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 “Best” Translation? That Depends
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.