translations
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There are many bible translations out there. NIV, KJV, NKJV, ESV, etc. My question is when making a new version like ESV (that one is fairly recent i think), do scholars go back to the original hebrew and greek texts, or do they further translate from the older bible versions, or both? Also, you can boost your chances of a best answer if you explain in detail how the various bible translations came to be 
How does the translation process impact the inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of the Bible?"
This question deals with three very important issues: inspiration, preservation, and translation.
The doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible teaches that scripture is “God-breathed”; that is, God personally superintended the writing process, guiding the human authors so that His complete message was recorded for us. The Bible is truly God’s Word. During the writing process, the personality and writing style of each author was allowed expression; however, God so directed the writers that the 66 books they produced were free of error and were exactly what God wanted us to have. See 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:21.
Of course, when we speak of “inspiration,” we are referring only to the process by which the original documents were composed. After that, the doctrine of the preservation of the Bible takes over. If God went to such great lengths to give us His Word, surely He would also take steps to preserve that Word unchanged. What we see in history is that God did exactly that.
The Old Testament Hebrew scriptures were painstakingly copied by Jewish scribes. Groups such as the Sopherim, the Zugoth, the Tannaim, and the Masoretes had a deep reverence for the texts they were copying. Their reverence was coupled with strict rules governing their work: the type of parchment used, the size of the columns, the kind of ink, and the spacing of words were all prescribed. Writing anything from memory was expressly forbidden, and the lines, words, and even the individual letters were methodically counted as a means of double-checking accuracy. The result of all this was that the words written by Isaiah’s pen are still available today. The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls clearly confirms the precision of the Hebrew text.
The same is true for the New Testament Greek text. Thousands of Greek texts, some dating back to nearly A.D. 117, are available. The slight variations among the texts—not one of which affects an article of faith—are easily reconciled. Scholars have concluded that the New Testament we have at present is virtually unchanged from the original writings. Textual scholar Sir Frederic Kenyon said about the Bible, “It is practically certain that the true reading of every doubtful passage is preserved. . . . This can be said of no other ancient book in the world.”
This brings us to the translation of the Bible. Translation is an interpretative process, to some extent. When translating from one language to another, choices must be made. Should it be the more exact word, even if the meaning of that word is unclear to the modern reader? Or should it be a corresponding thought, at the expense of a more literal reading?
As an example, in Colossians 3:12, Paul says we are to put on “bowels of mercies” (KJV). The Greek word for “bowels,” which is literally “intestines,” comes from a root word meaning “spleen.” The KJV translators chose a literal translation of the word. The translators of the NASB chose “heart of compassion”—the “heart” being what today’s reader thinks of as the seat of emotions. The Amplified Bible has it as “tenderhearted pity and mercy.” The NIV simply puts “compassion.”
So, the KJV is the most literal in the above example, but the other translations certainly do justice to the verse. The core meaning of the command is to have compassionate feelings.
Most translations of the Bible are done by committee. This helps to guarantee that no individual prejudice or theology will affect the decisions of word choice, etc. Of course, the committee itself may have a particular agenda or bias (such as those producing the current “gender-neutral” mistranslations). But there is still plenty of good scholarship being done, and many good translations are available.
Having a good, honest translation of the Bible is important. A good translating team will have done its homework and will let the Bible speak for itself.
As a general rule, the more literal translations, such as the KJV, NKJV, ASB and NASB, have less “interpretative” work. The “freer” translations, such as the NIV, NLT, and CEV, by necessity do more “interpretation” of the text, but are generally more readable. Then there are the paraphrases, such as The Message and The Living Bible, which are not really translations at all but one person’s retelling of the Bible.
So, with all that in view, are translations of the Bible inspired and inerrant? The answer is no, they are not. God nowhere extends the promise of inspiration to translations of His Word. While many of the translations available today are superb in quality, they are not inspired by God, and are not perfect. Does this mean we cannot trust a translation? Again, the answer is no. Through careful study of Scripture, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we can properly understand, interpret, and apply Scripture. Again, due to the faithful efforts of dedicated Christian translators (and of course the oversight of the Holy Spirit), the translations available today are superb and trustworthy. The fact that we cannot ascribe inerrancy to a translation should motivate us towards even closer study, and away from blind devotion towards any particular translation.
Written by rob on February 6th, 2010 with 12 comments.
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What are some sites that have translations of the Bible that are pro-homosexuality?
They ARE out there, right?
I’ll probably get bashed for this, but as a Christian, it’s hard for me to accept that a certain kind of love can be a sin. I’ve never been fully on board with the whole "homosexuality is a sin" deal, and frankly, I don’t want to be.
I’d rather not get preached at in the answers – if you can just provide me with sites for alternate interpretations of the Bible referring to homosexuality, that’d be great.
Thanks so much! 
You have to love how some of the homophobic types use the "homosexuality is a choice" canard – even though it’s just a matter of being attracted to a certain gender, which one CANNOT control.
The part about animals being "confused" is outrageous, too. Dogs hump legs & such as a show of dominance, not out of confusion. And many species DO have homosexual members, primarily in instances where the population nears their habitat’s sustainable threshold. It’s a natural mechanism to prevent overpopulation (not that the fundie literalists with their "women are baby factories" mindset will get that).
Sorry for the rant, it just grates my nerves to have narrow-minded people with no degree in psychology, sociology or biology, and no contact with their targets, make provably false claims about any group in an effort to justify their bigotry. Links to sites are below.
Anti-gay types are the same sort of people that ranted against interracial dating during segregation. Ignorance, intolerance and lying are not Biblical values.
Written by rob on February 4th, 2010 with 12 comments.
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I have read a prose translation and just started reading (and having trouble putting down) a verse translation of Ovid’s Metamorphisis and i can’t understand why they even bother making prose translations but there must be a market for them or they wouldn’t do it. Which do you prefer?
I prefer verse but to someone to whom a work of literature is a first time read then I recommend a prose version simply because it is more ‘accessible’ and I always hope that they will go on to read the verse translations .
I am a big fan of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and will buy whatever I can get my hands on !
A good QUESTion !
:0)
Written by rob on January 31st, 2010 with 4 comments.
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I know there are translations for his books but I bought it in a bookstore in Greece. Does anyone know where you could buy these comics in Toronto, Canada or even on the Internet. Specifically I was interested in finding a comic called ?????? ???? ??? ?? ??? but any would do.
http://www.arkas.gr/index.php/gr/1/lang/en0.htm
click at ???????????
http://www.protoporia.gr/author_info.php/authors_id/906780
(Crazy Combinations)
http://www.protoporia.gr/product_info.php/products_id/219368
(Games for two)
http://www.protoporia.gr/product_info.php/products_id/215147
Written by rob on January 17th, 2010 with 1 comment.
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I’ve never read the Bible or Torah or Koran in any capacity, but am curious. If I were to begin to study them, which versions/translations would be best?
The original Hebrew Bible was closed with the Great Assembly and the Prophet Ezra around 325 ce. The Dead Sea Hebrew Bible (350 bce) discovered by Muslims and id’d by RC Church, is the same Hebrew Bible used around the world today by Jews. There is no choice. If want a good English, try just the 2 vol. book on Bereishit by ArtScroll Publishers. On line, check the Hebrew on the Torah with Rashi commentary to explain the English. For NT look up the oldest edition, Codex Sinaiticus with the Codex Tchacos which are now available.
Review the God-Fearers, obligations, which are found in the NT (Book of Acts) and throughout the Koran. See 1stCovenant.org for other message taught before the Pauline Doctrine was adopted at the First Church Council at Nicaea in 325 ce.
Harder to get a hold of the earliest Koran. With much infighting among who was the real heir… and delays in getting the words on paper, many have been destroyed depending on the sect that had an edition. You would do better to research early Islam and seek the rare-book department at a large university. My father, a biblical scholar and a Deist, had a very old edition in French and Arabic and varied considerably from the one that is circulated today. So I think you really would have to do a lot of checking. Example: the Koran has Haman, from the story of Esther, meeting Pharaoh (from book of Exodus), at the Tower of Babel (Genesis). They also define God of Israel not as Allah (so research Allah).
Both Christianity and Islam are founded on a body going to a heavenly reward or permanent hell, which doesn’t exist in Judaism. So you have to look the background of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jinns, worship of angels, look up transubstantiation, ghee, Persian paganism and the mythologies and customs from Egypt: virgin Isis had a son-god named in Persia as Isa, which later became Jesus in Arabic and found its way to Islam which differs with the NT story, Don’t leave out Rev. Sun Moon on Christianity, and Mormon religion. Review the miracle & titles of Krishna and Buddha that are in the NT and how Alexander the Great brought them to Greece and ended up in Egypt before the common era. They were a draw for Romans and influenced the customs and religions for all time.
Written by rob on January 10th, 2010 with 9 comments.
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I am Austrian. For me it was such a surprise to see that there are so many people asking for Irish or Welsh translations. Isn’t it more convenient to have one common language for Great Britain and Ireland? In the European Union they spend millions of Euros for translations. And a different language is often a reason for war, because the group of people with a different language is considered strange and not belonging to us. To say the truth, I am very worried. I think we’ve had enough wars in Europe, don’t we.
Probably because Irish and Welsh are both growing languages – ie more and more people are learning them.
I’m Welsh and don’t know much of thr Welsh Language, but I’m still interested to learn. Its a cultural/heritage thing.
Written by rob on January 7th, 2010 with 9 comments.
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What do you think about the names Sabor, SuSabor or Sabores. The translations are Flavor, My Flavor and Flavors? This New Restaurant is in Las Vegas. The concept is Californian Cuisine with an Oaxacan flair an upscale Restaurant.
Out of the three, I prefer Sabores. Sounds yummy- good luck!
Written by rob on December 28th, 2009 with 1 comment.
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Hi. I’m about to study a Mahler symphony and about to buy a score, but I realise that a lot of the terms used are in german, and I know very very little german. I know that the Dover series contain translations but do the Eulenburg?
Thanks
I doubt if the engraving has been changed in 30 years either.
The Harvard dictionary of Music has many terms in many languages, its a wonderful resource that will serve you fully and well in many areas.
p.b.
Written by rob on December 26th, 2009 with 2 comments.
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i am trying to get a tattoo meaning inner beauty or beauty of the spirit. i like the translation i saw for japanese but i like to be different…does anyone know where i can find the accurate symbols/translations?
There are boxcars full of stuff that go with that general of an idea. My advice is to either go to the library, and get a book on symbolism, or look up some symbolism ideas in art online. I had books of that stuff, before my house burned down. But symbolism material is still available. Sorry I’m not specific, but I can talk all day, and you still can’t see it, except in your minds eye. Like the Fleur de Lys, The Eye of Horus, or the Ankh. Take care.
Written by rob on December 16th, 2009 with 3 comments.
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All of the sites I’ve tried give me translations in the Devanagari script, which I can’t read! I need a phonetic, Romanized translation.
Well you may used http://www.shabdkosh.com/
Its a English Hindi Translator website. It provides the translation in both hindi as well as phonetically
In case you get answer in Hindi, then click on [Show Transliteration], it will change the translated word from hindi to english
Hope the website will help you!
Written by rob on December 10th, 2009 with 1 comment.
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