Have you ever asked yourself ….

Why are there so many different translations of the Bible?

Although there are many translations they, generally, say the same thing. Yes, the translators may use different words or synonyms to best convey what they believe the original text to say, but the overall message is the same. This does not mean, however, that one translation is not better than another; it is often a matter of opinion. When trying to understand a particular verse, it can be helpful to examine a number of translations, to see the verse through the eyes of many translators. Also, there are a few ‘bandit’ translations which are in part deliberate mistranslations, one of which was mentioned in the last edition of The Main Issue – The New World Translation by the Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses). The chances of coming across any other is slim.

Who said that?

“Pile them, if you will, on the left side of your study table; but place your own holy Bible on the right side all by itself, all alone with a wide gap between them. For….. there is a gulf between it and the so-called sacred books of the East which severs the one from the others utterly, hopelessly, and forever….. a veritable gulf which cannot be bridged over by any science of religious thoughts.’

Professor M. Montiero-Williams (spent 42 years studying Eastern books)

“The Bible should be on the top shelf all by itself. The Bible is ‘unique’! That’s it! The ideas I grappled with to describe the Bible are summed up by the word ‘unique’!”

Josh McDowell, author, lecturer

“If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers had tried their hand in it; they die and the book stills lives.’

H.L. Hastings