Recently in Bible Translation Category

From a reader request this week we’ll review the HCSB, or Holman Christian Standard Bible, using our 3 Steps to Choosing a Bible Translation.

The ESV pops on the scene as one of the new, hot, translations. But how does it stack up?

Back in 2009 we warned about the new NIV, which turned out to be the previously rejected TNIV repackaged as the NIV. It appears the bait-and-switch didn’t fool Southern Baptists, who rejected the wolf-in-sheeps-clothing rewrite of the NIV.

We wrote about the gender neutral NIV translation back in 2009, but an interesting note of the perils of the trendy “gender neutral” translation come from none other than staunch anti-religious atheist Christopher Hitchens.

We find many articles on Bible translation express a similar idea: go to a bookstore and read various translations and pick one you like. In other words, they’re all roughly equivalent, and choosing one over the other becomes personal preference.

Here’s a note via the contact form, and since it does not contain an email address I can’t respond to it (if you send a message via the contact form, be sure to include an email address if you’re asking for a reply).

The Bible translation debate continues to create questions — how do you pick a translation to use? Are they really different?

Bible translations come and go; we generally don’t proclaim all modern translations evil as it’s not inherently bad to have a Bible in modern English, but you must be careful — some of these groups claim they’re only updating English and grammar, but after a careful review you find they don’t just update English, but actually change doctrines to fit their liberal theology — all under the guise of “updating” the venerable KJV.

Many issues divide the Body of Christ today. Baptism, communion, pre-tribulation rapture verses post-tribulation and more all cause division in the Church as satan loves to divide and conquer; it’s sad we fight among ourselves instead of the real enemy.

One of satan’s strategies from early in Genesis becomes casting doubt on God’s word. Recall in the garden satan’s words “Has God really said?” confusing Eve and causing her to sin. Satan realizes casting doubt on what God actually says can be a winning strategy for him — what could cause more confusion than casting doubt the Bible in your lap isn’t the exact Word of God?

We’ve written on the Bible translation debate before (search the site for more). If you’ve read the previous articles, you know we take a moderate view — both the KJV-Only people are wrong, as well as those defending the corrupt Alexandrian texts from which most modern versions derive. A moderate approach proves correct as those claiming the acceptability of any modern translation clearly haven’t done their homework, while those claiming the inspiration and inerrancy of the KJV have no proof.

The Bible translation debate rages on — which is best? Many argue the “modern” translations are easier to read and we should stop using the KJV and use one of the many newer translations; unfortunately ignoring the textual basis and focusing only on easy-to-read is a grave error.