Why does the "word of god" have so many versions???

Question

Which one is the closest to "the word of god"???

Answer 1

Of course, my dear Prophet, a christian would say that the bible is the word of God.
A muslim would say that the quran is the word of God.
A jew would say that the Torah is the word of God.
And so it goes on......

I agree wholeheartedly with 'Robert M' in that far too much blood has been shed in the name of religion. If we all learned to respect eachother's differences, despite those differences sometimes being in opposition to ours, the world would be a more peaceful place.

Live & let live. The world would be a dull place if we all danced to the same tune.

Answer 2

there are so many version..or basically translations because there are a lot of cultures etc...A lot of people can not read the King James Version, because it was translated in old style English. If you pick up a bible and read the KJV you might read something like and this is an actual quote Numbers 22:23
And the *** saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the *** turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ***, to turn her into the way. Now look at the same scripture in the New International version it says "23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road". I think that it is easier to read words that you understand rather than having to go and try to look up "smote" . Of course this is just an example. Thanks is why I like to look at scripture in a few different translations but from what I understand the Amplified bible brings out more meaning from the original Hebrew and Greek words because a simple translation of a word sometimes is not easy because of the fact that we use the same words..but they have different meanings or usages. I hope this help a little bit.

Answer 3

I choose the NIV for several reasons. First off it is the most widely used, so you are the least likely to have someone quote from a different version and have to worry about slight differences in the wording.

The real reason I use the NIV is the way it was translated. They were careful to choose a mix of 50/50 split between Christians and non-christians for the translation. They translated everything from the original and oldest manuscripts available for each passage. The reason for christian/non-christian mix was that the Christian scholars would understand Biblical principals and make sure nothing got lost in translation, but the non-Christians would insist that nothing be added to the translation that wasn't in the original text.

The reason there are so many versions is that there are so many ways to say the same thing. When language is translated, there are multiple ways something can be worded to convey the meaning

Answer 4

the word of god has so many versions because of the different translations. If we are talking strictly on the bible, the king james is probably the closest to the literal translation, but the NIV is just as good. It all has to do with the idea behind it all, not the exact words

Answer 5

An authorized 1611 King James version is the only correct interpretation of the holy scriptures.Anything else is false.Such as the New King James version,New International.The Revised standard version.And the biggest hoax of all is the New World translation.I believe that is the version the JV's use.It's big time incorrect.I compared it myself.Of course the JV's are not a Christian denomination,though they like to boast they are.Stick with the 1611 edition,and you will never go wrong.

Answer 6

There are only two that have some differences. The Catholic, that includes books considered aprocypha that are not in the other versions, the rest of it is the same as any other. Another different one is the Watchtower Society's "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures", but it's different because they made their very own translation and
"designed" it according to their doctrines and beliefs. All the other versions are the same. I have seven different version of the bible and all are the same, except for the ones I mentioned before.

Answer 7

People learn and understand in all different ways. The Message bible reads like a novel and is more like a book so to speak. The King James version is probably closer to the original as I believe it was the first version written in english. Prior to that, I believe, the bible was written in Latin so only the priests who knew the language could interpret it to their congregation. Of course, they have found manuscripts that were written during jesus time and those would be the closest we could get to the originals.

Answer 8

first even the many translations are still similar. they still say the same thing. just some are made to be able to read it easier. i know many who have come up with the same things from reading a different version.

also most will say the King James Version is the best one out there. i personally use this version and then use the other versions to help out with some words or whatever as backup. also to verify some verses.

Answer 9

Well, in general, there are different bible TRANSLATIONS because of different styles of writing, etc.

First off, of course, there is the fact that there are various languages that the bible has been translated into. I'm thankful I must say that I don't have to learn Greek/Hebrew to be able to read the bible.

Then of course, there is the fact that our styles of writing/speech change over the years. For example, the King James version of the bible was printed back in a day when everyday people would use words like "thee" and "thou" etc.. Our language has changed, and thus a more "up to date" version of the bible has been produced to allow us to read it in a way we understand.

The different versions of the bible are generally just different translations. It doesn't mean that they are all different or disagree with each other.. It just means that they are done in different styles of writing, etc.

I'd say if you wanted the "closest" to the word of God, then you would want to look to the Greek/Hebrew texts that have been found .. because they are going to have been the closest to the time of Christ etc..

However, if you're referring to English versions, etc.. I believe that you would have to make your choice based on a number of things... Some bibles will explain to you at the beginning (such as my NIV bible) how the translators did their work and what types of historical texts they used, etc.. Others you may have to look up to find out more information about.

Some people will try to insist that the KJV is the most accurate, but I find that their reasoning is flawed. They suggest that it's because it's one of the oldest, etc.. But I don't think that means anything necessarily because we (man) has found more of the older texts of the Bible (from Greek/Hebrew) that weren't found back then.. to be able to more directly translate from, etc.. I'm not saying the KJV is wrong, just that it's not the "only one" as some seem to believe.

Answer 10

The original king james is probably the closest english version. There are so many versions because people think they have to try to make it easier to understand, but they end up adding stuff to it that they shouldn't sometimes in the process.