Modern translations are very readable and yet they allow the reader to draw more of his own conclusions when the meaning is vague. So it is best to stick with translations for most study and reading. But for that reason, they also will be less reliable, because you only know what the person doing the paraphrase thought a particular verse or phrase means. That makes paraphrases easier reading because it seems everything is explained.
Paraphrases have more “interpretation” than translations. That is, to put the Greek or Hebrew words and phrases into readable English, the translator has to decide to some degree what each term means. Since neither translations nor paraphrases are exactly literal, there will always be a degree of “interpretation” in them. (International Children’s Bible, NKJV Explorers Bible for Kids, NIV Adventure Bible, etc.) The chart below compares the various “Bibles” according to how literal they are.ġ. One good example for the youngest children (3-7) is Kenneth Taylor’s “New Bible In Pictures For Little Eyes.” Bible Story Books are different than most Children’s Bibles which are actually regular translations or paraphrases printed with pictures appropriate to children. These books merely selectively “retell” the story portions of the Bible. No attempt is made to “translate” the Bible text. Children’s Bible Story Books – These are even less literal than paraphrases. Interlinears can be helpful for study purposes (particularly if the reader has some knowledge of Hebrew and Greek), but are not useful as a Bible for regular reading.ĭ. It follows the word order and grammar of the original language whether or not it is easily readable in the modern language (English for example). Interlinears are actually copies of the Hebrew and Greek text with a literal English translation printed below. Interlinear Bibles – An “interlinear” is a Bible study tool which contains an exactly literal rendering of each Hebrew or Greek term. Paraphrase – A paraphrase is a less literal rendering of the Bible – restating the text to give the original sense but not attempting to literally translate each term in the original language.Įxamples: Living Bible, Phillips, Today’s English Version (formerly called Good News for Modern Man), The Amplified Bible (verses are greatly expanded to explain each phrase, The Message)Ĭ. Version Revisions – Some modern versions could also be called “revisions” because they are largely based on a previous version which has been updated.ī. King James Version, New International Version, NET Bible etc.Ģ. Versions – Versions are the various translations of the Bible within one modern language. A translation is intended to be as literal as possible and still be easily read.ġ. Translation – A translation is a rendering of the Bible in a language different than the one in which it was written. This has given us better Hebrew and Greek originals from which to translate into English.ī) Better understanding: Recent scholarship has helped us to better understand various Bible terms in light of Bible culture.Ĭ) Better Readability: Modern translations put the Bible into a more readable form.Ī. Actually the translation process has, for the most part, produced improved modern Bibles in several ways.Ī) Better original texts from the science of textual criticism: By studying and comparing the many available Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, scholars are able to determine the original as accurately as possible. They are translated directly from Hebrew (O.T.) and Greek (N.T.) manuscripts.Ģ.
But the translations we have today are not the end of a long chain of translation.
Some people have the mistaken notion that the Bibles we have today are unreliable because of constant retranslation.