Response:

Thanks for writing.

There are two main reasons as to why there are numerous different "Bible" versions on the market today. The first of these is the fact that there are basically three different Greek/Hebrew texts that men use as a basis for their English translation. These are, in the Old Testament, the Masoretic Text, Kittel"s third edition of the Biblia Hebraica, and the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. In the New Testament (which is where most of the controversy rests), they are the Textus Receptus, the Westcott and Hort/Critical Text, and the Majority Text. Because these three texts differ from each other in the Greek or Hebrew, translations based upon them will differ in the English. I believe that God has preserved His very Words for us in the Masoretic Text and the Textus Receptus, which are the basis of the King James Version. Therefore, I reject all other English translations, because there is currently no other English Bible being published that is based on those two texts.

The second reason that words are changed or missing in translational. Sometimes, translators of bibles other than the King James will decide that something could be translated differently than it has been before. Sometimes the changes are based upon the language, and sometimes they are based on the theological bias of the translator. In addition, bibles like the New International Version have moved away from the philosophy of Formal Equivalency to one of Dynamic Equivalency. Formal Equivalency means that words will be translated directly from the Biblical language to English. A very literal translation will result. Dynamic Equivalency means that the translator will put into his own words what he thinks the passage means, which results in a translation that is not literal, but more closely resembles a paraphrase. For example, the Hebrew says, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than SNOW" (Psalm 51:7). This is a formal translation. The person who believes in Dynamic Equivalency might say that a translation being done for people in the tropics who have never seen nor heard of snow might better read, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than SAND". Of course, the Hebrew does not say "sand". It says "snow". The King James is a Formal Equivalency translation. Once the translator is allowed to change the meaning of words to fit certain cultures, you know longer have the pure Word of God, but rather a mishmash of God's words and man's words. The Bible tells us that "every Word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5). The same can not be said for the words of men.

To be very honest, I believe that one of the driving forces behind all the different versions is financial. A person only needs one King James Version. However, if there are ten different versions available, then a person might feel the need to go out and buy five or six of them, thus putting five or six times the amount of money in the publisher's pocket. I have no doubt that some are being produced by folks who have a genuine desire to get the Bible into the hands of as many different types of people as possible. However, their rejection (in most cases) of the belief in the preservation and importance of the very Words of God (not to mention the jots and tittles: Matt 5;18), results in the production of inferior, and oftentimes incorrect, translations.

By Dr Mark Montgomery Ambassador Baptist Church 1926 Babcock Blvd Pittsburgh, PA 15209 (412)477-3210