[Darris McNeely] “If the King James Bible was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me!” Have you ever heard that line? I have, as recently as within the last six months, where someone came to me and was very insistent that the King James Bible is the only bona fide version of the Scriptures to read. It’s interesting to get into a discussion with anybody about various translations of the Bible. When it comes to that, everyone has a favorite, and there are some translations that in some peoples’ minds, are of the devil, and should never be used. Translations are very interesting. We’ve come to number nine, point number nine, in our series on keys to understanding the Bible, and this one is dealing with different translations. Know how to use and refer to various translations to help resolve certain difficulties or issues that you might find with one translation or the other, or especially using a more modern English translation to help us understand exactly what’s being said in language that we might find more familiar, especially as compared to some of the phrasing of the King James Bible.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I still read the King James Bible, and there are for me personally, some passages of the King James Bible that are better and have not been equaled – certainly not equaled in other translations. But that again illustrates personal reflection and opinion, sometimes bias, on what we grew up with, what we feel comfortable with. There are passages, I admit, about the King James Bible that I like better than maybe the New King James or the Revised Standard Version.

There are so many translations that are available to us today electronically and in books. I have dozens of them on my shelf at home, and in the library, you can find even more than that. They are useful and they are helpful. My point is to know how to use them. Settle on perhaps one. In our editorial efforts on Beyond Today, we normally use what is called the New King James Bible as a standard, but we will also refer to the NIV – New International Version – or the Revised Standard Version at various times. We find that the NIV at times, in some passages, does render a better translation then even the New King James or the venerable KJV, as we call it, or the King James Bible. The point is to educate yourself about the text and the manuscripts used by various translations and how certain translations that might be popular, like the Amplified Bible or the Good News Bible or what is called the Living Bible in some cases are not exactly word for word translations but are translations that are kind of sense for sense. It’s a matter of understanding and it can be an educational experience to know what’s behind each of the translations, who has done it, and what are their motives.

Understand that no translation is going to be exactly perfect. Some translations will have a denominational bias, and understanding that, again, helps you to understand many valuable things about the Bible and in a sense the miraculous transmission of that text from its original writings down to us today. Rather than discourage you or cause you to lack faith, quite frankly, delving into the history and the understanding of how we have come to have the Bible that we do can be a faith builder when you get all the information and put it together, and recognize that the word of God does endure forever.

So, a key to understanding the Bible – learn how to use translations, find one that you’re comfortable with and that is useful and helpful in your study of the word of God, and don’t get hung up thinking that just any one translation – no, not even the venerable, yet to be discarded King James Version – is the only or the best, or certainly the one Jesus used. To be honest, if we were to see a copy of the scrolls and the manuscripts that were extant in Jesus’s day, none of us could read it. It’s in a completely different language. Be grateful for what we have and study and learn from the various translations in your effort to understand the word of God.

That’s BT Daily. Join us next time.