Bibles, How they Differ and Have Changed over the Course of Time - Research Paper Example

Bibles, how they differ and have changed over the course of time Abstract The bible is an engrossing book which contains about 66 books for most denominations. The Roman Catholic has more than this. It was written by men and some women who were inspired by God for a period of between 1500 to 2200 years. At first, it was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek languages. However, it has been translated into over 2,000 languages. Within these languages, there are different versions of the Bible. This increases the number of the translations and versions of the bible. The New Testament's writings were not considered complete until sometime from the first to the third century AD (Scott 1998) many people have the idea that the bible has been manipulated as time goes by. Others have gone to the extend arguing that it has been corrupted via copying which has altered some few messages in it. The composition of the bible is also raising some questions. The Christian are of the idea that the bible was written by people who were led by the spirit of God. They believe that God is the author of the bible, since, through his divine power, he communicated to individuals who wrote it. The Atheist, on the other hand claims that the disciples of Jesus are the ones who composed the bible. These myths have existed through many years, and it seems that there is no point when the truth will be known unless until when the Day of Judgment will be revealed. In reality, what has happened and will still continue happening is the translation of the bible into different languages and versions. History of the bible reveals that, the bible has been converted from the first language which was Latin to English and then to other languages. It also reveals that the original manuscripts, which were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, have been copied over the centuries, making some few changes (Dowey 2006). Despite the few alterations, history has it that the bible has been intact as it was written at first and that it is the Word of God. The reliability of some of the accounts of the gospels has been severely attacked by scientists and historians. It is due to this turmoil that this paper tries to examine the bible, how it has changed over time and how the different versions differ. Versions of the Bible Presently, there are many versions of the bible which differ significantly. Examples of the versions that are dominant in the bookshops includes; King James version (KJV), New International version(NIV) , New American Standards(NAS), Good News and New World Translation. These versions and many others which will be mentioned later in this paper claim to have the same message, but research has shown that they have some differences. The errors of omissions and insertions are evident when a variety of these versions is compared. They differ among themselves and also history has it that they do not reflect the original version of the bible. To prove this we shall sample a number of versions of the bible that exist in the modern day and examine how they have changed over time and the difference between them. King James Version The King James Version also known as the Authorized Version in the United States originated from England and was named after King James who initiated the project of translating the bible. It is said to be the widely used version of the bible. Despite the retaliations from clerics, the king made it mandatory that each church in England should use the newly translated bible and to keep a copy on the display all the time. This may be the reason behind the name ‘Authorized Version’. The cost of books in the country was too high, but the policy had to be enforced. For people who were familiar to the language, the new translation was suitable and easy to understand. However, for other individuals who are new to the language, it can not be comprehended more easily. It needs some proficiency in the language. The words used needs critical thinking so as to understand it. They sometimes compliment the real meaning that is perceived. For instance, words like prevent in the king James version means to precede, to strengthen in layman’s language is referred to as to comfort in King James Version. This indicates that a common individual needs to work hard, apply critical thinking in order to understand what the bible says. Some verses in the bible under King James translations quite hard to understand and as a result they mislead those who are new to the language. Examples of such verses include; Psalm 5:6, 1 Kings 11:1 and Ezekiel27:25. Consequently, the King James Version has undergone some changes over time. The emergence of the Webster Bible signifies some changes in this version. The Webster Bible has just updated spelling in the original King James Version maintaining the grammar and the wording. The King James Version has also been paraphrased, in which accuracy of readability is put into consideration. The paraphrased version is what is known as the Living bible (discussed in detail later in this paper) New International Version New International version is another translation that is common in the market. It is used all over the world. Unlike King James Version, New International Version is easy to read and highly accurate (Dowey 2006). As far as the version tries to improve the readability, it has ensured that no alteration has been made from the original copy by updating on the form of the original. All through the, the version, there is a norm of ensuring that the Old Testament prophesies are compatible with the ones in the New Testament. One is able to compare and contrast the two testaments since there are quotations made from either side if a relationship is sensed. However, this version has also been manipulated into a simplified version referred to as the New International Revised Version. This version is much readable for both children and adults. It contains more features that boost comprehension. The Revised English Bible The Revised English bible which is available with or without apocrypha is also one of its kinds. It is used by many churches that are widely known. It is easy to read and understand. Otherwise, there is also an updated version of Revised English Bible; the New English Bible which was translated by British scholars, to make it read well as well as to target averagely educated adults as the audience. The Living Bible Another translation of the bible is the Living Bible, which was done by Kenneth Taylor. Taylor, in 1954, started paraphrasing scripture by scripture to help households to comprehend. Though the first bible of this version appeared in the market in 1970, the living bible is had undergone many revisions. This version quotes the text together with the writer’s interpretation. This however, means that the readers of such a version will have nothing to interpret but agree with the given interpretation. This confines the mind of the reader to the mind of the translator. Insertion of words that were not in the original bible in between the texts makes this version boring. In simple terms, we can say that the living bible is wordy. Besides, the version has changed overtime since the first copy was launched. The common version that came as a result of revising the living bible is the New Living Translation. The New Living translation is a translation of the Living Bible that was done through thoughtful work in order to maintain its readability but to increase on its accuracy (Dowey 2006). This translation has transformed the living bible from just being paraphrased to real translation. It is speculated that the English used is of a good style than other English versions. However, study shows that the New Living Translation, though not as much as in the living bible, still inserts texts in places that address or seem to address modern issues. Some features such as tendentious in favor of fundamentalist teachings that are in the living bible are still evident (Scott 1998). New King James Version People usually believe that the New King James version is a revision of King James Version. This is not the case. The two versions are not in either way connected except in the name (Dowey 2006). It is because of fame that King James Version had, that made Sam Moore, the initiator of New King James Version to use the name, maybe to gain the market, who knows. The version suits those who are familiar with the King James Version, but are eager for some modern English. Just like other translations, this version is not perfect, but its accuracy is evident and at the same time it is readable. Its New Testament is based on received texts rather than the current state textual research. American Standard Version Also from America in 1901 came the American Standard Version. This version was believed to be the true translation of the bible. It is easily read and understood though its English is a bit archaic. Just like King James Version the words like ‘ye’, thee’ are used. The American version uses the word Jehovah to refer to the Lord. The Amplified Version The amplified version of the bible is believed to be a detailed translation of the bible. The version tries to uncover the idea that lies behind the Greek and Hebrew. It presents the scriptures in a way that is more unique. The version contains a lot of words and the punctuations are of its kind. The New Jerusalem Version Another version of the bible is the New Jerusalem version which is believed belongs to the Catholics. It is a bit open on its translation paid attention to the ease to read and style of English used. However, just like other versions, the New Jerusalem Bible is a revised standard of the Jerusalem bible. The version is said to be disadvantageous to people who are not Roman Catholics, since the notes in it has a distinct Roman Catholic flavor. The wording in this version may not be understood easily by non-scholars. The Good News The Good News version of the bible, also known as Today’s English version, is also used widely all over the world. Many people claim that it is the simplest version to read and understand. This is due to the fact that it was too loose when they were translating. American Bible society is the initiator of this version. It was meant to reach those who were not church goers. This was to make them understand it so easily. The version has no traditional religious vocabulary hence the pagans need nobody to interpret for them. The version is said to be so straightforward that it can be read as a story book. New Testament It will look unethical if we conclude this discussion on how bibles differ and change over time before mentioning the issue of omissions of some words in specific. A comparison was done on various versions on the New Testament and it was found that some versions have either manipulated the words or omitted them. The sample versions were King James Version, New International Version, New American Standard and New world translation. It is evident that some verses differ significantly across the version (Scott 1998). For instance, the verse on the temptation of Jesus Christ, in particular, Luke 4:4 reads differently across the versions. King James Version adds the sentence ‘…but by every word of God’. The other versions lack this, but also differ in the tense under which it is written. Omissions of other verses also manifests in the New Testament. An example of this is Mathew 18:11, which is missing in the Good News version. In fact my Bible, Good News, has no even the number eleven, from verse 10, it skips to 12 (Dowey 2006) More Translations Other versions of the bible that differ include; the New Jewish bible, the New Life version, the New Century Version, just to mention, but a few. These versions in most cases base their translations to other versions in which they try to increase the readability and accuracy. Modern English is employed in most cases. Denominations Having discussed the difference between the several versions of the bible, it is convenient to understand that we have different types of denominations. Particularly there is a rift between the Protestants and the Catholics. It is obvious to imagine that the two denominations have bibles that differ significantly. The Catholics are believed to have more books which they add to the 66 books of the bible. These books contain the Catholic doctrines which the Protestants have no idea of. An example of the difference in the bibles of the Catholics and Protestants is the use of the word apocrypha's. All Christians have some books in the Old Testament that they refer to as apocryphal (Harold 2000). Other books in Catholic that are not found in the protestant church are the Deuterocanonical books which include; Tobit, Judith, first and second Maccabees.This are books considered to be a section of the canon by Rome. There is also difference between the Catholic Bible and the protestant one which is the texts from which they were made. As discussed in the first paragraph, the bible was translated from the Latin language, but it is believed that the catholic bible was mainly from Latin Vulgate and Codex vaticanus. On the other hand, the Protestants used the textus receptus, which some of the versions used. The origin of the translations With the idea of the original text, it is better we discuss it in detail. As observed there are many versions of the bible. These versions depend on the ancient text of the translation to which it is taken from. The different parts of the world have a specific bible which they use. Bibles, being in different translations, also exist in many languages across the world. The African, Native American and the Chinese languages are some of examples where different versions of the bible dominate (Scott 1998). The eastern, roman and the French church have their own bible. For English speaking people, King James Version is mostly preferred. The reason behind this as observed above, the version originated from England, and the British did colonize many countries thus forcing them to use the version. Most Christians in the east of the Mediterranean Sea use the original bible called the peshitta. Most of the bibles written in English language were originally from the Greek translations of the Aramaic and Hebrew texts. Conclusion This paper has examined the different types of the bible and evaluated on how they differ and how they have changed over time. As observed most of the versions have some formal equivalence in terms of the source of translation and the English used. The bible may also differ due to omissions and insertions. There are versions which have omitted some verses while others have added some words in the bible. It is also clear that, no version has been translated once. Most of them have been revised several times to make it suit the modern world (Harold 2000). Finally, the emergence of these different versions has also caused some changes in the way the gospel is preached. The readings that were done in the church of late quotes even the version. References Scott. K. (1998). Christianity in a Revolutionary age. New York: Paternoster Press. Harold. A. (2000). Landmarks in the Story of Christianity. London: Macmillan. Dowey, F. (2006). The History of Christianity. New York. McGraw Hill. Read More