What is the difference between the different Bibles?

Question

Apologies if I phrase this wrong or use the wrong words, I have very limited knowledge about Christianity.

In shops and places, there seems to be many different Bibles. King James Bible is one name that stood out. Why are the Bibles different? Is the content different? Is it just translated differently or do they use different sources?

Do different denomonations use different Bibles?

Thank you :)

Answer 1

The different bibles were all translated from the same manuscript sources. The King James bible was translated by scholars for King James of England. That is why the text uses "thees" and "thous" - that was the language of his time. Other more recent translations are just trying to use language that is more accurate and/or more easily understood by modern readers. (when I say 'accurate' what I mean is that Greek scholars today may have a better understanding of the language than was availabe in King James time)

All the bible translations are in agreement. Scholars sometimes give a slightly different translation to certain words or phrases. Greek is sometimes hard to translate into English. As an example: In one version the words, "boy child" may be translated as "young man" instead. This happens whenever you translate from one language to another.

Some denominations prefer one version over another, but for the most part it is a personal preference of every believer. Some people like the poetry of the KJV, others the clarity of the NIV. Whenever a church states that only THEIR bible is correct, this can be a warning sign.

Answer 2

The general answer is translation. More specifically, what sources did they use to get the translation, and what audience are they aiming at.

The King James Bible was done at the request of King James of England - same time as Shakespeare, and it is a beautifully written English version. It is not very faithful to the original Greek and Hebrew texts and is more poetical than scholarly.

The NIV is perhaps the best scholarly translation, closest to the original language. The Reader's Digest Bible simply leaves ut a lot of things the editors thought people would not be interested in. The Jerusalem Bible was a very good translation from the original sources into French and then translated into English. Very good footnotes and references. The New American Bible tried to put the translation into everyday more common English.

Some more recent translations into English try to be "politically sensitive" and so they change masculine pronouns that refer to God into something less sensitive and change phrases like "Our Father" into "Our Parent" or "Our Ancestor" or "Our Father/Mother."

Protestant and Catholic Bible have different numberings for most of the Psalms, and the Catholic Bible includes a couple of books the Protestants have left out.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

Good question. Over the last several hundred years, there have been numerous translations made of the Bible. The King James is probably among the oldest. But, whenever a group of scholars goes back to the original manuscripts and translates, they create a new translation. Different denomonations and different churches use different ones. The church down the street from ours believes almost exactly the same beliefs, but they use a more contemporary translation of the Bible, because they are a more contemporary church.

Answer 4

The different Bible translations can be confusing—but I hope you won't give up. The Bible was originally written in the ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek, and I'm grateful for the dedicated translators who have made it available to us in modern English. Our language has changed over the years, and that's one reason for new translations. God wants us to understand His Word, and a good translation can help us do that. God told His prophet to "write down the revelation and make it plain" (Habakkuk 2:2).

A good translation should be both accurate and easy to understand; take time to sample some of them by reading the same passage in several different versions. Your pastor or Christian bookstore should be able to help you choose the right one for you. In this column I usually quote from the New International Version, which is the most widely used modern translation.

No matter which translation you use, however, the most important thing is your attitude. Do you see the Bible as God's Word, and are you listening to it with an obedient spirit? The Bible says, "Do not merely listen to the word. ... Do what it says" (James 1:22).
If you would like, I will glady send you a free, easy-to-understand Bible. Just e-mail me with your name and address. My e-mail is on my profile.

Answer 5

There can be a world of differences between translations on certain scriptures. However, 96 percent of the scripture is similar in the various translations. If you are searching for the purest English translation, it would almost be a tie between the Aland 27 and the Concordant Version of the Bible. The King James was a grand achievement in 1611 based on the original language documents they had to work with. However today, Comparing the Greek and Hebrew, it is not the most accurate, especially when using the word "hell". 4 original language words in KJV are translated into the word "hell" NIV is popular but not substantially more accurate than the KJV. And in some cases, the NIV is blatantly inaccurate. -Wily

Answer 6

The different Bibles are just different translations. Some make the reading more modern and similar to our language today. Some are more extensive, like the Amplified, and give many synonyms of a word since translating from one language to another is never exact. Some have study guides included. Some have concordances included. It mostly depends on what you are comfortable with or what you want to do. I have been reading the Complete Jewish Bible because it give more cultural background than many of the others.

Answer 7

Bible vary by user and by usage: For example Catholics often use the Jerusalem Bible and some Bibles are put into simple language - eg the Good News Bible. Study Bible have more notes. The Revised Standard Bible is a good basic Bible. The King James Bible has wonderful use of language and is my favourite.

Answer 8

almost all of the worlds religions use the first five or six books of the old testament... then they do a sort of pick and mix, deciding on who its for... and what they want to say...

King James bible was just the first accepted common bible for use in England and its colonies... it is basically the same as all teh others, just changing a few phrases here and there.

Answer 9

They are just different translations.

Answer 10

just difference stories and difference ways to intrepid these stories ( myths)