Lost In The Translation

People will tell you: “It doesn’t matter what version of the Bible you read as long as you read it”, but I think that is a grossly uneducated statement. The conformity under which the Holy Scriptures have fallen, whether by good or malicious intent, has caused many versions, (translations), to become spliced, blurred, and outright fabricated.

I read the KJV, the King James Version of the Bible. I know that may mean nothing to some of you, but it means a great deal to me. Today, I would like to question you, to challenge you to examine your translational preference of the Bible; it is crucial, believe me.

A proper understanding of Scripture, and of God himself can only be achieved through prayer, meditation, and the reading of God’s Holy Word. Thus, it is tantamount to consider your version carefully. Never. Never select a version of the Bible based upon its easy readability. To lower the intelligence of Scripture to a level of easy readability is compromising to the inspired Word.

Not only, when you opt for a simplified translation are you admitting that you are not smart enough to read a book that was written by the One who created your mind, you are also saying the Word needs to be changed for you to be able to read it. Absurd, but unfortunately true of most young people in this current age.

Now, before you discard me as a KJV fanatic, I’d like you to hear me out. I do not make snap judgement, especially when the Word of God is concerned. No decision I make on this subject is made lightly or without ammasing all the information.

Let’s examine the information. There are several modes of translation we see today that are used in translating the Holy Bible into languages and versions. I would like to focus on the two most prominent: Dynamic and Formal Equivalency.

Dynamic Equivalency: thought for thought translation, taking the thought behind a sentence or verse and translating it into what it would mean today.

Formal Equivalency: word for word translation, taking each word and translating it as closely as it can be translated into the subject language.

Obviously, the weaker and less reliable method is Dynamic Equivalency. If the Word is translated thought for thought into man’s ideas and preferences, it can easily be contorted. God himself said:

Isaiah 55:8 (KJV)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Isaiah 55:9 (KJV)

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We do not think the thoughts of God, we cannot. How can we expect His Word to retain its integrity and truth when it is our thoughts that are being translated. Versions translated using Dynamic Equivalency include: NIV(New International Version), HCSB(Holman Christian Standard Bible), NAB(New American Bible), NLT(New Living Translation), The Message, and many others.

The single fault for which I can discredit all of these versions is their method of translation: they are only dynamicaly equivalent to Scripture and are not Scripture themselves. For this reason, these may still be good books, but should not be referred to as Holy and not called God’s Word, but rather, Man’s words.

The most accurate method is Formal Equivalency, however, simply because it is the most accurate does not mean that we can take the products of this method at face value as the Word of God any more than we can that of the others.

Examples of translations in Formal Equivalency are: KJV(King James Version), ASV(American Standard Version), RSV(Revised Standard Version), YLT(Young’s Litteral Translation), ESV(English Standard Version), as well as many others, including all of the, “New”, editions of those versions.

Now, simply because these are all word for word translations of the Bible, we should not accept them without further attention to detail. What were they translated from?

Well, many of the translations are not even translated from the original texts. Rather, they were translated from other translations, rendering them doubly faulty and errant. I’ll target ESV simply because I believe it to be a heresy in and of itself, purposeful omitting 1 John 5:7 without a footnote or reason. ESV is guilty of altering the meaning of over 100 verses to warp what they meant, and outright omitting over 30 verses from the Bible. For a single fault of this kind alone it should be condemned.

Deuteronomy 12:32 (KJV)

What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Here, God speaks of His commands, His Scripture. But, if this is not enough evidence for you. Here also is 1 John 5:7 from KJV, a verse left out of the ESV deliberately.

1 John 5:7 (KJV)

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

To omit this verse is to undermine the very trinitarian nature of God, making this translation a new religion, a heresy. This is only one of many omitted verses in an effort to undermine God.

There are those who call themselves skeptics, they seek to cause dissension in the church by revealing the fallacies in other versions of the Bible. Don’t allow your faith to be shaken by Man’s feeble attempts to interpret the Word and Will of God.

The KJV I have found to be trustworthy and accurate, and if your only reason for rejecting it is the style in which it was written, we should seek to raise ourselves to its standards, not bring it down to ours. Besides, you have a promise from God himself:

John 16:12-13 (KJV)

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Many things He has for us that we cannot bear, we cannot fathom or understand. That is what the Holy Spirit is for, to guide us and reveal the Word to us. I encourage you to study this out in greater depth and choose your version of the Bible with care. Make sure nothing has gotten lost in the translation, for some things once lost, can be very hard to find again.

As always, thanks for reading, and let me know if you have any questions. I hope this helped someone.

–the anonymous novelist