Bibles

[itsme]

I want to buy a Bible. I'm not sure if this has been covered in the forum before, but does IBC use numerous Bibles or just one? If just one, which one is it and why? Whats the difference between NIV, KJV, NLT, and The Message? Why do people praise one and condemn another?

I didn't realize so much had to be considered before purchasing a Bible. The only help I could find online was this

http://stuffchristianslike.net/2009/02/yo-joe-remix-228-niv-vs-kjv-vs-esv-bible-wars-told-via-gi-joe/

[nothingman]

The main translation I've noticed used from the pulpit at IBC is the New International Version (NIV). Other translations I've heard used over the years at IBC are Today's NIV, The Message and New Living Translation. We are blessed to have many English Bible translations, and there are many different translations to choose from. Personally, I use the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) as my main bible because it is a little more "literal" than the NIV, but less "wooden" in translation that the New American Standard Bible (NASB). The NIV is now over 30 years old, and some of the word choices and scholarship is a little dated, especially in the area of gender. The NIV will be updated again in 2011. If you are interested in learning more about Bible translation, I recommend the book, HOW TO CHOOSE A TRANSLATION FOR ALL ITS WORTH by Gordon D. Fee and Mark Strauss.

[Nate]

Whats the difference between NIV, KJV, NLT, and The Message? Why do people praise one and condemn another?

I'll second what Nothingman said...I remember when we used The Message for a while at IBC. But it does vary. Generally I think the service uses a translation geared towards ease of understanding (i.e. not something like the NASB which can be a more stilted, literal translation...I use it in my personal reading though).

People sometimes praise one over the other because of how they were raised, denominational affiliation, whatever...(my favorite word).

Some of this goes back to traditionalist attitudes in general. "It's always been that way, and that's the way it will always be." "God doesn't change, neither will my Bible." The KJV has a huge following, my guess would be because it's one of the older English translations. It has a few issues related to the texts used for the translations...something you may run across called textual criticism. And that is perhaps an area you would be interested in pursuing.

There was an introductory, popular book on textual criticism of the Bible called Misquoting Jesus, but I would read the review written by one of the scholars at Dallas Theological Seminary for a bit of context if you ever check out Ehrman's book. Finally, I found an old post I wrote after I read the book by Ehrman.