Of the thousands of versions of the Bible, which one is the true inspired word of God?

Question

They can't all be.

Answer 1

I'm of the opinion that NONE of them are the "inspired word of god". Mostly because long before we got even close to the many versions we have now, men cut and tweaked and changed the available writtings of the time. About half of the "gospels" that were written during that time were left out entirely. How can it be the inspired word of god if men decided what should and shouldn't be included? Are we so arrogant as to believe we know what the will of the divine is?

EDIT: I agree with Sicc (my father is a professor of biblical interpretation and ancient greek, he taught me well) if you really want to understand the bible and know what is accurate, you need to go back to the original. However, having said that, we also need to realize that many of the texts that were not included in the original version produced at the Council of Nicea were destroyed by time and war. So we may never have the full story.

Answer 2

The King James bible was published at a time when the english language was at its height, when expression in the written word, in english was the most clear and concise as it has ever been, before or since.

There was an explosion of knowledge following the invention of the printing press and the english speaking people who could not read aramaic and greek needed the written word of God in english to contest knowledge that opposes God in the world with.

Today, with the understanding of how faith in God can free people from tyranny and oppression, contrary to the image that was projected by the counterfeit church, the bible is being corrupted and subverted from the truth, because the truth is all that stands in the way of the new world order.

The King James bible remains the infallible and inerrant, pure word of God.

Answer 3

The earliest NT Greek Bible dates to around 330 CE. The earliest Hebrew Bible dates to about 1,000 CE. The King James Version Bible was based on one of the first attempts to go back to the "original" by a man named Erasmus around 1520 CE. He didn't know better and used Greek manuscripts from the Middle Ages, so I would definitely not recommend the KJV. Get the New Revised Standard Version Bible (For Protestants) or the New American Bible (For Catholics) because they follow closely the best biblical manuscripts that we have been able to recover.

Answer 4

The scriptures have been preserved since they were written by the original authors. It was these authors who were "inspired by God" to write down what God either spoke to them or "put the words in their mouths".

Over the years the scriptures have been copied and translated into various languages. These translations or "versions" have been translated by various methods, some of which are more reliable than others. The four methods are Highly Literal, Modified Literal—Formal Equivalence, Idiomatic—Dynamic Equivalent and Unduly Free—Paraphrase. It is helpful to know how each translation was done and how accurate to the original manuscripts it is. A study of the various translations and their translation methods can help determine the more reliable translations and the one's that need to be scrutinized.

One point to remember is that God promised to preserve his word. Many of the translations we have available today are just as reliable as the original Greek and Hebrew writings.

Based on many years of study by scholars, the most reliable texts come from the Modified Literal—Formal Equivalence method. These include the following translations KJV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, NASB, McCord.

See source for more info.

Answer 5

I truely believe NONE are, and that its all man made...Thats up to you to decide though, everyone will tell you this is the TRUE word of god. Truth really is, there is no way of knowing what is the "true word" and if there is scientists are worried about other things 90% of the time. My advice, do some major studies on it, and choice what you believe to be correct for you to believe in. Or just believe in yourself, its up to you to choice if you believe in God Or not... Its that simple. I decided after much research that I wasnt sure what I believed, so I am agnostic. I guess I believe there is a god, and I guess I believe he died for us... But theres SO MANY religions and beliefs to look into.. Its hard to figure out whats right for you. Truely I don't think there is a real answer to your question, not one that people on yahoo answers can give you.

Answer 6

None are. The Bible, in all of its versions, was written by man. Man is fallible. And various men have always had their own agendas.

So the true inspired word of God is found within YOU, in your beliefs, in your faith, and in your relationship with God. Follow the teachings of Jesus. Do your best in life. Aspire to be all that you can be.

Man cannot know God's will. And those who claim to know God's will or claim to speak for God should be ashamed of themselves!

Answer 7

The 1611 King James Version is as close to the original autographs (writings) as we possess. I get tired of the uneducated and unlearned who constantly carp about the translators and scribes. It may be particularly irritating to me as one of my mother's relatives was one of those who was in the group of men who did the translation of the KJV. He was also the tutor in mathematics and Greek to Queen Elizabeth I and provost of Eton. Hardly an intellectual equal to those here on YA who so disparage his work which included the excellent Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores. If you find the language archaic then I suggest you read the New KJV which while lacking the majesty of the KJV, does convey the message of the gospel. If the message were not true then people would not try so very hard to attack both the Divinity of our Lord and the preservation of His Holy Word. The fierce hatred expressed to Him and His Church can only indicate the power of the gospel to divide the sheep from the goats.

Answer 8

Why not?
If you truly study all these different versions, you'll find that they pretty much all say the same thing, just in different ways. The KJV uses Shakespearian English; "The Message" is a paraphrase that says the same thing in vernacular that we would use today. There are a few versions of the Bible that have some copyist errors, but the message is still the same.

Answer 9

The KJV. All the newer versions can't be because they have changed everything from the original. The kjv is directly from the originals. It is the inspired, or spoken, word of God. He told the men what to write and they wrote exactly what He said.

Answer 10

None are inspired if you ask me. But if one wants to study the original words then I suggest you go learn how to read Greek and go from there.