(June 19, 2012 at 7:59 pm)cato123 Wrote:(June 19, 2012 at 4:43 pm)Drich Wrote: Then i appologise for makeing such a big deal about nothing. From my perspective I spent twenty mins looking for the link I was going to post and the next day it wasn't there. what I then remebered was being told recently this was not a place/forum that we could post links. i assumed that it was simply erased.
My mistake if I did not post it, and again appologise for making a big deal about nothing.
Given your knowledge of scripture (I have seen you in other threads argue against English passage interpretation by invoking meanings from original Hebrew texts), I have a question:
In your opinion, what is the most definitive English translation of The Bible given what we know from modern Biblical scholarship?
The problems with translating any text from one language to another is not all words directly translate, then if you add the complexity of culturally specific terms, or phrases based in a specific time period, then a direct transaltions sometimes make little sense, or at minimum lose their intended meaning. John 3:16 is a good example of this. In that "God so Loved..." We take the word we understand to be love and substitute our meaning or the modern interpertation of the word, and build churches and doctrine(The Doctrine of Omni Benevolence is partially based on this passage) on the english understanding of the passage. Rather than look at the word that was translated into the english as 'love.' For a beginner or someone new in the faith it is ok to stop with the translated text still their Spiritual maturing demands that they know more. Then they must take on the task of seeking God in His word beyond the limitations of their favorite translation. Or even beyond the limitations of their favorite denomination or specific brand of Chruch.
So to answer your question directly "Which translation is the best?" It depends on who I am sppeaking to, and what passage I am trying to explain. Sometimes it is better to use the Easy to Read version, when a plain reading with a beginner is all that is needed, and other times when I want to show or focous on translation I will use the King James or NKJ becuse its eloberate use of the kings english often times has the other person question the meaning of what is being cited in the english. So a deeper look it welcomed.
If you or anyone else is looking for a translation to start with then I would maybe start with a study bible in a version that spells passages out in plain english. NIV study, New American Standard Study, or Even a MacAuthur Study bible. But understand study bibles are all commentary based bibles and all commentary based bibles support one form/brand of Christianity or another. Meaning they are often written to support a specific doctrine or Denomination first. That doesn't mean there isn't alot of good and accurate insite in these commentary based bibles. however I would recomend staying away from commentary or instruction that over emphisizes one verse or if they take one verse out of it's context and pair it with another to build a doctrine.
This web site is a good resource that contains just about every legitmate directly translated bible avaiable.(and some others) I use it in conjunction with the strong's blue letter.
http://www.biblegateway.com/
At first I would stick with the more popular translations before you/anyone ventured out into some of the others. I started with the Student NIV and it helped cement basic principles and branched out from their. I would not recommend getting into alot of direct translating till you have a basic grasp of the standard english translation first. It's easy to loose yourself in what is meant in a given text unless you first understand what the text is about. A Church, or Good study bible will help you do that.
