Accurate Bible translation?

Question

What is the most accurate Bible translation, and what do you base this on?
According to an episode of Jeopardy it is "The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures"

Answer 1

First let me state for the record, I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I am also a self professed Bible Geek, owning close to a hundred different translations and versions, and love to explore the nuts and bolts of Bible translation. Secondly, I need to set the record straight, this was never a question on Jeopardy, or any other game show. It is an urban myth. Personally I feel the NWT is the most accurate, and base my opinion on years of researching and debating the critics of it, who hate it because of their religious bias against JW's. Professor Jason BeDuhn (a secular Greek scholar and not a JW) in his book "Truth in Translation" ranked it as one of the most accurate translations. Ultimately though, there is no such thing as THE most accurate, due to the nature of translation itself. It is a pretty subjective thing. There are many passages that can legitimately translated different ways with different meanings. This is why having different translations is important, so you can get the full possible scope. The best thing you can do, while not necessary to understand the word of God, is to learn about the original languages.

Answer 2

I’m sorry to let JW’s down, after riding high on the Jeopardy claim (urban myth or not it is funny), but the New Translation Translation (NWT) has been produced to support JW theology. Actually, it doesn’t do a good job of that, because traditional Christian doctrine still comes through, but the Watchtower sure tried hard in their editing.

I'm sorry if these statements are agitating to individual JW folk. I have met some very nice JW people. My comments are only about what the Watchtower society itself does. It is an organization that is in terrible error.

The Watchtower arguments for the NWT, don't convince anyone schooled in the original languages.

I’m sorry to let the KJV-only folks down, but it is a myth that it is a based on superior manuscripts. 99% plus of scholars (people that devote their lives to truth) don’t buy into this. Books on textual criticism explain this situation.

The most accurate translation depends on the reader. How can that be?

A person new to the bible is not likely to know much about ancient customs, literary styles, and vocabulary. An essentially literal bible would be challenging for such a reader. For this person it is better to start with a paraphrase (New Living Translation or The Message) or dynamic equivalent such as the NIV or TNIV.

These bibles try to use modern metaphors to replace the ancient ones, or simply drop symbolic language and use declarative statements. It is easier to read, yet precision is reduced.

However, the recommendation changes, once a person has learned a bit about the bible, the background of the original readers, and how to approach ancient literary styles. Then an essentially literal translation should be used, such as NASB, ESV, HCSB, or NET.

These translations attempt to be transparent to the original wording, and hence are more accurate, but take a bit more effort to read. I don’t think the effort is a big deal, as the bible is a contemplative book. God intended that we mull-over ideas. That’s one of the reasons to use figurative language in the first place.

For information on translations a good website is http://www.bible-researcher.com/versions.html

For more explanation on the value of essentially literal translations download and read the free pdf of this book http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581347308

The most accurate way to study the scripture is to read/consult several translations. If I can roughly quote J.I. Packer’s recommendation:

1. Focus on an essentially literal translation, like the ESV.
2. Consult the NIV or NLT for a “fresh” take on passages.
3. Include some KJV for the poetic quality and because of its long history and reference in our culture.

Answer 3

The New World translation is the most accurate. one main reason is that it has put god's name back where it belongs.

Did you know that the name Yahweh or Jehovah (in English)
appears in the bible over 3000 times but because the Jews started thinking that it was to holy to say they stopped using it.

Because of there superstitions bible translators started removing it from there translations and replacing it with GOD or LORD. If you don't believe me look in the dictionary of any
bible under Jehovah.

It's hard to have a close relationship with something that you only call by it's title. It would be like the boss at work instead of using his name you only called him manager.

This is just one of many points that that the new world translation addresses

Answer 4

The most accurate Bible translation is the one that most closely follows that actual text of the original Hebrew and Greek, but does so in a way that makes those languages readable in modern English. Most Bible scholars would agree that that would be the New American Standard Bible or the New Revised Standard Bible. The New International Version is popular, but it isn't a direct translation -- it is what is called a "Dynamic Equivalent".

Answer 5

The question may have been which Bible is considered most accurate by Jehovah's Witnesses. I know many people hold to the King James Version, saying that it was the most accurate translation from original manuscripts, but the language leads to as many or more errors in teaching as other translations. I use the New International Version, which is translated directly from original texts and not a paraphrase of another translation.

AND SHAME ON A2Z FOR PRINTING ALL THAT OUT!!!
http://www.ibs.org/niv/background.php

Answer 6

Obanroo,

There are many really good translations of the Bible. I personally have studied the New American Standard Bible for many years. It combines beauty of expression with accuracy.

Because there are so many good ones, my real emphasis is on just reading/studying the Bible. It does a Body Good, much better than milk!

If more folks actually read it I think it would really help. It is so full of wisdom and understanding. =)

Answer 7

New American Standard Bible - Lockman scholars went back to as many of the original documents and translated from there. Most accurate as far as word by word translation. 12th grade education or better.

Answer 8

I've got about 6 or 7 different Bible translations.
I use a KJV (I know it's been trashed mostly, however, I like the poetic verbiage, it's what God has led me to and I stay with it for that reason) along with a study Bible and Greek and Hebrew concordances and lexicons, when I'm really digging. One word I think I know the meaning of can take me a couple of hours to research. But it is so much fun to do this and God leads me all the way and then my reward is the Living Word of God singing in my heart :)
I like to compare the different translations when I've got the time. And it's easier to have a friendly discussion with my friends about passages when I'm working out of the same translation that they are.

Answer 9

It depends on WHICH English one speaks or reads... English is NOT a FIXED language, but a dynamic, ever changing language. As such, there cannot be an enduring "best" translation of the scriptures.

The new world PERversion of the Holy Scriptures is closer to the LEAST accurate, containing several hundred DELIBERATE MISTRANSLATIONS.

Oh, I see the "deleted passages" BALONEY supporting the kjv. People fail to recognize that the kjv ADDED numerous passages that NEVER WERE in the TRUE scriptures, but were added, either through scribal error or deliberate tampering over centuries of hand copied New Testament scriptures... ONE of those was UNKNOWN until the 14th century! For a period of over 1000 years from the time the oldest known copies of any part of the New Testament were copied until the 1300's NONE of the THOUSANDS of New Testament manuscripts had the passage called "the Johannine Comma." (a corruption of 1John 5:7)

... With over 20 years using primarily Greek for NT study, I tend to use one of several SIMPLE ENGLISH translations when I use scriptures to answer questions posed in English. I find that these reduce confusion and, for the most part, accurately present the IDEA of the original. -- Someone condemned "dynamic equivalence" translation who doesn't seem to understand the nature of the Greek language. A truly LITERAL translation would be incredibly cumbersome for an English reader and would very often lead to an incorrect interpretation of the content. English uses word order for meaning and Greek uses it to relate significance. Greek uses FORM to relate much of the content while English has only a small fraction of the forms available to Greek writers... Greek verbs can relate:
what HAS happened
what IS happening
what WILL happen
what MIGHT happen
... that the subject did (does...) it TO HIMSELF, had it done TO HIM, or did it TO ANOTHER... and that is only a very small fragment of the shades of meaning available WITHIN A SINGLE WORD.

MOST translations are available through a variety of online sources, like BibleGateway. Look at these (in no particular order):
New International READERS Version
Contemporary English Version
New Living Translation SECOND EDITION (VERY different from the first)
Bible in Basic English
"Easy to Read" Bible a.k.a. English Version for the Deaf (Originally designed for the deaf adult population who often have a low comprehension level for written English)

Answer 10

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