Bible Translations - Image Bearer Ministries

There re a lot of Bible’s out there, each with their own translation. So how do you know which is the best?

The Full Series

The “Best” Translation? That Depends

May 29, 2025 No Comments

This opening episode bluntly states that the best translation of the Bible is a direct translation based on the oldest Greek and Hebrew copies. Presuming we’re reading an English translation, the best version is one that relies directly on the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. Some earlier English Bibles were translations of translations, depending on the Latin Vulgate instead of Greek and Hebrew copies. Accuracy is potentially sacrificed. Modern English translations typically use either a literal word-for-word approach (formal equivalence) or a thought-to-thought (dynamic equivalence). The advantage of the first method is accuracy, whereas the second is readability. The “best” translation largely depends on one’s purposes. Those who’d like to go deeper into their study of the Bible should rely on more literal translation, whereas, for devotional purposes, a thought-to-thought version might be better. For those who’d like the best of both worlds, the NIV is probably the best. The Message is very readable, but since it is a paraphrase and not a translation, it should generally be avoided. At the very least, only use The Message in conjunction with a more literal translation.

Translations Matter

May 29, 2025 No Comments

This episode presents three different versions of 2 familiar passages, John 1:14 and Ephesians 6:10-17. The versions in question are a literal translation (NASB), a less literal thought-to thought (NLT), and lastly The Message. While some differences exist between the first 2, both clearly take the main thought directly from the Greek. The NLT translation nevertheless doesn’t do justice to the Greek words “charis kai alethia” (“grace and “truth”), translating them as “unfailing love and faithfulness.” The Message paraphrase though has significant differences, “grace and truth” (NASB) are rendered “generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” Worse still, Paul’s metaphor of the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-17 is completely missing. The episode highlights the importance of depending on an accurate translation, particularly in a Bible study setting.

The 15th Century – Perfect Set-Up for Bible Translation

May 29, 2025 No Comments

“In order to properly answer the question, which is the best English translation of the Bible, this episode addresses the background of English translations of the Bible from the 14th to early 16th centuries. In 1380 John Wycliff translated the New Testament into English from the Latin Vulgate. The following century was a perfect storm of developments that spurred on direct translation of the Bible into English from Greek manuscripts. The rallying cry of the Renaissance, “”ad fontes,”” or “”back to the sources,”” coupled with the arrival of Greek scholars fleeing the fall of Constantinople in 1453, both gave impetus to translating the Bible directly from the original languages. Additionally, the concurrent invention of the printing press, together with emergence of nationalism and its emphasis on the vernacular, the language of the people (not Latin)–all these developments naturally promoted English translations of the sacred Scriptures culminating in the King James Version in 1611.

The Convergence of Nationalism and Individualism in Bible Translation

June 2, 2025 No Comments

This episode sets the setting for English translations of the Bible in the 16th century. The sixteenth century was revolutionary in most respects. Feudalism gave way to nationalism and the rise of powerful monarchs, and consequently wider embrace of the local vernacular as opposed to Latin, the lingua franca of western Europe and the Roman Catholic Church. (RCC) The individualistic impulse and the spirit of inquiry fostered by the renaissance came to fruition in the Protestant Reformation, particularly among reformers like Martin Luther who emphasized the priesthood of all believers, as opposed to the “corporate” salvation approach of the RCC. So the following century of “Bible translation mania” was substantially a reflection of political and cultural shifts that substantially created demand for reliable translations of the Bible in the language of the common people. “Reliable,” with regards to translation, refers to dependence on old copies of the original Greek text, which Erasmus compiled together in 5 editions of the New Testament. William Tyndale translated the New Testament into English in 1526, relying on Erasmus’ 1522 edition. Subsequent English translations, leading up to the KJV of 1611, all depend on Erasmus’ compilation of copies of the Greek New Testament.

Henry VIII: When the Wicked Falls into his Own Trap

June 3, 2025 No Comments

This episode follows the history of Bible translation amidst the stormy political swings of 16th century England. William Tyndale translated the New Testament into English in 1526, and his continued work on translating the Old Testament led to his execution in 1536 as a heretic by Henry VIII. Tyndale’s protege Miles Cloverdale nevertheless managed to convince the king to authorize “The Great Bible” in 1539, the first officially sanctioned English Bible of the Anglican church. Why the sudden reversal? In his dispute with the papacy over separation of the Church of England from the Roman church, Henry VIII found an English translation to be a politically expedient tool to uphold his power. The English Bible, as opposed to the Latin Vulgate, was much more amenable to the nationalism that he was promoting, particularly one in which he was actually head of both the church and the state. The irony here is that the Great Bible, unbeknownst to Henry, depended on Tyndale’s NT! The episode traces the close church-state relationship as it developed, highlighting England’s return to Catholicism under “bloody Mary” (1553-58) and the subsequent compromise reached under Elizabeth in the “Elizabethan Settlement” of 1577.

The Geneva Bible: the First Direct English Translation

June 23, 2025 No Comments

This episode mostly addresses the Geneva Bible, the first direct English translation of both Greek and Hebrew Scriptures. The Great Bible, the official bible of the Anglican Church, was a direct translation of the Greek NT but depended on the Latin Vulgate for translation into English. It was understandably less reliable. The Geneva Bible was published in 1560 in Geneva by Marian exiles, Calvinist Christians who fled persecution under queen Mary (1553-58) It was the first Bible translated by committee and incorporated verse distinctions. Commentary in the margins went beyond explicating meaning of words and cross references: it included anti-monarchical, anti-establishment, and anti-Catholic interpretations/applications. At least 2 of the 3 biases would be problematic to English monarchs, who headed up both church and state. King James not surprisingly despised the Geneva Bible.

There re a lot of Bible’s out there, each with their own translation. So how do you know which is the best?