church of Christ at 26th and Connecticut
Joplin, Missouri

Phone
417-781-2326
Fax
417-781-2326

   Worship Schedule

Sunday
    Bible Class              9 am
    Morning Worship    10 am
    Evening Worship      6 pm

Wednesday
     Devotional & Class   7 pm
 

Upcoming Activities
 
 

WHY NEW VERSIONS?

 

A subject that interests me a great deal is Bible translations.  One interesting question, and one that you might wonder, is why are there always new translations coming out?  Aren’t the older ones good enough?  Actually, notice that many of the new translations are in fact the older translations, only with modifications:

 

Older translation:

Newer version of it:

The King James Version, published in 1611

The New King James Version, published in 1982

The Revised Standard Version, published in 1952, with a second edition of the New Testament in 1971

The New Revised Standard Version, published in 1990; and the English Standard Version, published in 2001

The Jerusalem Bible, published in 1966

The New Jerusalem Bible, published in 1985

The New English Bible, published in 1970

The Revised English Bible, published in 1989

The New American Standard Bible, published in 1971

The Updated New American Standard Bible, published in 1995

The Living Bible, published in 1971

The New Living Translation, published in 1996

The New International Version, published in 1978

Today’s New International Version, published in 2005

 

Notice three reasons why we keep seeing new versions:

 

Greater accuracy

One reason we see newer versions is that translators realize that certain passages could be translated more accurately than they were in the older versions.  For example, in the story of the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet, the Revised Standard Version had Jesus saying: “her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much” (Luke 7:47).  The New Revised Standard Version more accurately has him saying: “her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love.”  This make it clear that Jesus’ point here was that her forgiveness motivated her love, rather than vice-versa.

 

New manuscript findings

Another reason we see new versions is that people continue to find old Bible manuscripts that shed new light on the Bible text.  For example, beginning in 1947, scrolls have been found in caves near the Dead Sea.  These scrolls are called the “Dead Sea Scrolls.”  They give us fragments of an Old Testament text that is 1,000 years older than the one we had before their discovery!  The New Revised Standard Version incorporates an entire paragraph from the Dead Sea Scrolls that was not included in the Revised Standard Version.  This paragraph comes in 1 Samuel 10:27 and sets up what follows in 1 Samuel 11.

 

Changes in the English language

Another reason we see newer versions is because of the evolution of the English language.  While the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures will never change, the English language into which they are translated continues to change.  For example, the New International Version spoke of Mary being “with child” (Matthew 1:18).  Today’s New International Version has worded it like we would say it today: “pregnant.”  On the website for Today’s New International Version, a section called, “Why the TNIV Bible?” points out:

 

English usage keeps changing–between 1993 and 2003, Merriam-Webster made 100,000 changes and added more than 10,000 words and phrases to its collegiate dictionary. Thirty years have passed since the NIV [that is, the New International Version] was released.

 

Then think about how many years have passed since the release of the King James Version—nearly 400!  You can imagine how much English has changed in that many years!  In his preface to the Freed-Hardeman Version, our brother Hugo McCord pointed out that the King James Version…

 

…uses such words as “grisled,” “holpen,” “sith,” “unicorns,” “strawed,” “bewrayeth,” “wist,” “wit,” “wot,” and “trow” (Genesis 31:10; Psalm 83:8; Ezekiel 35:6; Deuteronomy 33:17; Matthew 25:24; 26:73; Luke 2:49; 17:9; Acts 3:17; 2 Corinthians 8:1), while advising readers to use “sound speech that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:8).  The NKJV [that is, the New King James Version] has replaced all such words.