What Translation Do You Use?

Growing up some years, my parents would get us kids new Bibles for Christmas. Each child got a Bible according to their level, personality, and of course, gender. My brother would get a Bible that was for a soldier, or water-proof, and sometimes even cameo on the outside. My little sister, well, she usually acquired a pink, sometimes decorated with sparkles, usually a few pictures between the pages, and a special new pink or purple bookmark. 


Me, well I always wanted a small say in whatever Bible I was given. I was always wanting something a little different. Not to say I'm better or smarter (the good Lord knows better) but I did always enjoy the smell and the feel of a new Bible. I liked leather, especially with my name carved in like so:  Laurel Hope Bader and I likes ribbon bookmarks for my own personal preference. I remember one of my first 'big girl Bibles', and it was a KJV (Kings James Version) and it was old fashioned because it had room in the front for Weddings, Funerals, Births, etc. I still have that Bible in my room, the binding is loose and only Heaven know's what I scribbled between those pages beside the Words but I know that it was well loved. 


Getting my own Bible was always a symbol of maturity. Some parents promise their children a pet if they shape up and grow up, (maybe it was because we already had a pet) but for me, that sense of accomplished grown-up-hoodness always came from Christmas Morning and a brand new Bible. 


Now that I'm older, the importance of the new Bible isn't what colour it is, or what size the font is (though that does make a difference on the eyes) but what translation it is and more than ever, the Words inside. Before I go into how one girl changed my perspective of daily Bible Reading and taught me to pay attention to those Words, I'll tell you about the whole translation importance curfuffle. 

HCSB Interactive Notetaker's Bible

I always (usually) owned a KJV growing up, and was use to the uses of words like: thee, thou, cometh, come forth, thine, henceforth, and thou shalt. I knew no other type of Bible existed. Then I hit a certain Christmas and I wanted to go to the store and look at all the Bibles myself (before my mom usually ordered them from a catalog or online). I was shocked, some of the Bibles I found were much easier to read and I understood them so perfectly, it was like it had been written twenty minutes ago; talk about modern! I purchased a Note Taker's Study Bible. I absolutely love it, easy to read, lots of room to scribble. Only sad part is the fact that I didn't purchase the leather bound version and its weakening from usage. 


For a gal like me, room to write is Heaven. I copy verses in my own hand, draw daisies, and of course, pose questions. 

But translation is important, different translations use different words, sometimes they even change things up a bit. Talk about a scary job....who would want to be the one to stand before God and have to admit to screwing with His's Book. Not me (sheepish grin), unless I am called to be a translator....I'll be staying clear of that career path! I also found that there isn't anything quite like the original language, the Hebrew or the Greek...IF you have sufficient help that is (thanks dad!) and can bite tongue and dive in. My father has a very interesting version of the NT (New Testament) called 26 Translations which is exactly as it sounds.....twenty six different Bibles takes on different verses within the NT. Crazy, but pretty cool. 


Which leads me to what I was going to write in the first place. The KJV vs. NIV (New International Version) concerning a specific difference on a specific verse. 


John 3:16, the one section of Scripture that just about every person at least knows about. 


"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." NIV


"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." KJV


(both from www.biblegateway.com) 


So interesting difference.... and I'll tell you why! First off a little back ground on these two versions! 


KJV: Read the first two paragraphs & learn something:) 
NIV: A short background!


And now back to the real mystery! In the NIV, it says, "....His one and only son...." and in the KJV, "....His only begotten Son..." So the NIV dropped a word.....an important word and what does this word mean? 


Lets see what www.dictionary.com says: 


1. "(especially of a male parent) to procreate or generate(offspring)."


Lets see what www.urbandictionary.com says:

"(typically of a man, sometimes of a man and a woman) Bring (a child) into existence by the process of reproduction." So basically, it means to bring a child into the word, by birth. Well isn't that odd.....the Scripture is clearly speaking about God the Father here and its saying....He had Jesus? So, I'm curious....why does the new, NIV version leave this out...what does the original Koine Greek say?  Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν Υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς Αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ᾽ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον. (www.wikipedia.com)  μονογενής = monogenē = Begotten = birthed by his father = My goodness! It's in the original Greek! Talk about a funky mystery.  So.......this poses an interesting question that I guess the NIV didn't want to deal with (No dissing the NIV, I own one:) .....Jesus was born to God the Father...? He wasn't always just around? Now I'm going to get dizzy with thoughts. Lol.  Well friends, I'm curious but who here on this little planet actually knows the answer to that? Well then I guess this begins my List of What to Ask God When I Get to Heaven..... 1. How old is Jesus? When was He born?  Also, before I sign off and leave you all in a tizzy.....I said I'd tell you about a special friend who changed me for the best.  Lets call her Miss for mystery purposes (since this whole darn blog is shrouded in mystery)... Miss is the sweet, kindest, most passionate Christian girl I know. I had only known her a few weeks when her mom suggested I accompany them to the Bible Store to pick out a new Bible. I said yes, anxious to spend more time with my new friend. When we got there, Miss politely asked the employee where they kept their teen Bibles, specifically NIV, specifically with a nice concordance and maps in the back. I found this odd, because before now, I had only ever looked at the outside and a Bible was just another pretty book in my room.  She carefully spent a few hours pouring over her options, making sure to pick out the right One. I found this odd, but enjoyable. While she was having her Bible bagged, she explained to me her daily routine. "I read through the Bible every year, carefully checking off every chapter each night before I go to bed, I make sure to ask any questions of my dad if I have them." I smiled and nodded, but inside, I couldn't help but wonder....what was I missing? What made this girl want to pour over her Bible and why had she made searching out the perfect inside so much more important than searching for the perfect outside? Well ladies and gents, this began my search, nay my quest (sounds more epic) for the right Bible Insides and my own journey to discovering what made the Bible the coolest book on the planet.  Pleasant Dreams