{"id":198,"date":"2005-08-24T15:46:00","date_gmt":"2005-08-24T15:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2005\/08\/picking-a-translation.html"},"modified":"2005-08-24T15:46:00","modified_gmt":"2005-08-24T15:46:00","slug":"picking-a-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2005\/08\/picking-a-translation.html","title":{"rendered":"Picking a Translation"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

I got a request from an e-mailer to blog on translations. This is the first one of such posts.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a number of good translations available, and there are advocates for each one, and they use a variety of reasons for why they are advocates for one over another. I think there is a quick and generally useful question to ask, and the answer to that question can determine which translation to use.<\/p>\n

The question is this: “What is my purpose?”<\/p>\n

If I want to do careful study of the Bible in English, even down to the point of diagramming sentences, then specific translations will be better; if I want to choose a Bible that will be good for reading the Bible in large chunks, then I would choose another; if I want a Bible that is good for public reading, then yet another. So, the question “What is my purpose?” is very important and can usually settle the question.<\/p>\n

So, let me answer this question with translations that are best for specific questions.<\/p>\n

1. If you want to study the Bible technically, you want a more literal translation<\/p>\n

KJV, ASV (1901), NASB, RSV and NRSV.<\/p>\n

2. If you want to read the Bible in larger chunks, and so want a readable, smooth translation:<\/p>\n

NIV and TNIV, Living Bible, New Living Translation<\/p>\n

3. If you want a Bible that is really good for public reading:<\/p>\n

KJV, NRSV, NIV and TNIV, NLT; in England many use the NEB<\/p>\n

4. If you want a Bible that is sensitive to gender inclusivity:<\/p>\n

NRSV, TNIV<\/p>\n

Now, you may ask this question of me: “Which do you prefer?” The answer is the same, “It depends on my purpose.”<\/p>\n

Having said that, for eleven years I have carried the NRSV to class (along with the JPS Tanakh, which has Hebrew and the JPS English translation). This Fall I am beginning to carry the TNIV, the Today’s NIV translation. Why? Because I support the attempt to make the Bible readable for as many as possible and no more offensive than it needs to be. I think the notes on the Christ vs. Messiah and the “adoption to sonship” issue are overcooked notes, but I still think this is the best and most readable translation we have today for a classroom setting. And I really like the new TNIV Thinline, with two-color (maroon and brown) leather is a handsome thing to carry. (Now, if they’d all jettison the idea that the words of Jesus need to be in red.)<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, I’ll blog on translation theory (and do my best to avoid the technical discussions).<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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