Today we will discuss something mega exciting… so just hang on to your socks. 

Okay, while this may not actually be such an exciting post, this information is important for all believers to be aware of, especially these days with all of the tiktok critics on social media. I’ve heard about and seen some video clips of social media influencers trying to discredit the Bible based on incorrect knowledge of Bible translations. Sooo… here is what you need to know. (Also, go back and check out our post on What is the Bible for more information about the Bible.)

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 CSB

Brief History

The earliest manuscripts of the Bible were not written in English. I know, shocker. But I don’t speak Greek or Hebrew so I am grateful that the Bible is now in a language I can understand. 

The earliest translation of the Old Testament into Greek is called the Septuigent, sometimes referred to in the footnote of your Bible as LXX. This translation was used for a long time (about 630 years) until the Latin Vulgate was written in an effort to have all of Scripture in one book, with one binding and in one language. (Sadly, I don’t speak Latin either.)

At this time only the head people in the church were able to read the Bible. In the Roman Catholic Church, it was banned for the common lay people to read or have access to the Bible. In the 1300s, John Wycliffe disagreed with this principle and created the first handwritten Bible in the English language translated from the Latin Vulgate, albeit in Middle English which would be challenging for us, in 2024, to read. Followers of John Wycliffe would be punished and killed for going against the Roman Catholic Church.

A little while later in 1526, William Tyndale was the first to translate all of the New Testament into English from the original Greek, with the help of the newly invented printing press. Tyndale believed that the average person needed to read the Bible. Ten years later, Tyndale was martyred for his stance.

A year before Tyndale’s death, in 1535 Miles Coverdale was the first to print the entire Bible- Old and New Testaments- into English. He used Martin Luther’s German Bible and the New Testament Translation that William Tyndale had created to help him. 

All of these three translations from these three historical men influenced the 1611 King James Version of the English Bible. This version was the generally accepted translation of the Bible for nearly 300 years. You may wonder why it is named after King James? The answer may not surprise you: The King James of England in 1604 sponsored the translation project and oversaw the work that was done.

Fast forward to 2024, we now have over 50 different English translations of the Bible. You may wonder why, and the answer is simple- because language changes. Modern English does not use words like “thee” and “thy” or dozens of other words. 

The How

There are three main systems of thought when it comes to translations: word-for-word translations, thought-for-thought translations, or a combination of the two. Examples of word-for-word translations you may be familiar with are the English Standard Version (ESV) or the New American Standard Bible (NASB). Examples of thought-for-thought translations include the New International Version (NIV) or the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). The version we, on this blog, quote mostly from is the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), which can be considered one of the translations that is a balance and combination of word-for-word and thought-for-thought.  

Some translations may use the original manuscripts for their translation, going from the original language to English. However, other translations use versions of the Bible already accepted, like the Greek Septuagint which would be going from original language to Greek to English.

Paraphrase vs Translation

Paraphrases aren’t translations- they attempt to tell you about the text or their idea of what the text is trying to say rather than literally translating the text itself. I think of this as more of a commentary on the Scripture, helpful but not the Word.

The most popular paraphrase of the Bible in 2024 is The Message (MSG). A popular one in my parents’ time was The Living Bible (TLB). Have you heard of either?

While paraphrases are not the Bible text itself, they can be helpful if you are trying to understand a difficult passage. Let’s look at an example to see what I mean.

Genesis 1:1-2 in MSG - First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

Genesis 1:1-2 in TLB - When God began creating the heavens and the earth, the earth was a shapeless, chaotic mass, with the Spirit of God brooding over the dark vapors.

Genesis 1:1-2 in CSB - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2 in NLT - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2 in NIV - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2 in NKJV - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

From these verses in various translations and paraphrases, we can easily see that the Creator of the heavens and earth was God and that it took place at the foundation of the world (“in the beginning”). What is interesting is that the paraphrase Message version adds the phrase “all you see, all you don’t see.” Based on the other English translations, we can clearly see that is an addition to the text, but not necessarily changing the meaning of the text. 

The next phrase describes the condition of the earth - formless, empty, dark. I find it interesting how vastly different the paraphrases define this rather than the translations. Most of the translations are exactly the same: “the earth was formless [without form] and empty [void], and darkness covered [was over/ was on] the deep [waters].” But note how different the paraphrases state this idea - “Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness” (MSG) and “the earth was a shapeless, chaotic mass” (TLB).  We could probably come to the same conclusion that the earth was formless, empty, and dark, but the paraphrases are completely different in their description.  The last phrase in these verses describes how God’s Spirit hovered over the waters; except the paraphrases use the word “brooded” over the waters, with the Message (MSG) comparing it to a bird. The Oxford dictionary has the word “brooding” defined as appearing dark and menacing. I do not think that’s an appropriately descriptive word for The Spirit when “hovering” is defined as to remain in one place in the air. 

As you can see now, paraphrases can be helpful but are not always accurate depictions of the Scriptures. 

Pros and Cons

Each English translation has obvious pros and cons. Word-for-word translations like the English Standard Version (ESV) or New American Standard Bible (NASB) may be more challenging for us to understand on a quick read. Thought-for-thought translations may be easier to read and comprehend but may not be useful for certain word study. These may also be better choices for children or newer believers who are simply trying to grasp the basic understanding of Scripture. The middle ground of a combination of word-for-word and thought-for-thought, like the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), tries to be the best option overall. Of course there are always times where a translated word in a word-for-word translation is more reliable, or when the readability of a thought-for-thought approach is more helpful for comprehension.

There are many versions for us, as English speakers, to read. Instead of picking one and religiously sticking to that one translation above all other translations, I would encourage you to compare Scripture from different translations when you are studying the Bible. I personally have three different Bibles with different translations that I like to bounce back and forth from, comparing word choices. And thanks to the Bible apps we can download to our smartphones, we can also compare many more translations to better our understanding of the text.