Favorite Bible Translation?

Coldwine said:

I'm not a theist, but I do see the Bible as foundational to Western society in more ways than one, and literature is one of those Western traditions which is rooted deeply in that text. For that reason, I love the 1599 Geneva translation; despite its at times anti-Catholic bias, I find its prose to be rich in a way that many other translations are not. This is the bible of Shakespeare, and was set down in Geneva at the dawn of the Reformation.

Some examples:

'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters.'
Genesis 1:1-1:2

'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to rest in green pasture, and leadeth me by the still waters.
He restoreth my soul, and leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.
Yea, though I should walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou dost prepare a table before me in the sight of mine adversaries: thou dost anoint mine head with oil, and my cup runneth over.
Doubtless kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall remain a long season in the house of the Lord.'
Psalm 23

'To know wisdom, and instruction, to understand the words of knowledge,
To receive instruction to do wisely, by justice and judgment and equity,
To give unto the simple sharpness of wit, and to the child knowledge and discretion.
And wise man shall hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels,
To understand a parable, and the interpretation, the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.'
Proverbs 1:1-1:7

To those who have read the Bible, either partially or in full, what is your favorite translation/a few favorite verses?

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Coldwine said:

I'm not a theist, but I do see the Bible as foundational to Western society in more ways than one, and literature is one of those Western traditions which is rooted deeply in that text. For that reason, I love the 1599 Geneva translation; despite its at times anti-Catholic bias, I find its prose to be rich in a way that many other translations are not. This is the bible of Shakespeare, and was set down in Geneva at the dawn of the Reformation.

Some examples:

'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters.'
Genesis 1:1-1:2

'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to rest in green pasture, and leadeth me by the still waters.
He restoreth my soul, and leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.
Yea, though I should walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou dost prepare a table before me in the sight of mine adversaries: thou dost anoint mine head with oil, and my cup runneth over.
Doubtless kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall remain a long season in the house of the Lord.'
Psalm 23

'To know wisdom, and instruction, to understand the words of knowledge,
To receive instruction to do wisely, by justice and judgment and equity,
To give unto the simple sharpness of wit, and to the child knowledge and discretion.
And wise man shall hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels,
To understand a parable, and the interpretation, the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.'
Proverbs 1:1-1:7

To those who have read the Bible, either partially or in full, what is your favorite translation/a few favorite verses?

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ludin said:

I prefer the Esv

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Ockham said:

I do as well, though the NIV from the late 1980's early 1990's is a very good translation as well.

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Elvira said:

I prefer a modern English translation called "The New World Translation"...

I like this scripture because it tells me that God's Kingdom, under Jesus Christ's rule, is not in one's heart but it is actually a real, tangible government that offers true everlasting hope for mankind on the earth...

"In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And this kingdom will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it alone will stand forever," Daniel 2:44

I also like Revelation 21:1-4...

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

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sailA said:

That's the JW translation. Put together by five men, four of which had absolutely zero education in Hebrew and Greek, the only one that did had just elementary education in biblical languages. It's not a credible translation. It was developed to line up with Watchtower doctrine. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes on judgement day.
The New World Translation: A corrupt sectarian paraphrase. 1666 pages....Mark of the beast?

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Elvira said:

Who were the translators?

When presenting as a gift the publishing rights to their translation, the New World Bible Translation Committee requested that its members remain anonymous. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania has honored their request. The translators were not seeking prominence for themselves but only to honor the Divine Author of the Holy Scriptures.

Over the years other translation committees have taken a similar view. For example, the jacket of the Reference Edition (1971) of the New American Standard Bible states: “We have not used any scholar’s name for reference or recommendations because it is our belief God’s Word should stand on its merits.”

Is it really a scholarly translation?

Since the translators have chosen to remain anonymous, the question cannot here be answered in terms of their educational background. The translation must be appraised on its own merits.

What kind of translation is this? For one thing, it is an accurate, largely literal translation from the original languages. It is not a loose paraphrase, in which the translators leave out details that they consider unimportant and add ideas that they believe will be helpful. As an aid to students, a number of editions provide extensive footnotes showing variant readings where expressions can legitimately be rendered in more than one way, also a listing of the specific ancient manuscripts on which certain renderings are based.

Some verses may not read the same as what a person is accustomed to. Which rendering is right? Readers are invited to examine manuscript support cited in footnotes of the Reference edition of the New World Translation, read explanations given in the appendix, and compare the rendering with a variety of other translations. They will generally find that some other translators have also seen the need to express the matter in a similar manner.

ACCORDING to one count, as many as 55 new English translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures were published between 1952 and 1990. Translators’ choices mean that no two read alike. In order to assess the reliability of the translators’ work, Jason BeDuhn, associate professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University, in Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.A., examined and compared for accuracy eight major translations, including the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses. The result?

While critical of some of its translation choices, BeDuhn called the New World Translation a “remarkably good” translation, “better by far” and “consistently better” than some of the others considered. Overall, concluded BeDuhn, the New World Translation “is one of the most accurate English translations of the New Testament currently available” and “the most accurate of the translations compared.”—Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament.

BeDuhn noted, too, that many translators were subject to pressure “to paraphrase or expand on what the Bible does say in the direction of what modern readers want and need it to say.” On the other hand, the New World Translation is different, observed BeDuhn, because of “the greater accuracy of the NW as a literal, conservative translation of the original expressions of the New Testament writers.”

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