“The Bible says whatever you want it to say. Just look at all the different translations.”
“I want to believe, but all the different translations just confuse me. Which one can I trust?”
Both the cynic’s criticism and the believer’s bewilderment are unnecessary. The variety of English translations of the Bible are a rich resource rather than an embarrassing inconsistency.
Any serious study of languages soon shows that there is seldom, if ever, a one-to-one correspondence between, for example, Spanish and English. Hablo is usually translated as “I speak,” but it can just as accurately mean “I say” or “I talk” or even “I communicate.” The context of the words affects how they are translated to express the intent of the original language to be understood in the target language.
Various translations of the Bible do exactly that: express a language from a different culture (Hebrew from ancient Israel, Greek from the Roman empire) in ways that make sense to a modern English reader. Often the word order is changed, and the particular meaning of a word is selected to make the most sense in our culture. Translators sometimes insert words to clarify the meaning and make the English text more readable. A few translations (e.g., New American Standard Bible, or NASB) italicize the added words to indicate the addition. (The italicized words are not there for emphasis, a common misunderstanding.) Many recent translations include the words without italics as part of the text to avoid distracting or confusing the reader.
For example, consider John 11:18 in NASB:
If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
The italicized words “it hated” are not actually in the Greek text, as shown below:
Εἰ ὁ κόσμος ὑμᾶς μισεῖ, γινώσκετε ὅτι ἐμὲ πρῶτον ὑμῶν μεμίσηκεν.
If the world you hates, know that me before you it has hated.
The direct translation, “If the world you hates, know that me before you it has hated,” is fine Greek but awkward English. The words “it hated” are inserted by the translators (and italicized in the NASB) to make the verse more understandable (especially when reading out loud).
Comparing several versions[1] shows a consistency in meaning with slight variations in style:
- If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. (NASB)
- If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. (CSB)
- If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. (ESV)
- If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. (KJV)
- If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. (MSG)
- If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. (NIV)
Some versions, such as The Message (MSG) are paraphrases, that is, they are more likely to expand the wording of a verse or even a whole paragraph to convey the original meaning. Other versions use various ways of translating the words or ideas of Scripture. “Know” (NASB), “understand” (CSB), “keep in mind” (NIV) are essentially ways of saying the same thing with little or no change in the meaning of the sentence.
There are some versions published by groups on the edge or beyond the boundaries of orthodoxy, such as the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures from Jehovah’s Witnesses. Those versions usually have a particular theological agenda at the expense of accurately translating the words of the Biblical text and should not be relied upon. But translations that are generally recognized by various denominations (such as the versions mentioned above) are reliable sources of the meaning expressed by the original writers of Scripture.
The rich diversity of translations are an invaluable resource. If you read a passage or a verse (or even a word or two) that you find confusing, look at another trustworthy translation. Sometimes just reading a verse in a different version (or in several others) can shed welcome light on a puzzling passage. In fact, when you read a passage and think you understand it perfectly, reading it in a different version may give you an even better perspective on the text.
Criticism and confusion over the Bible translations are not impossible problems. An honest look at the message of the Bible may convince the critic. The confusion of the honest seeker can be helped by using the various versions. The diversity in the expression of God’s truth is a great blessing.
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/John%2015:18
NASB – New American Standard Bible
CSB – Christian Standard Bible
ESV – English Standard Bible
KJV – King James Version
MSG – The Message
NIV – New International Version