Christianity Stack Exchange
Christianity Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [bible-translation]

Questions regarding different translations of the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek texts.

Tag Usage

Use this tag for questions about:

  • The history of Bible translation
  • Methodologies of Bible translation
  • Types of Bible translations (e.g. word-for-word, dynamic equivalence, paraphrase)
  • History, politics, or controversies surrounding specific Bible translations
  • Official recognition of or condemnation of Bible translations by Christian groups
  • Features of specific Bible translations
  • Methods of comparison between Bible translations
  • The differences between certain Bible translations
  • The existence or effect of bias in Bible translations

Do not use this tag to ask questions about the following, as they are opinion questions:

  • Recommendations on what Bible to read (off-topic)
  • Requests for authoritative interpretation of the Bible, or any specific passage in the Bible (off-topic)
246 questions
39
votes
6 answers

Why are there so many translations of the Bible?

It seems confusing to have so many translations of the Bible. Why isn't there just a single (English) one? Or maybe a single "modern" one (given that KJV is hard to understand these days).
Flimzy
  • 22,191
  • 20
  • 105
  • 212
36
votes
9 answers

How can we trust the Bible after it has been translated to another language?

Islam considers the Qur'an to be authoritative only in its original language. Many teachings even claim it is a sin to read in any language but it's original, and while not all adhere to this belief, learning Arabic specifically to read or recite…
Caleb
  • 37,337
  • 24
  • 150
  • 289
24
votes
2 answers

What distinctive kinds of Bible translations are there?

Obviously there is a lot decisions and elbow-grease that go into producing any Bible translation. I hear a lot of different terms used to describe the different methodologies that guide those decisions such as literal, word-for-word, figurative,…
Caleb
  • 37,337
  • 24
  • 150
  • 289
18
votes
2 answers

What scholarship exists behind the WikiSource translation of the Bible?

In response to a question about Onan, @RonMaimon chose the WikiSource translation. Not being familiar with it, I tried to examine it's pedigree, but could not find one. I'd like to know a little about the scholarship of this translation. I see that…
Affable Geek
  • 64,044
  • 28
  • 189
  • 354
17
votes
6 answers

Non-Christian/secular translation of the Bible?

Is there a rigorous translation of the Bible, sponsored or produced by secular organization? Not that this translation would be necessarily more impartial, but it would be nice to have this version to read in parallel with other versions. There are…
Kyle
  • 531
  • 3
  • 11
11
votes
1 answer

Jesus and Mary / Joshua and Miriam

One thing that is consistently odd, yet consistent among most English translations is that the name of the mother of Our Lord, Mary, and Our Lord Himself, Jesus, are translated that way (as well as the author of Sirach, Jesus ben Sirach) while the…
Peter Turner
  • 34,505
  • 19
  • 118
  • 289
10
votes
4 answers

How can one judge how accurate a given Bible translation is?

How can I figure out whether a given translation is "accurate" or not? Is there a site or list somewhere that has Bible-translation ratings? Note that I am not asking for a list of what Bible translations are most accurate, only for a resource or…
Jürgen A. Erhard
  • 739
  • 1
  • 7
  • 16
9
votes
5 answers

What is the difference between being blessed and being happy?

I really am torn sometimes when having the kids in my Religious Ed. class read scripture, on the one hand we've got the Catholic Good News Translation from St. Mary's Press (Breakthrough Bible) which they don't stumble over and has nice pictures and…
Peter Turner
  • 34,505
  • 19
  • 118
  • 289
7
votes
3 answers

How many years are Bible translations usually called New or Revised for?

Until this year have used the New American Bible (NAB) for my Religious Ed. class. Now, we've got a New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE). How long is a bible New and how long is a bible Revised and can this continue for ever? Will Bible…
Peter Turner
  • 34,505
  • 19
  • 118
  • 289
5
votes
2 answers

What is the biblical meaning of "believe"?

I know that the bible say that we should believe in the lord Jesus but I need someone to help me understand more about the original meaning of the word believe so I can fully believe in a proper way.
user6095
4
votes
2 answers

Why Christian Translator Translate Rhea as Neighbor?

Why do Bible translator translate rhea into neighbor in "Love thy neighbor"? The Jews told me that rhea really means comrades. So why is it translated as neighbor? In Indonesia, it's translated as "fellow humans", which is also not neighbor. Why are…
user4951
  • 1,179
  • 7
  • 20
  • 30
3
votes
0 answers

MLV (Modern Literal Version) translation: How reasonable is their "open source" claim?

The Modern Literal Version of the Bible (MLV) is described at their website. It claims to be based on the ASV, modified to agree with the Byzantine Greek text. They claim it has been proofread and corrected by a large number of people, also that…
Bit Chaser
  • 1,995
  • 1
  • 15
  • 26
3
votes
1 answer

Where can one buy a new physical copy of a full (OT & NT) Protestant RSV where its NT is of '71?

And are they even being printed nowadays? I have looked around and mostly found Catholic editions and some others, but not a Protestant '71 version. Is there even one available with cross references?
user33101
  • 31
  • 1
3
votes
1 answer

What translations differ (and where) in regards to whether a text is a direct quotation of Jesus?

Previously: Controversy over which Gospel passages to color "red" in "red letter editions"? Some editions of the Bible print the words of Jesus in red. Some limit this to the words He spoke prior to His ascension, while others extend it to…
Jas 3.1
  • 13,065
  • 12
  • 57
  • 106
1
vote
4 answers

What would be the best version of the bible for me?

I came across this forum while doing a little bit of research. I just want to say first I do not consider myself Christian. I was raised Christian but always felt it forced on me. I have not been to a church service for 10 years and have no interest…
Taylor
  • 11
  • 1
1
2