exilesinwaiting
Member
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2010
- Messages
- 17
Few things are as important to the Christian as reading and studying the bible. It is therein that the fundamental foundation of one’s faith is established. Peter phrased it this way: “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:1-3) And Paul compares the word of God to a sword: “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” (Ephesians 6:16 – 18)
When the Israelites return home after a 70 year exile in Babylon one of the first things they focus on is reading and understanding the word of God. “And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. … They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. … And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God.” (Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 8, 18) It’s just as important to understand the bible as it is to read the bible. Here is where we enter the translation conundrum.
With so many different bible translations how can you know which version is best for you? There’s the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), English Standard Version (ESV), New International Version (NIV), Today’s New International Version (TNIV), New Living Translation (NLT), Amplified Bible (AMP), The Message and on and on. Some people are King James exclusive and consider all other translations blasphemous; however while some translations take great liberty interpreting the bible, several translations are very similar to each other. One of the main differences between translations is between literal translation bibles and paraphrase bibles. For example the KJV, NKJV and the ESV are “literal translations” basically meaning that they are word for word translations of the old transcripts, while the NIV and the TNIV are “paraphrase bibles” meaning that scholars took the old transcripts and translated the meaning of the verses for better understanding. Then you have The Message which is “paraphrase bible” to the extreme. Earlier I used 1 Peter 2 1-3 as a reference, here is that same passage in multiple translations.
King James - “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
New King James – “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
English Standard Version - “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
New International Version – “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
New Living Translation – “So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”
The Message – “So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.”
Greek – [Verse 1] ἀποτίθημι (apotithémi – to put off, lay aside) οὖν (oun – therefore, then, so) πᾶς (pas – all, every) κακία (kakia – wickedness) καί (kai – and, even, also) πάντα (panta – all) δόλος (dolos – a bait, fig. craft, deceit) καί (kai – and, even, also) ὑπόκρισις (hupokrisis – a reply, answer, playacting, hypocrisy) καί (kai – and, even, also) φθόνος (phthonos – envy) καί (kai – and, even, also) πᾶσας (pasas – all) καταλαλία (katalalia – evil-speaking)
[Verse 2] ὡς (hós – as, like as, even as, when, since, as long as) ἀρτιγέννητος (artigennétos – newborn) βρέφος (brephos – an unborn or a newborn child) ὁ (he, hé, to – the) λογικός (logikos – reasonable, rational [nasb word usage- spiritual, word]) ἄδολος (adolos – guileless, genuine) γάλα (gala – milk) ἐπιποθέω (epipotheó – to long for) ἵνα (hina – in order that, that, so that) ἐν (en – in, on, at, by, with) αὐτός (autos – 1, self {emphatic} 2, he, she it, 3, the same) αὐξάνω (auxanó – to make to grow, to grow) εἰς (eis – to or into {indicating the point reached or entered, of place, time, fig. purpose, result}) σωτηρία (sótéria – deliverance, salvation)
[Verse 3] εἰ (ei – if, whether {sometimes used with a command or as an indirect question} γεύομαι (geuomai – to taste, eat) ὅτι (hoti – that, because) χρηστός (chréstos – serviceable, good) ὁ (ho, hé, to – the) κύριος (kurios – lord, master)
Greek – (put together) [Verse 1]Apotithémi oun pas kakia kai panta dolos kai hupokrisis kai phthonos kai pasas katalalia. – lay aside therefore all wickedness and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all evil speaking.
[Verse 2] hós artigennétos brephos to logikos adolos gala epipotheó hina en autos auxanó eis sótéria – as a newborn child [the word genuine milk long for] long for genuine milk, the word, in order that by it to grow salvation.
[Verse 3] ei geuomai hoti chréstos to kurios. – if to taste that good the lord.
However... “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 1- 3)
“If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” (1 Timothy 6: 3-4)
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22: 18 – 19)
It’s important to note that some bible translations are becoming “politically correct” choosing to alter the bible to support political, sexist or ********** agendas like the New Inclusive Translation. Gender inclusive bibles are becoming a big trend. These bibles alter the wording throughout the bible from “masculine” wording to “neutered” terminology. For example he or his becomes they or them, man becomes people or mortal, father becomes ancestors and parents. A few of these bible translations are: New American Bible, Today’s English Version, The Message, New American Standard Bible, God’s Word, New International Version Inclusive, New Living Translation, and Today’s New International Version. The New Inclusive Translation refers to the father God as “father-mother.” And still we are not including the Morman's Bible or Jehova Witness's Bible. It’s for reasons like these that so many are King James exclusive.
With the invention of the internet practically all translations can be found online for free. Simply go to google and type “online bible” in the search box and see for yourself; like a newborn infant longing for pure spiritual milk growing into salvation… if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
When the Israelites return home after a 70 year exile in Babylon one of the first things they focus on is reading and understanding the word of God. “And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. … They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. … And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God.” (Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 8, 18) It’s just as important to understand the bible as it is to read the bible. Here is where we enter the translation conundrum.
With so many different bible translations how can you know which version is best for you? There’s the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), English Standard Version (ESV), New International Version (NIV), Today’s New International Version (TNIV), New Living Translation (NLT), Amplified Bible (AMP), The Message and on and on. Some people are King James exclusive and consider all other translations blasphemous; however while some translations take great liberty interpreting the bible, several translations are very similar to each other. One of the main differences between translations is between literal translation bibles and paraphrase bibles. For example the KJV, NKJV and the ESV are “literal translations” basically meaning that they are word for word translations of the old transcripts, while the NIV and the TNIV are “paraphrase bibles” meaning that scholars took the old transcripts and translated the meaning of the verses for better understanding. Then you have The Message which is “paraphrase bible” to the extreme. Earlier I used 1 Peter 2 1-3 as a reference, here is that same passage in multiple translations.
King James - “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
New King James – “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
English Standard Version - “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
New International Version – “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
New Living Translation – “So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”
The Message – “So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.”
Greek – [Verse 1] ἀποτίθημι (apotithémi – to put off, lay aside) οὖν (oun – therefore, then, so) πᾶς (pas – all, every) κακία (kakia – wickedness) καί (kai – and, even, also) πάντα (panta – all) δόλος (dolos – a bait, fig. craft, deceit) καί (kai – and, even, also) ὑπόκρισις (hupokrisis – a reply, answer, playacting, hypocrisy) καί (kai – and, even, also) φθόνος (phthonos – envy) καί (kai – and, even, also) πᾶσας (pasas – all) καταλαλία (katalalia – evil-speaking)
[Verse 2] ὡς (hós – as, like as, even as, when, since, as long as) ἀρτιγέννητος (artigennétos – newborn) βρέφος (brephos – an unborn or a newborn child) ὁ (he, hé, to – the) λογικός (logikos – reasonable, rational [nasb word usage- spiritual, word]) ἄδολος (adolos – guileless, genuine) γάλα (gala – milk) ἐπιποθέω (epipotheó – to long for) ἵνα (hina – in order that, that, so that) ἐν (en – in, on, at, by, with) αὐτός (autos – 1, self {emphatic} 2, he, she it, 3, the same) αὐξάνω (auxanó – to make to grow, to grow) εἰς (eis – to or into {indicating the point reached or entered, of place, time, fig. purpose, result}) σωτηρία (sótéria – deliverance, salvation)
[Verse 3] εἰ (ei – if, whether {sometimes used with a command or as an indirect question} γεύομαι (geuomai – to taste, eat) ὅτι (hoti – that, because) χρηστός (chréstos – serviceable, good) ὁ (ho, hé, to – the) κύριος (kurios – lord, master)
Greek – (put together) [Verse 1]Apotithémi oun pas kakia kai panta dolos kai hupokrisis kai phthonos kai pasas katalalia. – lay aside therefore all wickedness and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all evil speaking.
[Verse 2] hós artigennétos brephos to logikos adolos gala epipotheó hina en autos auxanó eis sótéria – as a newborn child [the word genuine milk long for] long for genuine milk, the word, in order that by it to grow salvation.
[Verse 3] ei geuomai hoti chréstos to kurios. – if to taste that good the lord.
However... “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 1- 3)
“If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” (1 Timothy 6: 3-4)
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Revelation 22: 18 – 19)
It’s important to note that some bible translations are becoming “politically correct” choosing to alter the bible to support political, sexist or ********** agendas like the New Inclusive Translation. Gender inclusive bibles are becoming a big trend. These bibles alter the wording throughout the bible from “masculine” wording to “neutered” terminology. For example he or his becomes they or them, man becomes people or mortal, father becomes ancestors and parents. A few of these bible translations are: New American Bible, Today’s English Version, The Message, New American Standard Bible, God’s Word, New International Version Inclusive, New Living Translation, and Today’s New International Version. The New Inclusive Translation refers to the father God as “father-mother.” And still we are not including the Morman's Bible or Jehova Witness's Bible. It’s for reasons like these that so many are King James exclusive.
With the invention of the internet practically all translations can be found online for free. Simply go to google and type “online bible” in the search box and see for yourself; like a newborn infant longing for pure spiritual milk growing into salvation… if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
