What about different Bible translations?

There are many different translations of the Bible out there. Some of my favorite include the New International Version (NIV), New American Standard Bible (NASB) and the New Living Translation (NLT). There are several others out there including the King James Version that is a time honored tradition for most Christians over 30 years old. If some of the words are different in each translation, how can it really be God's Word? What about the different books like the Apocrypha in the Catholic Bible?

This is really a two part question. One, how can we trust Bible translations? Two, how can we trust which books should be in the Bible? (This is called the Canon of Scripture.)

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. This means that God inspired the Bible and it is entirely true. However, when the Bible was originally written it was written in three different languages. The Old Testament was mainly written in Hebrew, the New Testament mainly written Greek. There was some Aramaic (sp?) in there as well. Can you read Hebrew or Greek? Did God intend for His Word to only be sent to those who knew the language? No! God desires all to come to Christ! So the Bible HAD to be translated.

Yes, some words are different in different translations. That's the point of different translations! If all the words were the same what would be the point? The point is to try to capture the original meaning of the language. The NASB takes a closer to word for word translation method while the NLT takes a big thought for big thought translation. The NIV is in the middle with a phrase by phrase translation. If you were to compare the meaning of each of the sentences in each of the translations, they have the same meaning.

Let's look at an example. John 5:36 NIV "I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me."
NLT "But I have a greater witness than John - my teachings and my miracles. They have been assigned to me by the Father, and they testify that the Father has sent me.
NASB "But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish - the very works that I do - testify about Me, that the Father has sent me."

All different wordings, but the same meaning. (Remember we want to know what God means when He talks!) The meaning is that Jesus has a testimony that He is the Christ that is better than John the Baptist testifying that He is the Christ. Jesus has the works that He does (teachings, miracles, etc.) to back up His claim and prove that God the Father sent Jesus as the Christ. That is the meaning and all the versions mean that.

So what do you do about translations? Well, my suggestion is to read the NIV as your main Bible. Use the NLT and NASB to compliment the NIV and help you find the real meaning of the words. (This is actually a good study method!)

OK, now about the extra books that are found in other sects of Christianity such as Catholicism and Mormonism. Making sure we have the correct books in the Bible is important. God told Moses "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it;" (Deut 4:2) We have to be right about which books belong in the Bible. The Old Testament is easy, Jesus used the same Old Testament that we do. He quoted it all the time and learned it growing up as a child. (Even though He helped write it! Cool huh?!) Books like the Maccabees acknowledge that there were no prophets of God to speak God's Word to them at the time (1 Mac 4:45-46) and so therefore cannot be part of God's Word themselves. Not only was the Apocrypha not acknowledged by Christ, but it was also deemed not worthy of the Bible by the Jews and their historians, including 1st century historian Josephus.

The New Testament was written by the apostles or at least they had control over the writing. They were given the authority by Jesus to do this in John 14:26. Peter also classifies Paul's writing as Scripture in 2 Peter 3:16. Paul quotes Luke's Gospel in 1 Tim 5:17-18 where he uses the phrase "the laborer deserves his wages," as Scripture which is found in Luke 10:7. The New Testament is self-attesting in that it shows divine authorship through the message or by the writer being an apostle.

Revelation 22:18-19 suggests that the Canon of New Testament Scripture is closed and therefore the Book of Mormon would not be included. Both the historical data and Holy Spirit point to the current New Testament Canon being the correct books of the Bible.

For more information on the Bible I suggest Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. He discusses, which much historical data, which books of the Bible to include. Check it out, email me or ask Pastor Kurt if you have more questions.