I used to love the KJV until I found out how many translation errors it has (changing "thou shalt not murder" to "thou shalt not kill") comes to mind. There's also the political agenda behind the translation, King James basically created his Bible to get rid of the Geneva Bible which he felt undermined his political authority.
One thing I've learned is that many translations (especially ones in those days) were political.
I don't think anyone is going to get what they want unless they read Koine Greek, and even then people would still fight about different perspectives just as they did back then.
The best English translation is the Recovery Version Study Bible (not related to 12 step program) put out by Living Stream Publishers. I do word studies and I haven't yet found a mistake. Even the prepositions are right on. It doesn't confuse "in" (en) and "into" (eis). No politics involved in its production.
You can get a free New Testament (below), if you want to check it out. I bought the version with both Old and New Testaments. It is excellent. It is in modern English. Here's an example of what I mentioned about the prepositions. John 3:16 reads in KJV, "...that whosoever believeth IN Him...." The Greek word that they translate as "in" is "eis," which means movement into some place. In should read, "whosoever believeth into Him..."It may seem awkward, so the KJV translators changed it because it didn't make sense to them. However, the Apostle Paul speaks of being "in" Christ.. The word for "in" in Greek is "en." 2 Cor. 5:17, "if anyone is in (en) Christ..." How do you get in Christ. You believe into Him, and then you are in Him. Noah got into the ark by walking into it, we get into Christ by believing into Him. To change the preposition, you miss the whole significance of that.
Free NT: https://biblesforamerica.org/free-bible/
Both editions you mention are superior to all other English translations due to being the earliest. And KGV and Geneva are 90% the same word-for-word.
But the problem is translation itself, and also the slippery, shifting meaning of words over great periods of time. A quick review of many words in Strong's Concordonce reveals there can literally be DOZENS of definitions for a single word at times. This fact alone allows for infinite interpretations on the spectrum of today's "literal by today's mainstream definition" supporters to "allegorical. mystical and mysterious" by those who recognize the deeper layers embedded in scripture.
I find the second word of the bible in ALL English translations to be plainly inaccurate -> "in THE beginning". The use of a "definite article" (the) is grammatically incorrect in relation to the Hebrew word used, which is an "indefinite article" and would thusly be correctly translated in English to either: "In A beginning" or "In ANY beginning".
Even such a tiny little change from a single definite to indefinite article RADICALLY changes how one perceives and relates to the scripture itself, begging the question; "Was there this one and only "beginning", or are there an infinite and eternal number of "beginnings"?
Also, the Greek word "aEONious" being translated hundreds of times to "Eternal" when the correct word "EON" is right there and plainly obvious in the Greek word itself. The choice to make this change implies undeniable deceptive intent and a willful desire to defraud. There is no other possible explanation.
Nonetheless, I still enjoy much of the power and beauty of scripture. I feel blessed that I have learned to see through many of the deceptions due to the hand of man, which are inevitable and unavoidable.
New International Version
Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
English Standard Version
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
NASB 1995
By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.
King James BibleAnd without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
God manifested in the flesh versus "he." Do you deny the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ?
1 John 5:7
New International Version
For there are three that testify:
English Standard Version
For there are three that testify:
NASB 1995
For there are three that testify:
King James BibleFor there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
I speak 4 languages and there is NEVER a perfect translation because each language is set in its historical and cultural context. And even then, take Spanish...Dominican vs Columbian vs Spaniard vs Argentinian...very similar but very different. Bicho is insect in Spain, but penis in Puerto Rico.
Sky in Spanish is Cielo which is heaven, there are so many subtleties in language, and even 2 people speaking the same language will have different background knowledge and connotations to words.
You can't express the truth of totality in words which by nature are limited in scope.
However, there are perfect originals to base a translation off of.
In the case of the Bible, we have 2 choices.
We either have the Hebrew Masoretic Old Testament, which was codified long before the Khazarians converted to Judaism, and the Textus Receptus Koine Greek NT, which is what the Geneva Bible, King James Version, and Young's Literal Translation are based upon,
OR,
we have the translations based on Alexandrian Greek manuscripts such as the Codex Alexandrinus, Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Sinaiticus.
I'm not King James Only, but I am Textus Receptus only.
The God that I worship is more powerful than the God that you worship. My God is able to give us his Word, infallible and without error, so that we may do it.
--King James Version or Authorized Version was first published 1611. This translation was the result of 47 men working at the appointment of King James I.
By the constraints issued for the construction of the Bible, it was based largely on the Bishop's Bible, although Tyndale's Matthew's Coverdale's and the Geneva Bible were consulted.
Since the Talmudic Masoretic Hebrew was used as the authority of the Old Testament (and not the Latin as before) many of the Old Testament translators, who made up the bulk of the team, were trained in Talmudic Jewish synagogues in preparation for the work, At the time of the translations, of the few manuscripts available to them, none were older than 1000 AD (with the exception of the very corrupt Besae uncial). In many parts, no Greek manuscripts were available for the New Testament, such as in Revelations, where the Latin was translated back from the Greek and then into English. This was not the first bible to be authorized by the throne of England, and it was never even accepted by King James himself, but only called authorized because it was authorized to be printed.
I used to love the KJV until I found out how many translation errors it has (changing "thou shalt not murder" to "thou shalt not kill") comes to mind. There's also the political agenda behind the translation, King James basically created his Bible to get rid of the Geneva Bible which he felt undermined his political authority.
Ah-ah-ah, gotta watch the documentary.
One thing I've learned is that many translations (especially ones in those days) were political.
I don't think anyone is going to get what they want unless they read Koine Greek, and even then people would still fight about different perspectives just as they did back then.
Gotta read Syriac and Ethiopian.
See? Lol. I rest my case.
It's almost like books are propaganda and almost certainly not the medium a divine being would risk conveying its message through
One of its early printed forms, really...
The best English translation is the Recovery Version Study Bible (not related to 12 step program) put out by Living Stream Publishers. I do word studies and I haven't yet found a mistake. Even the prepositions are right on. It doesn't confuse "in" (en) and "into" (eis). No politics involved in its production.
Where can one find a copy of that online? (It doesn't appear to be on Bible Hub)
You can get a free New Testament (below), if you want to check it out. I bought the version with both Old and New Testaments. It is excellent. It is in modern English. Here's an example of what I mentioned about the prepositions. John 3:16 reads in KJV, "...that whosoever believeth IN Him...." The Greek word that they translate as "in" is "eis," which means movement into some place. In should read, "whosoever believeth into Him..."It may seem awkward, so the KJV translators changed it because it didn't make sense to them. However, the Apostle Paul speaks of being "in" Christ.. The word for "in" in Greek is "en." 2 Cor. 5:17, "if anyone is in (en) Christ..." How do you get in Christ. You believe into Him, and then you are in Him. Noah got into the ark by walking into it, we get into Christ by believing into Him. To change the preposition, you miss the whole significance of that. Free NT: https://biblesforamerica.org/free-bible/
I love it! Thanks!
https://biblesforamerica.org/ offers a free NT. Great footnotes.
Thanks fren!!
Found this: https://online.recoveryversion.bible/
I don't care to order physical books if I can help it.
Both editions you mention are superior to all other English translations due to being the earliest. And KGV and Geneva are 90% the same word-for-word.
But the problem is translation itself, and also the slippery, shifting meaning of words over great periods of time. A quick review of many words in Strong's Concordonce reveals there can literally be DOZENS of definitions for a single word at times. This fact alone allows for infinite interpretations on the spectrum of today's "literal by today's mainstream definition" supporters to "allegorical. mystical and mysterious" by those who recognize the deeper layers embedded in scripture.
I find the second word of the bible in ALL English translations to be plainly inaccurate -> "in THE beginning". The use of a "definite article" (the) is grammatically incorrect in relation to the Hebrew word used, which is an "indefinite article" and would thusly be correctly translated in English to either: "In A beginning" or "In ANY beginning".
Even such a tiny little change from a single definite to indefinite article RADICALLY changes how one perceives and relates to the scripture itself, begging the question; "Was there this one and only "beginning", or are there an infinite and eternal number of "beginnings"?
Also, the Greek word "aEONious" being translated hundreds of times to "Eternal" when the correct word "EON" is right there and plainly obvious in the Greek word itself. The choice to make this change implies undeniable deceptive intent and a willful desire to defraud. There is no other possible explanation.
Nonetheless, I still enjoy much of the power and beauty of scripture. I feel blessed that I have learned to see through many of the deceptions due to the hand of man, which are inevitable and unavoidable.
1 Timothy 3:16
New International Version Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
English Standard Version Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
NASB 1995 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.
King James Bible And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
God manifested in the flesh versus "he." Do you deny the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ?
1 John 5:7
New International Version For there are three that testify:
English Standard Version For there are three that testify:
NASB 1995 For there are three that testify:
King James Bible For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Do you deny the Trinity? Your "bible" does.
I speak 4 languages and there is NEVER a perfect translation because each language is set in its historical and cultural context. And even then, take Spanish...Dominican vs Columbian vs Spaniard vs Argentinian...very similar but very different. Bicho is insect in Spain, but penis in Puerto Rico.
Sky in Spanish is Cielo which is heaven, there are so many subtleties in language, and even 2 people speaking the same language will have different background knowledge and connotations to words.
You can't express the truth of totality in words which by nature are limited in scope.
Imagine if the disciples had an internet forum and started saying, "We need two moar weeks! That would be interdasting."
They could have confused language scholars and translators for millenia.
However, there are perfect originals to base a translation off of.
In the case of the Bible, we have 2 choices.
We either have the Hebrew Masoretic Old Testament, which was codified long before the Khazarians converted to Judaism, and the Textus Receptus Koine Greek NT, which is what the Geneva Bible, King James Version, and Young's Literal Translation are based upon,
OR,
we have the translations based on Alexandrian Greek manuscripts such as the Codex Alexandrinus, Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Sinaiticus.
I'm not King James Only, but I am Textus Receptus only.
What does a perfect translation have to do with what I posted? Removing 20 words, that tell of the Trinity, is not a translation error.
The God that I worship is more powerful than the God that you worship. My God is able to give us his Word, infallible and without error, so that we may do it.
Funny, I don't think in words, I think in imagery and intuition. Some people have to narrate their inner knowledge.
Words are limited, there is no your God or my God, there is our God. But English, Latin, German, etc will never encompass totality.
And the word of God was never in English...your version of his word was translated translations of translations. Womp.
--King James Version or Authorized Version was first published 1611. This translation was the result of 47 men working at the appointment of King James I.
By the constraints issued for the construction of the Bible, it was based largely on the Bishop's Bible, although Tyndale's Matthew's Coverdale's and the Geneva Bible were consulted.
Since the Talmudic Masoretic Hebrew was used as the authority of the Old Testament (and not the Latin as before) many of the Old Testament translators, who made up the bulk of the team, were trained in Talmudic Jewish synagogues in preparation for the work, At the time of the translations, of the few manuscripts available to them, none were older than 1000 AD (with the exception of the very corrupt Besae uncial). In many parts, no Greek manuscripts were available for the New Testament, such as in Revelations, where the Latin was translated back from the Greek and then into English. This was not the first bible to be authorized by the throne of England, and it was never even accepted by King James himself, but only called authorized because it was authorized to be printed.