Romans 16;17
There are those who cause divisions and offenses (stumbling blocks) because they proclaim something else other than the doctrine we have learned. We might use the example of Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, or Catholics (who go too far into Mary).
What we have left us is doctrine, a tradition of how scripture should be interpreted. We see how it has been interpreted by men. But is this tradition right? Men sometimes change things as it has been passed from one to another. Has it changed over the years?
Much of what we know about God is how he has been passed to us through other men. God works in man: they write about it. Scripture is not just a collection of men's writings about, it is a reporting of what God did in their presence. How close were these men to actual events? Were they eyewitnesses? Had they lived within 200 years after Christ lived? There have been many such writings. Out of all available writings who decided which were good and which were not?
In the development history of a Bible translation I am reading I look for:
- - Is it a translation or a paraphrase?
- - Was it done by a group of people, or was it done by just one person?
- - Was the group qualified to know the meaning and intent of the original languages?
- - Has the translation lasted for a long enough time for it to become known as trustworthy?
Here is why I think these points are important:
- - A translation is an attempt to recreate in the target language what was said in the original languages. A paraphrase is an author’s opinion about what a translation is trying to say. He is not working with original languages.
- - A translation by a group of people must me more reliable than a translation by a single person for one team member can test the others for accuracy and intent of the original language.
- - Each member of the translation team must have expertise in the language being translated.
- - A translation that has been in existence for a length of time has given opportunity for mistakes to surface and be corrected.
I will trust a translation for these reasons listed above. For years I have read the King James Version and lately I have been reading the New American Standard Version. When I was first saved I acquired and read a New English Version.
Except for being careful about the origins of a particular version, the version does not matter nearly as much as actually reading it. It is important to read the Bible - - and not just once in your lifetime. If it is God’s Word to us it should be important enough to read many times.
I read from the Bible every day.
