KJV King James Version. most say that is the most acurate. however if you have a computer i also love using e-sword. i believe e-sword.net or something like that. has a Bible you can download and then you can download other translations as well like niv and all. it also gives you greek meanings of all the words. and you can compare versus and all.

i find most Bibles all say the same thing. we have had people come to our church believing what we believe and they use niv. i am an apostolic pentecostal. we believe the Father Son and Holy Ghost are one and that they are all Jesus and that Jesus is God. as well as baptizing in Jesus name. but i like to use E-sword when i read my Bible when i am home so if i have a question i can look up another translation that might explain something in modern terminology. and just PRAY. that God will show you truth.

Answer 6

My advice to you is to find two or three good translations with different styles. Get a good literal, word for word translation, like the kjv, nkjv, nrsv, or nasb, then one that is a little looser like an niv, or nlt. That will give you a good overview of how scholars interpret words and phrases out of languages that most of us don't understand. A good study Bible would help too.

Answer 7

http://www.biblegateway.com/

I don't know of a website where you can view the original manuscripts.
The most accurate english translation is the american standard 1901 edition.
you can read alot of different translations at biblegateway. I also recomend a Scofield reference Bible and Strongs exaustive Concordance. I hope I've been a help to you.

Answer 8

there's a great translation by a messianic Jew that is just fantastic. He uses the original Hebrew names for everything. It's called the Complete Jewish Bible. I got it for Christmas and I'm really enjoying it. It's a very frest translation with modern language.

Answer 9

www.watchtower.org for an accurate translation.

Scrolls From The Dead Sea
Outline of Objects and Topics in Scrolls from the Dead Sea ... international sponsor of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition, has brought the ...www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/intro.html -

Dead Sea scrolls - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dead Sea scrolls comprise roughly 825-872 documents, including texts from ... issue with statements made in popular museum exhibits of the Dead Sea Scrolls ...
Quick Links: Date and contents - Frequency of books found - Interpretations
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_scrolls -

Scrolls from the Dead Sea (Library of Congress Exhibition)
The exhibition Scrolls From the Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of Qumran and ... Later Judaism & Christianity & the Dead Sea Scrolls ...www.loc.gov/exhibits/scrolls/toc.html -

Dead Sea Scrolls - Qumran Library
... the chief categories represented among the Dead Sea Scrolls are: Biblical ... Continue exploring the Dead Sea Scrolls with The Qumran Community. Outline ...www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/Library/library.html

Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation
The primary function of the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation is the financial support ... find information about the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation and the DJD ...www.deadseascrollsfound.org

West Semitic Research Project explores the discovery and findings from the Dead Sea Scrolls which revolutionized our understanding of the way Bible was transmitted.
Category: Jewish History > Dead Sea Scrolls
www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/wsrp/educational_site/dead_sea_scrolls

Dead Sea Scrolls & Qumran
Discussion on the historic, literary, and cultural significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Category: Jewish History > Dead Sea Scrolls
home.flash.net/~hoselton/deadsea/deadsea.htm

dead sea scrolls
... further research, and a selection of the best books about the Dead Sea Scrolls. Provided by the ... has a special Dead Sea Scrolls Section with reviews and ...www.gnosis.org/library/dss/dss.htm

dead sea scrolls
... further research, and a selection of the best books about the Dead Sea Scrolls. Provided by the ... The Dead Sea Scrolls Collection at The Gnostic Society Library ...www.webcom.com/~gnosis/library/scroll.htm

Answer 10

King James Version.