Why are there so many versions of the bible?

Answer 1

Answer 1

The Bible was originally written in different languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek predominately.

Different people and groups have re-translated the original texts over the years to try to make it more simple to understand by the people of it's day. Have you ever tried to read part of a king James version? So many haths and thous and old English words that it makes it rather difficult to understand for today's regular person.

Answer 2

Basically all of the versions say the same thing, they just use slightly newer words and grammar.

Interpreting language is a tricky because word for word translation doesn't generally work due to different grammar rules and different uses of the same word. If you know any bi-lingual people they can explain this better. There are computer translators on the web you can search for that do word by word translations. Try this: Put a few sentences into one of them, translate it to another language, then cut and paste and have it translate it back to English... Chances are the words will be quite different and perhaps won't even make any sense.

Colloquialisms make it even tougher. If I asked you "what's up?" you probably know I mean "tell me what's happening". If you literally say "what's up" in another language people will look up at the sky or ceiling to see.

So if the bible says something in Hebrew like "what's up" one interpretation might say "what's happening?" and another one might say "what's going on?" and another one might say "how's it going?". Some literalists may even write "what is above?". See? I just made 3 versions that are all the same but slightly different and one direct translation which makes little sense in context.

Answer 3

The bible in its original form was written in the Hebrew and Greek languages (with smatterings of Aramaic in there as well). When translating from one language to another, the process of translating is never an exact, mathematical equation. A given Greek word cannot always be given the same English word every time, since words always have nuances which depend on context, historical and cultural usage, and the like. For example, consider the English word "ran". That word may convey the physical act of running using one's legs (I ran to the store), it may convey the task that machinery performs (My car ran fine until it ran out of gas), or it may convey the motion of an object (My car ran down the hill after I forgot to set the parking brake).

Furthermore, the Hebrew and Greek languages have forms and tenses that may require a few English words to properly convey their meaning. For example, there is a Greek form called the 'participle' which can come in present and aorist tenses. Although only one word in Greek, English may need to supply words to properly convey its meaning. The present tense of the word "run" as a participle may be translated adverbially, "While he was running the car struck him." or adjectivally, "He is going to the store, running the whole way." In that same way, the aorist tense of the word "run" as a participle may be translated adverbially, "After he ran he went home." or adjectivally, "Yesterday he went to the store, running the whole way." Whether it is translated adverbially or adjectivally depends on the context in which the word is used.

All of that to say this: translation is an art, and different translators emphasize different aspects of that art. Generally speaking, there are two different ways to translate. The first is to translate as literally as possible, using word-for-word translations whenever possible and supplying only extra English words when absolutely necessary. The second is to translate the meanings of the phrases as accurately as possible, using what is known about the language during the time and location of its usage to properly translate its meaning. The difference can be seen using a common Hebrew expression. The most literal translation would be "The men feared a great fear" while a meaning-based translation would be "The men were greatly afraid." Both carry the same meaning, but use different translating approaches.

All bible translations fall somewhere along this scale of "word-for-word" or "thought-for-thought" translation. Some are very literal, sacrificing readability for accuracy, while some are very readable, sacrificing accuracy for readability, and all degrees in between. However, when comparing such different versions side-by-side, you will find that all communicate the same message, just using different styles to do so.