Which one? And why? I really wanna know. I need the most accurate version to refer to in order to continue a project I'm working on. Would really appreciate your input.
Thanks,
Frannie B
Which Bible Translation is Currently the MOST Accurate in Your Opinion?
by Frannie Banannie 90 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Odrade
I don't know which one is most accurate to the original writings, but currently (after a bit of research on translation committees) I've been using the New International Version. I also keep a Jerusalem bible on hand for a few of the apocryphal books, and to check interesting verses. And I use a NWT interlinear just for giggles. Don't know how much help that was...
Odrade
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Frannie Banannie
Odrade, that helps a lot....thanks for the info....I had wondered if the NIV is the most accurate....I was researching on the Blue Letter Bible website...oooops, I mean Bible Gateway website and it seems to be the most popular there....of course, with all the malarky we were taught about translations by the WTS, it's been difficult to decide which translation to settle on, so I THANK you, chere!
Frannie B
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Yerusalyim
Not speaking the ancient tongues...I can only give my opinion...the New Jerusalem Bible is pretty good...for the Hebrew scriptures get the TANACH.
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jgnat
NOTHING in English would be entirely accurate, since it would be, by nature, a translation. If you want accuracy, learn ancient Greek. Even then, you would have to understand the idioms and culture under which the language developed. If you don't believe me, read some Shakespeare. Some of those phrases are almost unintelligible in modern English, and Shakespeare is only a couple hundred years old.
I gave up on accuracy, and I look up the same verse in various translations to get a fuller understanding of the meaning. I notice most scholars prefer the New Jerusalem Bible.
Do you know about:
You can look up the same verse with various translations.
I also downloaded free software that allows me to see the original greek/hebrew word and it's definition. You might want to check it out:
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bebu
My understanding about the NIV is that the English used is for international readers, so there are no unique colloquialisms to any nationality. This is very helpful for people who read English as a second language as well.
A friend of mine is adamant that the KJV is pretty much consistent with translations of each word, whereas the NIV is not. The KJV reads a bit more woodenly (or eloquently, depending upon the reader) than a more modern translation. The NWT is the most awkward, in my view; although I guess if one is used to reading it it may not seem so.
The New Jerusalem Bible is considered very high quality scholarship in translation, as Yeru and Jgnat mention.
Good luck Frannie!
bebu
PS: The spaghetti sauce turned out quite well! So thick it was nearly a stew! I made so much I had to freeze a lot of it. Thanks for the recipe!
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Stacy Smith
I think Grimms is as accurate as anything out there
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peacefulpete
The same question was asked at another site and this brilliant answer was given:
>
> It is one of the great conceits of modern Biblical scholarship that
> the UBS Greek Westcott-Hort New Testament is identical (or even
> similar to) the "original autographs."
>
> You will notice that the more conservative a scholar is, the more
> likely he or she will sieze upon a particular word in Greek (i.e.
> PEIRASMOS), invest it with an surfeit of theological meaning
> agreeable to their own position, and attempt to wring the last
> measure of meaning from the tense, as if contemplating the very fount
> of the divine!
>
> Since the Bible is not inspired, and the received Greek text is
> corrupt, the matter of translation I do not find to be supremely
> important. For this reason, the King James Version is about as good
> as any English translation, and it is public domain.
>
> John Abrowus -
jwsons
For me New American Stadard Bible and New Jerusalem Bible. I did double check sometimes with Revised Standard Version too. Good News Bible is the one I admire because it's simple but quite accurate (Eugene A. Nida behind this version, that's why).
jwsons
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Leolaia
I do not have any firm opinion on which translation is most accurate. I tend to use the Jerusalem Bible the most, as it has a very pleasing layout, useful references, rendering of the tetragrammaton as Yahweh, the apocrypha, and an OT based on the LXX (uncommon for most modern translations, but important since the LXX was the Bible for the early Christian church). I usually compare the JB with NIV (a little more theologically loaded but quite readable) and RS (a little harder to read).