Euro-wisdom
Ok, after a very fun evening but an appauling attenpt at winning the Eurovison song contest this year, I have to say that Britain should know when to quit!! It was real good fun sitting with a load of friends from work watching the thing, but I have to say that I thought the show itself was probably the worst one I've ever sat through!!
On a different note, today I woke up with a really bad headache and it stayed with me nearly all day (being paranoid, it didn't help that I cracked my head on a beam a few days back - if you remember - so spent half the day worrying about clots,seziures, brain tumours). I also re-recorded Zak's voice for my sat-nav, and it's amazing how much clearer it is after just a few months. It's actually possible to use it for directions now, not just as a fun gimmick when friends are in the car. I've also made a concious decision NOT to try and mees with the thing when I'm actually driving, as I've scared myself a couple of times recently making what I would normally consider "minor route adjustments". And please, DO hold me to that if you're ever in the car with me.
We decided not to start our "church hopping" programme tomorrow, as I'm involved with the Youth service at St James tomorrow evening anyway. We are really keen to get cracking, but I just figured that with the service in the evening and then having a busy (but fun) week next week, it made sense not to do too many things at once.
And that was pretty much my day. We did some shopping (as usual for a Saturday) and had a nice roast Lamb dinner this evening (forgetting there would be food at the Eurovision "party". But there you go.
Oh, one other thing... I'm interested to hear what bible translation people use... I know people that use the NKJV, the NRSV, the NIV and the NLT for personal study, and have been told that the NLT is too "over-translated", the NKJV is based on very few of the available documents, etc. So which one is THE BEST????
I wanna start doing some "SERIOUS" study, but want to start with the right bible!! HELP!!
Anyway, Come back tomorrow!!
And here's what I learned...
- Eurovision is actually quite bizzare, and not sure if I'd watch it again
- Never leave photos (that you like) in places where small children can screw them all up
- I'd rather have a pet monkey than a rabbit (but then, I'd actually rather have a DOG
And that's it!!
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bibles, there are over 500 translations! NLT is paraphrased like the message. it depends how u want to read it - the more accurate ones are NRSV and NASV but when they make them easier to read they loose accuracy alot. the RSV or NRSV seems to be what scholars use, but if you really wanna know what it says learn greek and hebrew - that will be a whole load of fun!
[ed* In a DAY?]
Hey Jon, stumbled on your blog since I've started blogging again...
The bible that is the most accurate translation from the Hebrew and Greek in the New Revised Standard Version.
At uni, as it's not a christian college, we have to use NRSV if we're working with a translation because it's the most accurate and we wouldn't be taken seriously if we used any other because any translations miss/change the point of what was actually meant. That doesn't mean the message, NLT etc don't have a valuable place.... but if u want the most accurate reading learn hebrew and Greek (hard but very worthwhile) otherwise NRSV is the most accurate!
Peace!
[ed* Does everyone think I should learn 2 new langauges, flippin 'ek!!]
From a leetle snippet of my very limited Bible knowledge ...
If you're looking for a Bible that really stays true to the original texts, the NKJV and similar ones are best - they're formal equivalents, and translated almost word-for-word from the original Hebrew or Greek. Obviously this is good, but sometimes the meaning can be lost when things are translated literally, as is true with many languages.
The difference with NLT, NIV etc. is that they're functionally equivalent - the translators focus more on getting the morals/messages across to readers than being completely accrate with the translation. This makes it easier to get the jist of things, but obviously the 'jist' differs because of the translators' choices.
The best advice I've heard is, to get the best out of a study, using both a formal equivaent (NKJV) and a functional equivalent (NLT, for instance) will allow you to decipher them best by yourself and articulate your own judgements.
(All shamelessly stolen from a book I once read)
^___^
Hiya Jon, I said I'd comment on this post, so here goes!
First off, my one English Bible that I use every day is the English Standard version, or ESV. You can get it from Amazon or any Christian bookshop.
Second off, I agree with Hannah. Use more than one. Even three or four. When you translate French or German into English, no one translation is "the right one". So you need several that have all sought to be accurate to capture the nuance of the original. Greek and Hebrew are no different. In particular, noticing where they differ gives you a good way in.
Third, I agree with Hannah about the need to be aware which type of translation you are looking at. There is a scale.
(i) At one end are the "word-for-word" ones. They are great for capturing the precise sense of the original, but often practically unreadable for the bargain. My favourite in this category would be the New American Standard Bible (NASB).
(ii) In the middle you have "dynamic equivalent" versions. They are not "word for word" but "thought for thought". The NIV would be a good example here, as would the Good News Bible. The key thing to know is what criteria the translators used when working out how to put the thoughts into English. With the Good News Bible the aim was to make it understandable by someone with a reading age of 7.
(iii) At the other end are the paraphrases - like the Living Bible, New Living Translation, The Message. Great for reading large blocks of narrative. Not much use for serious study as they are almost "paragraph for paragraph" - or, as Hannah puts it, "focus more on getting the morals / messages across to readers". The trouble with this is that you are, in fact, reading an interpretation not a translation. It would be naively romantic of me to assume you can ever have a translation with no component of interpretation about it. But with a paraphrase, the interpretive element has taken over.
So I would aim to have two or three different translations, down the dynamic equivalent - word-for-word end of that scale.
Fourth, the ESV comes between dynamic equivalent and word-for-word. It is definitely a word-for-word, not thought-for-thought translation. It thus avoids one major weakness of the NIV, which is the tendency to translate the same original word with different English words to make for good style. But, it also avoids the problems of the NASB, which is the woodenness.
Fifth, what do I think of the NRSV. Don't like it. One of the principles of translation was to use inclusive language. I was recently in a talk where a feminist theologian, who would want inclusive language at every available point, criticised the NRSV on this issue. She was discussing Romans 8:12-17. Paul deliberately uses two different words in verse 14 (sons - the male word) and 17 (children). The NRSV went for "children" both times. See also the mess it makes of the quotation of Psalm 8:4 in Hebrews 2:6. You'd miss the "son of man" illusions totally when you read their "translation". That said, I would (of course) use the NRSV alongside others.
Sixth, should you learn Greek or Hebrew? Maybe. It does pay dividends. Learn Greek first - I could recommend a good text book. But also remember that a little Greek is a dangerous thing!
This comment's too long already, so I'll stop now.
James
NKJV is not the most accurate to the original languages no translation is nearly word-for-ord, that is impossible as anguages like Greek and Hebrew are not that simple I'm afraid, if u want word for word u would have to do your own translation or use an interlinear translation, however if u use one you'd have to maek sense of what it was saying which may cause errors without knowledge of the original langs. Anyways main point is the NRSV is the closest to the original langs not the NKJV.
Hi Jon
First things first - you will never find the perfect or best translation - it doesn't exist.
Second the best obe for you is very much a personal choice, as is the way translators translate a passage, that's why there are differences in translations!
Third, the NLT is not a paraphrase like the Message (the original Living Bible was).
Fourth, choose the one you are comfortable with, that you hear the Spirit speaking to you through, stick with it for your regular reading. Don't flit around, though occasionally it's good to check out another translation for difficult passages.
Fifth - read it and live by it!
[ed* Thanks Martin. Helpful as always. especially thinking to add the 5th point - the one that really matters at the end of the day!!]
Well, I'm a big NLT fan, which as Martin says, is NOT a paraphrase version. I'd very much like it if people stopped saying it is!