Freethought & Rationalism Archive

philechat · 05-12-2002, 04:23 PM

Anyone knows which version of the Bible is most authentic (True to Hebrew and Greek language, no add-ins or deletions or changes due to ideological reasons) and well-written (little awkward language, flows smoothly)? Just wondering--because I might want to smuggle one for myself.

ex-preacher · 05-12-2002, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by philechat:
Anyone knows which version of the Bible is most authentic (True to Hebrew and Greek language, no add-ins or deletions or changes due to ideological reasons) and well-written (little awkward language, flows smoothly)? Just wondering--because I might want to smuggle one for myself.

I'm sure others around here are more qualified. I only had three semesters of Greek and two of Hebrew and it was a looong time ago - but I would go with the NRSV. It is widely regarded in the academic community as the best English translation of the Bible. There's a great study Bible version - The New Oxford Annotated (get the one with Apocrypha).

not a theist · 05-12-2002, 08:50 PM

I actually like the RSV better than the NRSV. The NRSV makes to many gender-neutral alterations of the text for my taste.

The NASB is also highly literal and usually very faithful to the manuscripts except when it has a theological agenda. If it were not for it's highly conservative bent, it would probably be the best word-for-word translation.

Atticus_Finch · 05-13-2002, 09:42 AM

Does anyone have an opinion on the New English Translation?

Here is a link. <a href="http://netbible.org/" target="_blank">http://netbible.org/</a>

Regards,

Finch

Sci_Fidelity · 05-13-2002, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Does anyone have an opinion on the New English Translation?

Yup. It's just as full of bullshit as the rest.

ShottleBop · 05-13-2002, 03:12 PM

According to the Bible Gateway:

Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

Quote:

The Bible text designated YLT is from the 1898 Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young who also compiled Young's Analytical Concordance. This is an extremely literal translation that attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek and Hebrew writings. The text was scanned from a reprint of the 1898 edition as published by Baker Book House, Grand Rapids Michigan. The book is still in print and may be ordered from Baker Book House. Obvious errors in spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the computer edition of the text.

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Quote:

The Amplified Bible was the first Bible project of The Lockman Foundation. It attempts to take both word meaning and context into account in order to accurately translate the original text from one language into another. The Amplified Bible does this through the use of explanatory alternate readings and amplifications to assist the reader in understanding what Scripture really says. Multiple English word equivalents to each key Hebrew and Greek word clarify and amplify meanings that may otherwise have been concealed by the traditional translation method. The Amplified Bible present on the Bible Gateway matches the 1987 printing. The Amplified Bible was translated by The Lockman Foundation. (www.lockman.org)

Or you could try the newest Jewish Publication Society translation, which also purports to be faithful to the original Hebrew:

Quote:

Featuring the oldest known complete version of the Holy Scriptures, placed next to JPS's renowned English translation, this Tanakh is a must for those who want a most authoritative translation of Hebrew scripture. The Hebrew text is conveniently formatted to match the English translation, and is slightly larger than the English for easy reading.

Txiasaeia · 05-28-2002, 01:26 PM

I bought a copy of the NET Bible, and it's really nice... it's got tons of footnotes, explanations as to why the translator used this word or that word, and it looks fancy too

wordsmyth · 05-29-2002, 12:01 AM

Here is a link to a decent comparison of bible versions... <a href="http://www.bibletranslation.ws/comp.html" target="_blank">comparisons</a>

at the end the author rates each one according to accuracy in translation.

CX · 05-29-2002, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by philechat:
Anyone knows which version of the Bible is most authentic (True to Hebrew and Greek language, no add-ins or deletions or changes due to ideological reasons) and well-written (little awkward language, flows smoothly)? Just wondering--because I might want to smuggle one for myself.

Yes. The NA27. Unfortunately it requires a knowledge of Koine Greek. The English translations mentioned in this thread so far are good, but all translations are subject to the vagaries of translational bias, better to learn the Greek and make your own decisions regarding interpretation. NA27 provides a critical apparatus that details all major variants and provides some insight onto why different translators make the choices they do.

Radcliffe Emerson · 05-29-2002, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by wordsmyth:
Here is a link to a decent comparison of bible versions... <a href="http://www.bibletranslation.ws/comp.html" target="_blank">comparisons</a>

at the end the author rates each one according to accuracy in translation.

I checked this site out when I was a firm believer. This guy is Catholic though, and the NAB is a Catholic bible, so his opinions are very biased.
I've seen more opinions from biblical people that the New American Standard is the most accurate literal translation.
When I read the bible from cover to cover though, I found I too preferred the NRSV. I have the Oxford Annotated with the Apocrypha.

05-12-2002, 04:23 PM	#1
philechat Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Mind of the Other Posts: 886	Question on bible translation Anyone knows which version of the Bible is most authentic (True to Hebrew and Greek language, no add-ins or deletions or changes due to ideological reasons) and well-written (little awkward language, flows smoothly)? Just wondering--because I might want to smuggle one for myself.

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05-12-2002, 08:50 PM	#3
not a theist Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Not in Kansas. Posts: 199	I actually like the RSV better than the NRSV. The NRSV makes to many gender-neutral alterations of the text for my taste. The NASB is also highly literal and usually very faithful to the manuscripts except when it has a theological agenda. If it were not for it's highly conservative bent, it would probably be the best word-for-word translation.

05-13-2002, 09:42 AM	#4
Atticus_Finch Regular Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Missouri Posts: 392	Does anyone have an opinion on the New English Translation? Here is a link. <a href="http://netbible.org/" target="_blank">http://netbible.org/</a> Regards, Finch

05-28-2002, 01:26 PM	#7
Txiasaeia Junior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Free World Posts: 9	I bought a copy of the NET Bible, and it's really nice... it's got tons of footnotes, explanations as to why the translator used this word or that word, and it looks fancy too

05-29-2002, 12:01 AM	#8
wordsmyth Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Des Moines, Ia. U.S.A. Posts: 521	Here is a link to a decent comparison of bible versions... <a href="http://www.bibletranslation.ws/comp.html" target="_blank">comparisons</a> at the end the author rates each one according to accuracy in translation.

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