why are there so many versions of the bible?

Question

if the bible was so holy and sacred, and believed to be penned by God himself, why does it have to be altered and modified by man? if God were to write something, which its purpose is to provide truth, it will be bar none, PERFECT. i.e, complete and not to be tempered with for all eternity. if so, why are there like a gazillion versions of the bible, all distinct it its words, and its content. they have been re-written by man, over and over. so now i question u, are the words of God imperfect? and lets not touch the subject of "sects". if there is only 1 God, and with him 1 true religion, why are there so many of these sects, which are too very different from each other. take for example, protestants.

truly, i am amuzed by ur answers. and by the looks of it, most people dont even belief in the bible.

because theyre wrongly translated? oh come on, the CONTENTS are much different from one another. translations couldnt possibly be the cause to this matter

Old Testament says God can't be incarnate or more than one. New Testament says different...

MAT 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

LUK 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.

Which first--beasts or man?

GEN 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
GEN 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

GEN 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
GEN 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Answer 1

God wrote the Bible? I beg to differ. Different writers wrote what they believed God was revealing to them. Their interpretation could not have been too accurate as Jesus came and taught a completely different philosophy.

Answer 2

1) There are so many versions because
A - It is profitable to produce newer, scholarly translations (and even less scholarly versions)
B - translation is necessary as becoming a superior expert in 3 separate ancient languages - of several different eras - is (almost?) unheard of in the academic world

2) The bible is not believed to be penned by God himself. Only the "10 Commandments" (Decalogue) is so considered.

3) Generally, the bible is neither altered nor modified by man. There *are* instances of this that have been discovered. However, once discovered, most versions which incorporate such modifications are *normally* rejected by the great majority of Christians. Most versions agree with each other on every point except for the particular word used for a particular translation.

4) "re-written by man, over and over" is, at least, an over-simplification. "Re-translated" is much more accurate - and hardly the same thing.

5) The words of God are not imperfect. However, the translation of those words by imperfect men, made from copies produced by the hand of imperfect men, is most certainly and verifiably imperfect.

6) There are different sects of Christianity for several reasons, the main ones are:
A - difference in doctrine, which may or may not be derived from scripture. This is what might be termed "high-end" sectarianism, as the division is truly one of firmly-believed difference(s) (perceived to be incompatible) on some particular doctrine(s)
B - difference in leadership, which occurs when someone decides they want to be the "ruler" of their own group of Christians
C - leadership rejection, when one group leaves the parent sect for reasons of perceived impropriety on the part of the parent leadership
D - in most cases, a combination of the above

7) Of course, most people *don't* believe in the bible. Christianity makes up well under 50% of the world's population


Your statement:
"because theyre wrongly translated? oh come on, the CONTENTS are much different from one another. translations couldnt possibly be the cause to this matter"
The contents, in general, are *very little* different one from another. You are mistaken on this point.

Your statement:
"Old Testament says God can't be incarnate or more than one. New Testament says different..."
This is a mis-statement on your part. Both claim that God can be only one, and neither make a claim about the number of God's incarnations.

Your statement:
"MAT 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

LUK 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli."
There is a rational, logical and culturally sound explanation for this seeming contradiction detailed in scripture itself. There is no contradiction here. E-mail me if you require the explanation. No hoodoo "Mary's dad" switcheroo required to understand this - just the Jewish law of the levirate.

Your statement:
"Which first--beasts or man?"
The bible, and scientific theory, both claim beasts.

Your statement:
"GEN 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
GEN 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

GEN 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
GEN 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."
There is no claim to temporal order in chapter 2 of Genesis. Why imply something that is not even inferred, and definitely not explicitly stated? It's not really logical to say that the bible is contradictory *if* it means what you have decided to infer that it means, rather than what is actually stated.

Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 3

The original Hebrew and Greek it was written in is faultless.Everything God wanted us to know is in there.All the authorized Bibles are the same in meaning and idea. It is just we don't speak Elizabethan English any more so translators re wrote it in modern English.Some translated it into college level and some into high school and lower level English.The New American Standard version used older manuscripts than the King James but the message is the same.The only one I don't care for is the New International Version. That is besides the Cult versions which are blasphemous(i.e. J.W. new world translation and others)
God did not pen the Bible but He moved men by the power of His Spirit to include the things He wanted in there.
Why do you antagonists always write "If God is all this ...then why" It is very childish.

Answer 4

The original text is in Hebrew & Aramaic, and Greek. Everyone can not read them so translations were made for all humans to be able to read the word of God. Humans make mistakes, and each language can be difficult to translate into English for example. However, the meanings are all the Same.

Today there are some great translations that are easy to read also. I personally like the 'Macarthur Study Bible', its a New King James version Bible. Its in plain English and has notes to help understand each verse also. Other good translations are: New International Version and New American Standard Bible. The King James version is one of the best translations you can get.

God intended His Word to abid forever. Therefore His written, propositonal, self disclosure was protecte from error in its original writing / inspiration and collected in the Old & New Tesaments. The following was stated by Martin Luther in 1521:

"Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradcted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God....Bod help me! Here I stand."

Answer 5

First: The term version is a little ambiguous. There are many translations, based on many interpretations of the original language and the original text. I suspect the same would be true of the Koran if one were to compare in detail various English translations.

Most of the examples you give in Additional details are not the results of differing translations, but of, lets be frank, contradictions within the Bible as a whole. The Genesis example is an example of tensions between the so-called Yahwist creation story and the Priestly creations story of Genesis 1. This same tension would appear in whatever translations/version of the Bible you picked up. I strongly suspect that similar tensions/contradictions can be found within the Koran and certainly between the Koran and other authoritative Islamic texts.

Yes. There are differing sects in Christianity. There are differing sects in Islam.

As to the whole idea of God being one in OT and the incarnation in the NT--that is the reality of Christianity v. Judaism.

As to the existence of God/gods in general: Stay tuned to Yahoo Answers, Religion & Spirituality.

Answer 6

All the gazillion versions put together, the ancient texts, and compilations point to one thing. God has preserved His Word.

It also points to the fact that people are desperate to know what God said. They really want to understand Him and His teachings.

It is a compliment to the Lord. Thank God we are not bound to the Latin Vulgate. Then we would be up the creek without a paddle, just like most of the people of Europe in the Middle Ages.

It is also an over-reaction to the Catholic Church which hates the Bible and has used sword and flame to keep it out of everyones hands.

Answer 7

on the Jeopardy television software about 2 weeks in the past, contained in the category "Bible" the question change into: "what's the most precise translation of all Bibles?" the finest answer change into "NEW international TRANSLATION" that Jehovah Witnesses use. King James version got here into existence. That change into in 1611. From basically about each quarter the King James Bible met competition. grievance change into many times severe. Broughton, a Hebrew pupil of the day, wrote to King James that he “could somewhat be torn asunder by ability of wild horses than enable this style of version to be imposed on the church.” King James Bible has been replaced; immediately no one reads the King James version in its unique kind. Explaining why this is so the e book The Bible in Its historic and English variations says: “basically about each version, from the very beginning, presented corrections and unauthorized ameliorations and additions, many times including new mistakes contained in the approach. The version of 1613 shows over 3 hundred transformations from 1611, It change into contained in the eighteenth century, although, that the significant ameliorations were made, The marginal references were checked and established, over 30,000 new marginal references were extra, the financial ruin summaries and operating headnotes were thoroughly revised, the punctuation change into altered and made uniform in accordance with modern-day practice, textual mistakes were bumped off, using capitals change into appreciably changed and decreased, and an intensive revision made interior this way of particular kinds of words.” such an excellent style of ameliorations were made, a lot of them contained in the readings of passages, that the Committee on variations (1851-fifty six) of the yank Bible Society got here across 24,000 ameliorations in six diverse ameliorations of the King James version! What, then, of the objections raised by ability of persons who say they do no longer want the King James Bible replaced? because the King James version has already been replaced, they lie on a crumbled putting out position. If those persons do no longer want it replaced, then why do they use, instead of a replica of an version of 1611, an version that has been replaced? between the significant causes the licensed version is so extensively universal is its kingly authority. There looks no doubt that, had no longer a king licensed this version, it would not immediately be honored as even though it had come direct from God

Answer 8

Several reasons. Firstly, the original texts were written in languages such as Aramaic and Greek, which most people can't read; translations are necessary to make the thing intelligible. Secondly, the original texts are not consistent. Thirdly, the meaning of words has changed over the years, and the King James version is often misunderstood for that reason. (Remember that Shakespeare was a contemporary; when Hamlet tells Ophelia "Get thee to a nunnery!", he is not referring to a convent.) Finally, some of the earlier translations are simply wrong; a notorious example has to do with the "virgin" Mary; obviously, she was no such thing, and the error arose from an incorrect translation of a Greek word which actually means "young woman".

Answer 9

I've looked at the four different versions that I own and
John 3:16-17 reads pretty much the same in all.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn it but that the world through Him might be saved."
Blessings.

Answer 10

Many interpretations of the Bible is the work of Satan. There are different "versions" of the Bible because it's Satan's sole purpose to confuse and distract mankind from his focus on God. Different versions of the Bible certainly accomplishes that, doesn't it? Just the few people here on this question each have a different opinion as to why the different versions. So you see, Satan wins when we're either confused or distracted from our central goal to serve and worship God as the supreme creator.

It's my opinion that our time would be better spent actually studying whatever version of the Bible that we have in our posession. If we do that we'll get the general gyst of the story, which is about love. Love of God, love of self, love of our neighbor. But when we're distracted by questions of authenticity we loose sight of who we are, and who God is, and what he is to us (our God and creator).

Answer 11

There are so many different versions of the bible because there are so many people who want the bible rewritten just for them.