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<\/div>\n

I got a request from an e-mailer to blog on translations. This is the first one of such posts.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a number of good translations available, and there are advocates for each one, and they use a variety of reasons for why they are advocates for one over another. I think there is a quick and generally useful question to ask, and the answer to that question can determine which translation to use.<\/p>\n

The question is this: \u201cWhat is my purpose?\u201d<\/p>\n

If I want to do careful study of the Bible in English, even down to the point of diagramming sentences, then specific translations will be better; if I want to choose a Bible that will be good for reading the Bible in large chunks, then I would choose another; if I want a Bible that is good for public reading, then yet another. So, the question \u201cWhat is my purpose?\u201d is very important and can usually settle the question.<\/p>\n

So, let me answer this question with translations that are best for specific questions.<\/p>\n

1. If you want to study the Bible technically, you want a more literal translation<\/p>\n

KJV, ASV (1901), NASB, RSV and NRSV.<\/p>\n

2. If you want to read the Bible in larger chunks, and so want a readable, smooth translation:<\/p>\n

NIV and TNIV, Living Bible, New Living Translation<\/p>\n

3. If you want a Bible that is really good for public reading:<\/p>\n

KJV, NRSV, NIV and TNIV, NLT; in England many use the NEB<\/p>\n

4. If you want a Bible that is sensitive to gender inclusivity:<\/p>\n

NRSV, TNIV<\/p>\n

Now, you may ask this question of me: \u201cWhich do you prefer?\u201d The answer is the same, \u201cIt depends on my purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having said that, for eleven years I have carried the NRSV to class (along with the JPS Tanakh, which has Hebrew and the JPS English translation). This Fall I am beginning to carry the TNIV, the Today\u2019s NIV translation. Why? Because I support the attempt to make the Bible readable for as many as possible and no more offensive than it needs to be. I think the notes on the Christ vs. Messiah and the \u201cadoption to sonship\u201d issue are overcooked notes, but I still think this is the best and most readable translation we have today for a classroom setting. And I really like the new TNIV Thinline, with two-color (maroon and brown) leather is a handsome thing to carry. (Now, if they\u2019d all jettison the idea that the words of Jesus need to be in red.)<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, I\u2019ll blog on translation theory (and do my best to avoid the technical discussions).<\/p>\n

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I got a request from an e-mailer to blog on translations. This is the first one of such posts. There are a number of good translations available, and there are advocates for each one, and they use a variety of reasons for why they are advocates for one over another. I think there is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1425],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-translations"],"yoast_head":"\nPicking a Translation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I got a request from an e-mailer to blog on translations. 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