Monday, December 24, 2007

The KJV controversy...which version is "right"?

I've never quite understood the hoopla over the KJV of the bible. Or at least why so many insist that it is the only translation which should be taken as God's word. Let me be clear that I have nothing against the KJV. I think it's a good translation...I just don't think it's the only good translation. Granted, there are many out there that play pretty fast and loose with the original manuscripts, but I would venture that on the whole, the major translations currently available are reliable. At least in the sense that they do not change the message. The question for me is...can any English translation be 100% accurate according to the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts? It seems to me, considering the precise nature of the Greek language, and the fact that in the English language many words can have the same meaning, and one word can have different meanings, that translating Greek into English without losing some precision would be a daunting task to say the least. Add to that the fact that the English language itself is currently undergoing a major upheaval and it only adds to the difficulty. I don't like every new version that hits the bookshelves, but I personally own copies of the KJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV. I've found it helpful to compare passages side by side, and make use of easy to use tools such as Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament words. At the end of the day, I think the problem isn't so much which translation is used as much as it is how God's word is handled by those who proclaim it. In many pulpits today, the Bible is rarely even opened...or if it is, it's to prop up the preacher's own presuppositions on whatever topic or theme he may be speaking to. Real expository preaching, and verse by verse exposition sadly has become the rarity and not the norm. Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts.