Ep 18: Which Bible Translation is the Best?

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Welcome back to this Reading Mama's podcast. I'm Becky.

SPEAKER_00 0:12

I'm Amy. I'm glad you all are joining us again. I want to do a quick reminder that we have a podcast plus membership that you can access the transcripts to our podcast and the guided notes so that while you're listening, you can make notes to go along with it. It also includes charts and Bible reading plans, different visual resources to help you engage with what we are teaching in the podcast, and also for you if you teach a class, a Sunday school, and we hope that these things are helpful to you. The podcast plus membership costs$5 a month, and we do not post any of our podcasts with ads, so it is not an inconvenience to you while you're learning. So we hope that you join us in our mission to help others understand and teach the Bible. Today our podcast is going to be which Bible translation is best.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Yes, because last week we talked about reading God's Word and how it can be confusing sometimes. And we talked about one of the reasons why is that we often read scripture out of context, and that's why it's so confusing. So we thought today we'd talk a little more about Bible translations and which one is best. So one of the beauties of the English translation of the Bible is that we have so many versions of the Bible. And while that may seem yeah, easy for you to say, Amy, well, while it may be confusing or maybe overwhelming, like I think about people who are new to homeschooling or new to something, and there's all these options out here. Whoa, goodness, that's overwhelming. But it's a blessing, really, because other languages don't necessarily have as many translations into that language because you were mentioning the Spanish Bible.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Right. So the main translation that most churches will use in Latin American countries is the Reynavera translation, and that is um Castilian Spanish, which is very hard for modern-day Spanish speakers to understand. So I can remember when I was trying to read the Bible in Spanish, I would ask my husband all the time, what is this word? What does it mean? I've never heard it before. And he would say, I have no idea. So thankfully, in hard copy, I know there is one other version which is the NIV in Spanish. I don't know if there's any other hard copies out there. There are many translated online. I'm not sure how well they are translated, though.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

So I think it's helpful to think about the translations of the Bible as being a continuum or a spectrum. On one side of it, you have what's called word for word. Another word you could use for that would be a formal translation. So these translations are going to follow more of the grammatical structure of the original language. And the goal is that it's precise. And so because it's following more of the grammatical flow from a language that's not English, for you have Hebrew in the Old Testament, you have Greek in the New Testament. For me personally, if I'm going to read the formal out loud or a word-for-word translation out loud, I've got to practice a little bit because it sounds a little choppy, it doesn't flow, but you kind of expect that when you go from one language to another language because the grammatical structure of languages is different. Amy does speak Spanish, she's bilingual. So if I said the car is red, you would say that differently in Spanish? Right.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

The direct translation would be the car red.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

And how would you say it?

SPEAKER_00 4:03

And carro rojo is the red car.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

We say it backwards. Yeah, so you would compare to what we say would be backwards. So you've got the word for word, that's on one side of the spectrum.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

And on the other side, you have thought for thought, which would be considered functional. This type of translation helps to bridge the gap between language and culture of the original text with that of the modern day language and culture. So it helps to translate more a meaning, what the text is trying to say, the message. However, this can lead to interpretation. It does simplify what you are reading, and it helps you understand it in the way that you speak today. So it is not as complex, possibly, as the word for word. It would be easier to read out loud.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Right. Like just site reading it. I would be able to just read it out loud in front of people. You also have two translations in the middle, the NET and the CSB, which we decided to call fusion to keep with using the words that start with the letter F. So the NET and the CSB. So NET is the New English translation. The C S B is the Christian Standard Bible. Both of these tend to swing back and forth. So if it makes more sense to be word for word, they use that. If it makes a little more sense to go thought for thought, so they'll go back and forth between the two. But all the way on the word for word formal, you've got the NASB, the NASB, then followed by the Amplified Bible, the ESV, the KJV, and the New KJV. Of course, these are not including every translation out there. We're just kind of throwing the most well-known ones, maybe. And then all the way over here for the thought for thought, the NIV leans more thought for thought. And then the NLT, which is the new living translation, that's the one I used. My parents gave me a new living translation because my dad worked for Tyndale House and they're the ones that published it. He gave me one in 1996, and I used that through high school and college. It was very understandable, but it's a lot further away from word for word than even the NIV is.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

In addition to the formal and the functional translations, you have those that are more free. Is that how you say that? Or freer? Okay. They are freer, and they are called paraphrased Bibles. In those, you have the message, so the good news translation and the living Bible translation. So the paraphrase is it's since it's not a translation, it takes the message from more than likely the functional Bible translations, and then it expounds on those to make them even easier. So what a thought-for-thought translation may put in one sentence, someone may take in the paraphrase and create three sentences just to expound on what they're trying to say in more detail. This could be helpful for those who are teachers of the word or students of the word who like to dig in deep and just find a new way maybe to communicate a message. I would not necessarily recommend it to someone who is a new believer because it is easy maybe to grasp what they're trying to explain and it be miscommunicated slightly. So I would stick to a formal, more than likely the functional for a new believer.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Right. So you would recommend the paraphrase for someone who already has the word for word or the thought for thought, and they know they understand. Okay, that makes sense. So today we thought we would go through Philippians 4, 10 through 13 in different translations and in a paraphrase that you could maybe hear the nuances and the differences between them because when we study scripture, it can be helpful to use different translations. In the last episode, we did, we talked about Bible context and we pulled out of context and showed you how to put it in context, Jeremiah 29, 11, which I would argue is probably the most pulled out of context verse in the Old Testament. The one from the New Testament would be Philippians 4.13, which is I can do all things through a Bible verse taken out of context. Right? So that's basically what people, how people use this verse. So we thought we would read it in context. We're backing up to the beginning of the paragraph, which starts in verse 10, and we're gonna read it in different translations and then in a paraphrase that you can just hear. The one I'm gonna read from first is the NASB. Now, this is not the 95 version, this goes earlier than that because this is my grandfather's from the 70s, I think. So I'll start, and again, excuse me if I make mistakes because it is a little for it's more formal than I'm used to. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

The next translation is the NET. This is where it fuses that word for word and the thought for thought. So this says, I have great joy in the Lord because now at last you have again expressed your concern for me. Open parentheses. Now I know you were concerned before, but had no opportunity to do anything. Close parentheses. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in any circumstance. I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

And then I'm going to read from the NLT, which is the New Living Translation. How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn't have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little, for I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

The next one comes from the message. Happy that you're again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content, whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much. With much as with little. Amen, sister. So the next thing we look at when we ask ourselves the question, who translated it, are some things that may lead us to pause or have caution when we use these versions or if we even use them at all. So we are going to call these the red flags that the translation or the paraphrase was written by one single person. So we have, for example, the message. The message was written by a man named Eugene Peterson. He was a pastor, and some would call him a scholar, but he wrote it all by himself. I would proceed with caution because it's important that when you are taking the word of God, that you have people that will hold you accountable to the meaning of the original text, and that you don't change it on a whim because it sounds good to you. No recipes. Right, no recipes. And then the other thing would be no accredited credentials. I know that sounds funny, but anyone can say, Oh, I'm a doctor in something, and they may not really have a doctorate in that line of study from an institution that is accredited, that is well known, and can speak to or stand behind this person because of the knowledge that they claim to possess. And one of the Bibles that are out there would be called the TPT or the Passion Translation. That was written by a man named Brian Simmons. So he does not stay true to the original text. He takes what he believes Scripture is saying to him, or he takes what he believes to be a revelation from God, and he inserts that now into the text. So what you would read from another translation is not going to sound or even mean the same thing in his passion translation. And the word translation is deceiving because he actually doesn't translate the original text. He's actually paraphrasing a lot of what the new what the translations that are considered thought for thought would say. Or he's actually taking revelations that he's had and inputting them into his translation. So I would caution anyone who wants to use that. I would refer you to a few people who are online that have done some deep digging into not only his credentials, but how he came about creating this translation. Some of those sources would be Alisa Childers. She has a podcast. It is titled The Three Things to Know About the Passion Translation. Then there is also Mike Winger, where he interviews a biblical and Greek scholar named Douglas Moo, and he can he expresses the concern in what the Passion Translation is saying in contrast to what the actual Greek text of the New Testament is saying. And then you have Melissa Doherty, who has several different podcasts where she discusses the concerns with the passion translation.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

And she also has one about the mirror Bible, which is another, I would say, paraphrase that's whack as whack gets. She calls it nopey nonsense. I love how she says that.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Some extra tips that we have to help you find a good translation of the Bible would be to find a study Bible. The study Bibles are really good because it takes what you're reading, and below it offers different commentaries and study notes from the scholars about what this may mean. So if you looked at one of the tips that we gave previously, it was to have a translation that has multiple scholars from different denominations. So in the study Bible, you will have certain notes that may say the interpretation for some could mean XYZ, and the interpretation of this verse for others could mean ABC. So it's helpful in that context. You could even choose a word for word and a thought for thought because it helps you compare the direct translation to the meaning that's trying to be portrayed.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

And I think it's great that we have Bible apps now where you can, or I like to use Blue Letter Bible, and I also like Bible Gateway because you can you don't have to buy all these different translations. So if you want a word for word and a thought for thought, you can go on the website and you can read it in those different versions without having to have the hard copy. The other thing we would say about translations is that you want to make sure you can understand it. I don't know what I want to say.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

You don't understand it, you're not gonna learn much.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Yes, you're not. You're really not because you don't understand it. And the last thing I would say is avoid the red flags that we have talked about. So we have mentioned some red flags. You want to be sure that you avoid specific translations or those that say their translations and even how you use the paraphrases.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

So going back to make sure you understand it. So what I like to do is go to a store like Books A Million or Barnton Noble's where they have the different versions of the Bible. And I'll literally take them and open them up and say, okay, what is this saying? I'll pick some of my favorite verses. What is this saying in this Bible, and what is this saying in this Bible? And I've done that with my daughters as well, and they pick out which one makes more sense to them or that they can read easier.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

On the blog, I have a freebie, as I call them. It does sound weird when you say that though. But I have a freebie that's Bible text features. It's a Bible text features chart. And on the chart, it the goal was to help you teach teens, kids how to use their Bibles. It's best if they have a study Bible. And there are study Bibles for kids and study Bibles for teens. There's even study Bibles for women and men. There's all different kinds. This chart just kind of helps you break down what are the features in your study Bible to help you understand it. Like what is a cross-reference? A lot of kids don't know what that is. Some adults don't know what that is. How to use the maps, how to use the headings, the concordance, different things like that. So that is free on the blog. But I also developed a whole pack resource that has goes more into depth, has some kind of scavenger hunts and games that you can do with teens and kids.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

So let's be determined like Ezra to redo and tell the word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 19:52

Some extra tips that we may have that not that we may have, that we do have, because we have them for you. We do have them. They're right here. Don't without laughing yourself. Oh my goodness. This is all your fault. My fault. Yes. You started messing up first. And it just spiraled from there. It was contagious. Okay.