How do you know for sure which bible translation is most accurate?

Question

There are several versions of the holy bible,like king james version with different years with different meanings. Also The Jehova Witness bible. How can you tell which one to go by? Which translation is proven to be most accurate.

Answer 1

First, take a look at the translator's introduction in the front of a translation. Most will tell you whether they aimed for accuracy, readability, or something else. Because of the differences in grammar between English and the original languages, a 100% accurate word for word translation would be almost impossible to read.

For example, the Greek language uses almost no pronouns, but indicates the pronoun by changing the ending of verb of the sentence. There is no way to do that in English. Greek puts the nouns before the adjectives, meaning they would say "house yellow" rather then "yellow house".

There are several translations that are very accurate. Those will have names like "The Young's Literal Translation", or "The Englishman's Interlinear Translation" (which is so word-for-word that it has to number the words in a suggested reading order for most people to understand it). Those kind of Bibles are usually only sold in the section with Hebrew and Greek Bibles, commentaries, and other high level study material.

Probably the best "readable" word for word is the New American Standard Bible. It does an excellent job of being as word for word as it can, but still make it understandable.

There are other popular translations, such as the New International Version, which trade off some of the word for word for readability. I would recommend either it or the New King James as a good starter Bible. They do an excellent job of balancing between "word for word" and readability.

Then there are "translations" like the Message Bible and the New Living Bible. But are "paraphrases". Neither is an attempt to translate the Bible word for word, but rather though for though. They can be an interesting read, and by using contemporary language and expressions can make you think about many of the verses in a new way. But neither are intended as a "study" Bible. They are closer to a commentary and will tell you that in their introductions.

If you are looking for the "best" Bible, may I recommend that purchase a "Parallel" Bible. There are several on the market. They will usually include the KJ Bible, a modern more readable version, one of the more literal translations, and a paraphrase all in one book side by side. That way you get the best of all four. When you actually compare the text, you will find that the differences between the versions is style, not content. They all have the same meaning, they just use different styles for translating it.

Finally, there is the JW's translation. I am able to read the original Hebrew and Greek from which all Bibles are translated. The JW's New World is one of the poorest translations I have ever found. It alters entire passages, drops phrases, inserts phrases, and totally mistranslates many many sections. If you are unsure, may I recommend that you place it next to ANY four or five other translations and compare them. You will find the New World translation will vary - not just in style - but in content and context widely from all the other versions.

Answer 2

I have to agree with those who say, read the introductions to the different versions. English is one of the languages that has most available versions of the Bible, most have one or at most 2: the version with the "nihil obstat" mark of the Roman Catholic church and the one used by evangelicals. Bear in mind that there is a difference between a translation and a paraphrase. A translation is what it says: putting a text from one language to another. A paraphrase is a re-wording of an existing text in your own language. The reason for the different versions in English is that along with translating the text, there are several "paraphrases" on the market such as The Message, The Way and Good News for Modern Man. Unfortunately these paraphrases that try to put the Bible in "modern" language to make it more accesible to the general public, date quickly. GNFMM for example first came out in the 70's, and has been "updated" since then.
If you're interested in actually reading and working with the Bible as a study text, I highly recommend the NIV. It is very readable while being faithful to the original. I understand many people's love of the King James version, however unless you are used to Elizabethan/Shakespearean English, it can be intimidating and hard to understand.
Tyndale also has an excellent translation. Personally, I would avoid the Amplified Bible until you become well acquainted enough with the text not to be confused by it.

Answer 3

I have several translations of the Holy Bible and they may be worded a little differently, but basically they are saying the same thing.So they all wold be pretty accurate. Some times when I am reading the Bible and I an using the King James I'll use my newer versions, such as the Nelson Study Bible, or The New International Version, to help me to better understand. I didn't know that the Jehovah Witness' Had there own version. I have not read it. I don't think I would not want to because I have chosen to be a Christian.I have nothing against the Jehovah Witness' but I have my faith and they have theirs.

Answer 4

Greek in particular, and Hebrew to a lesser extent, do not translate directly into English. This is because many times words in these languages mean things that we would have to use a phrase or sentence to say in English. This makes it difficult to translate obviously. There are many good translations, all of which will fall into one of two categories: literal or thought-for-thought. Good literal translations include the King James (KJV), New King James (NKJV), New American Standard (NASB, my personal favorite), Young's Literal Translation (YLT), and others. You can download the KJV and YLT, among others, at http://www.thebaptistpage.net/Bibles_And_Dictionary_Downloads.html and you can read the others online in lots of places. These thought-for-thought translations say the same things, just in different words. If you were writing a book for a 10th grader and a book for a college graduate that had the same story you'd use different words to do it. Same with different cultures and times.

The best thought-for-thought is probably the New International Version (NIV). It's written on a, I believe, 8th grade reading level so it reads fairly easily. Keep in mind that a thought-for-thought translation is a group of theologians opinions on what the original scriptures meant to say.

The Jehovah Witness Bible (New World Translation) is not accurate. They changed the Bible to fit their theology by "divine revelation." Funny how the millions of other scholars who have deciphered the original text don't come up with the same thing they did.

Your best choice is one that has wide appeal by the major denominations. The next step before yo buy a Bible is to PRAY. The Spirit will tell you which one you should get.

Answer 5

U've received many good answers here & it's kind of like asking what kind of car is best??? That is dependant upon personal touches U desire as U can get from there to here in all of them except the "Radical" ones ! The reason God Preserved the Scriptures is so we could make the trip to Him! U can make the trip in a Yugo or a Rolls! If U love God, His Holy Spirit should always be Ur Co-Pilot & He will point out many items of intrest along the way. I agree with getting a commonly used Bible that U understand in todays English. Try to find one with a good Referance Section. The one I use is an American Standard Version with Gramatical Notations & Codes, a Lexicon to both the O.T. & N.T., a Guide to Transliteration from Greek to English With Modern Greek Pronunciation, a Greek , Hebrew & Chaldee Dictionary & a Concordance for the O.T. & N.T. as well. Is all this necessary, not for Salvation, but it will help U connect the dots so to say. Another book to consider would be something like Halleys Bible Handbook or similar that can provide the History of our present Bible & how the Church was started. It will help in explaining the customs during the time that U are studying about & the political environment that was prevelant then as well. Spend some time at Ur local Bible Supply store or Regular Book Store as well. Good Shopping! John

Answer 6

I find it funny how some people refer to the New World Translation as "the Jehovah Witness bible". Every bible version is done by a religious group, but that version is seldom or never referred to as the so-and-so bible, with the exception of the book of Mormon, which is not part of the bible at all! Anyway, There are several fairly accurate translations out there, the KJV being one of the worst. Even so, you can still learn the truth from it. Do some research on the translations, the manuscripts used for each, and it's accuracy to the original languages. I personally like the New World Translation, Literal Translation of the Holy Bible by Jay P Green, Sr., and Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible by JN Young. BTW, that guy, Rod C- his answer is the EXACT opposite of what is true. If you do some thorough research you'll see! Don't take mine or his word for it- do the homework and you'll see who's right!

Answer 7

Most bibles only have minor differences. NIV is pretty good. I have a program that has the different versions along with the Greek and Hebrew. There really aren't that many differences.
Now I don't know about the Jehovah Wit. bible. I'd be leery of that one. The King James version is very out dated, words have different meanings now. Unless you get the New King James version which is pretty good.
†

Answer 8

For an analysis of the various translations of the bible see:
http://faith.propadeutic.com/questions.html

For accurate translations of the bible at the literal level I recommend you use the NASB or ESV translations.

The Watchtower’s version of the bible, New World Translation, alters biblical verses to match JW doctrines. For example, see John 1:1; John 17:3; Philippians 1:23; Colossians 1: 16; Hebrews 1:8 and compare these verses to any of the JW bibles.

Answer 9

I like the King James. I read it alot. One advantage it has over any other translation is the the Strongs Exhaustive Concordance is keyed to every word in the King James. If you don't know, this bible scholar translated every word in the Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic and such- to allow anyone to do their own study of any topic and be able to use the intended thought of the original language. It really is a big help to understanding. The Jehovah Witness bible is not anything I would recommend as they do NOT believe Jesus is the Son of God. They say he is the Archangel Michael which is error.

Answer 10

the best translation bible i would prefer you to use is the "new american standard bible" it is in english and it is very well - ok let me tell you that "jehova witness" is totaly the wrong direction for you to go to- if you want to be a christian just read one of the NASB (new american standard bible). jehova witness is a whole different way you're going to - its another belief ok and so if you want to see if the bible is true here is the website you can check it out- "its great!" ok its:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz5y3oya0kc
hope that helped =]