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.
The 15th Century – Perfect Set-Up for Bible Translation
"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.
Translations Matter
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.