What is the most accurate version of the Bible that we have today?

Question

I hear that the NASB is so close to the Greek that those who study Greek Theology use it instead of the actual Greek. All mature comments appreciated.

JAY, NASB stands for, New American Standard Bible. I found it at blueletterbible.com , Check it out!

Answer 1

The 1611 King James Version is tried and true. It has never failed millions of Christians before me. It will stand till the end.

However I did check out the NASB and it does have differences with the KJV. I always wonder about other Bibles, who translated, who interpreted, whats their agenda?

I'll always read the KJV, I will at sometimes check other versions to see how they phrase things. (NKJV, NIV). But ALL my hope and faith is in the King James Version, I have put it to the test and it has never failed me. Praise God for his word.

Answer 2

Some of the other contributors said they like the KJV - I must agree I am in love with the language myself. There are many whom joke about not understanding the "thees" and "thous", but when you pray before you read it, you will begin to read it like a standard Dick and Jane book from kindergarten. You must really pray before you read any scripture so that you are "getting" what God is presenting to you personally. While many Bible Studies are based on either the NIV or NASB, it's probably best to do a thorough comparison to your KJV. Also someone mentioned an Interlinear Bible. While huge in nature, you need to get the Old Testament separate from the New Testament. What an Interlinear does is takes the NIV, NASB or KJV and translates it into the original Greek or Hebrew language. I find this frustrating because you're just reading your text as translated into another language. However, I've purchased a "reverse" interlinear Study Bible in which the Original Greek and Hebrew are displayed and thereby translated into (whatever version you're interested in) KJV, NIV, NASB, etc. In order to dig into this concept of originality, you must take a basic Greek course, learn the contexts (meanings - original intent) and keep a good commentary or two (for EACH book you are learning). In other words - if you're pouring over the Greek to KJV book of John, for instance, have a couple of reliable commentaries on John around, too, to reinforce what the actual context of the passages were meant to say. You be the judge, you make the call. Does the Greek "really" mean what it was translated in to? Most oftentimes, yes, it does. On ocassion, well, some things might be a stretch because there was no original intent from which to draw. Translations are hard - even translating current day Spanish to English can get tricky. Imagine translating the dead language of Greek to English. It's something that is not done easily. One must thoroughly understand both languages. Hey, good reading! I pray that you've learned something new from your responses. But the best part is - that you asked! How awesome! Really, pray first before reading any translation. katiefish <><

Answer 3

Unless you are reading in the Greek or Aramaic or Hebrew then it is hard to find a true version all of them are tempered by the translators. The King James as much as it is beloved is very suspect (Read "In the Beginning The Story of the King James Bible")

Having said that a word to all those who refer to the Bible as a conspiracy or myth. You are giving a awful lot of credit to 1st and 2nd century writers to think that they could conspire to create a full blown myth around a person who many of them had met (Jesus: Who is mentioned in other independent histories) I get a kick out of the image that conjures: The 11 sitting around a room and Peter going "Hey you know what we should do? We should tell everyone he rose from the dead." John "Yea that would be fun."

While you may dispute weather Christ rose or not, you should not dispute that the people who first believed it, did believe it. To think illiterate fishermen could create this story is akin to thinking that George Bush has a high enough IQ to fake 9-11

And...having said that, most translations of the Bible are as good as we are going to get. I agree that the New American standard is excellent. My first study Bible was New King James. I am not big on the original King James, perhaps because I know too much of the politics that went into the translation.

Answer 4

There is always a loss of meaning in translation. Therefore there is no accurate version or translation of the Bible. Scholars usually refer to several versions. As certain Hebrew and Greek words and phrases can have several meanings and different versions give its different connotations and nuances. Most modern translations/version are good, eg. NKJV, NASB, New Jerusalem Bible, RSV, etc.

Answer 5

You are correct. I just recently read a book that had a chart on different translations. It started from the most literal to the least. Here's the list

Form - Driven Versions

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
King James Verion (aka the Authorized Version, 1611) (KJV)
New King James Version (1982) (NKJV)
English Standard Version (2001) (ESV)
Revised Standard Version (1952) (RSV)
New Revised Standard Version (1990) (NRSV)

Meaning - Driven Versions

Today's New International Version (2005) (TNIV)
New American Bible (1970) (NAB)
New Jerusalem Bible (1985) (NJB)
Revised English Bible (1989) (REB)
New Century Version (1991) (NCV)
International Children's Bible (1986) (ICB
New International Readers Version (1994-1998) (NIRV)
New Living Translation (1996, rev. 2004) (NLT)

Paraphrases

Good New Bible (aka Today's English Version) (1976) (GNB)
J.B. Philips' New Testament in Modern English (1958, rev. 1972) (JBP
The Message, by Eugene Peterson (Message)

Answer 6

The KJV, NKJV, NASB, & ESV are all highly accurate translations. I prefer the KJV for reading as I love the language of it. I also own a NKJV Life Principles Bible I use for my personal Bible study (great study Bible to purchase). I take an NASB with me to church & use this most often with my Bible software apps as it's a terrific translation. It goes well with Strongs/original language study. The ESV is becoming more useful for original languages, especially with the new ESV reverse interlinears from Logos Bible Software. You can really get into the original languages with them.

The HCSB is also a good choice for Bible study, & I use it often in my WORDsearch & Bible Navigator apps. While not as accurate in the Biblical languages as above, I like reading the NLT & using it in some of my lesson prep, as it's very dynamic & really tells a strong message.

Answer 7

Thanks for mentioning the NASB version, I'm interested in finding a very accurate version of the Bible as well...I'll have to check it out. Sometimes I wish I could read in Hebrew and Greek just so I could read the Bible as it was originally written.

Answer 8

The version that people will read!
Just kidding. I like the NKJV!
During a study frenzy,I have been known to look at the NASB,NKJV,KJV,New International and Amplified.
I really believe that Scripture is living and active and the the Holy Spirit brings it to life as we read!
As far as accurate,the Word of God can only be received by faith.......that which He has given!

Answer 9

For the Greek, the Textus Receptus.

Answer 10

Probably the original Hebrew (or Aramaic, or whichever language they spoke during the time it was written) version. But I think many Americans insist that Jesus spoke English, and was Christian, and don't acknowledge anything else as being an accurate translation.