Beth-El Baptist Church

10/07/2012

Greg Tomlinson


Why are there so many different bible versions?


There are some people who complain that the King James Version is too difficult to understand. Others argue about the validity and accuracy of the New International Version. Some people love the New Living Translation and others really dislike it. The challenge of understanding the differences and the reasons behind them can be quite daunting.


  1. Are the versions all that different?

Revelation 22:19 – and if someone will [(continually)/completely] take away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his part from the [book/tree] of life, and out of the Holy city, and of the writings in this book.

Exodus 20:7 – You shall not carry the name of YHWH your God according to emptiness because YHWH will not acquit the one who carries His name according to emptiness

1 Timothy 3:16 – and undeniably, great is the mystery of Godliness, [God/he –[theos/os]] was revealed in flesh, was pronounced righteous in Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed in nations, believed in the world, taken up in glory

Proverbs 30:28 – you can grasp a lizard in hands yet she is in palaces of a king


Sometimes the differences can be quite noticeable. In the Old Testament (Hebrew language) passages most Bibles are based off of either what is known as the BHS (Hebrew) or the Septuagint (Greek) or from the Latin texts. The differences can arise from a different understanding of what a particular word means. In the New Testament (Greek language) most Bibles are based off of what is known as the Textus Receptus (Received text: King James, New King James, Modern King James) of the Greek texts identified by two scholars, West Cott & Hort (NIV, NAS, HCSB, …). Sometimes the Greek texts can have distinctive meaning changes. There are multiple books that highlight the many differences between texts.


It is important to understand that we do not currently possess the actual original manuscripts. We have copies of copies of copies. There is much speculation as to why the Greek texts are different. Sometimes the difference is simply a copying mistake – write the same word twice, forget to copy over a word or change a word. When it comes to changing a word, the change could be the result of a scribe making editorial additions (os becomes theos) or a scribe not liking the implications of a particular passage so changing it to be more palatable to him (theos becomes os). The debate will continue as to which is the more proper reading.


  1. Are the differences always noticeable?

Numbers 11:23 – then YHWH said unto Moses “Is the hand of YHWH shortened? Now, you will see whether my word encounters you or not

Galatians 3:23 – but before the faith came, we were guarded under the law, having been shut up to the about to be revealed faith

Genesis 3:1 – and the snake happened to be craftier than every living animal of the field which YHWH God has made and he said unto the woman “Yea, has God said you all shall not eat from every tree of the garden

Deuteronomy 7:21 – You shall not be afraid before them because YHWH your God is in your inward parts, a great God and to be feared


Some of the changes are not very noticeable and other versions the actual difference is negligible. Some versions simply seek to clarify what the author was trying to communicate. Some versions simply attempt to clear up any language changes that have taken place over the last several hundred years.


  1. What are some driving forces behind the differences?

Nehemiah 8:7-9 2 Timothy 4:1-4

2 Kings 22:8 2 Peter 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:6-7 1 Kings 22:24


Some versions of the Bible are written to help the reader be better able to understand the message. The understanding could be due to changes in the language and the meaning of words. It could also be that the translators of the Bible would rather try to paraphrase the passage rather than directly translate the words. Bibles such as “The Message” or “The New Living Translation” are strong paraphrases. The “New King James” and “New American Standard” Bibles are more of a translation but with updated word meanings. The “New International Version” and “Holman Christian Standard Bible” are a blend of translation work and paraphrase work. These versions of the Bible are trying to be a help to the reader.


Some versions of the Bible are written in order to hide some difficult teachings of the scriptures. Some passages try to gloss over the reality of the divine nature of the person of Jesus Christ. Sometimes the translators do not actually know who the Lord is and will therefore be confused about what God desires and what God has, is and will be saying.


Some version of the Bible claim that their underlying text is from an older version of the text that had been lost for a while and it is believed that the older the text, the closer it will be to the original. As the scriptures do point out, sometimes the text of the Bible went missing for a while until they were discovered again.