THE INNER ROOM - "Learn and Grow - to Maturity". Please read the 1st Post.

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Versions of the Word

Ok, I have a question..

There are so many versions of the Bible out there..and I know many read and grow from the Word

I have heard that some versions take the word out of the true context..

Bondman,
In your opinion, what version is really the true one to learn from?

I had been reading the NIV and then a friend of mine talked about the King James version which I read out of this morning. The Psalms were lovely and man they spoke to me so much more than in the NIV.

Any thoughts from others are welcome as well.

Faithwoman
 
Hello Faithwoman,:read-bible:

After several questions to many pastors and biblical scholars, they all agree that there is no 100% perfect translation. There is basically two categories. Literal and Dynamic. Your King James is a more literal translation but some of the context of the grammar is lost. Your NIV is a more dynamic translation meaning that the translator attempts to fill the time gap to make it easier to read. Both versions are fine. I recommend that you pray about it and let GOD show you what he has for you in this specific time in your life regardless of the version you choose. I found some very good computer software called E-Sword. There are many free bible softwares and E-Sword allows you to download several versions of the bible and put them side by side to do a comparison while you read. I use that extensively in my bible study. I am currently using the NLT (New Living Translation) for two reasons, 1 my pastor at church teaches from this version and 2, it is easy to read. I keep a King James and a New King James handy for reference though :) Bottom line is find one that suits your study needs and one that speaks to you spiritually. Trust that GOD will lead you where he needs you to go.
 
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PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY​


MESSAGE #74

ABOUT BIBLE TRANSLATIONS - Part 1

Faithwoman said:
Ok, I have a question..

There are so many versions of the Bible out there..and I know many read and grow from the Word

I have heard that some versions take the word out of the true context..

Bondman,
In your opinion, what version is really the true one to learn from?

I had been reading the NIV and then a friend of mine talked about the King James version which I read out of this morning. The Psalms were lovely and man they spoke to me so much more than in the NIV.

Any thoughts from others are welcome as well.

Faithwoman
Click to expand...

Kyle_ROLWC said:
Hello Faithwoman,:read-bible:

After several questions to many pastors and biblical scholars, they all agree that there is no 100% perfect translation. There is basically two categories. Literal and Dynamic. Your King James is a more literal translation but some of the context of the grammar is lost. Your NIV is a more dynamic translation meaning that the translator attempts to fill the time gap to make it easier to read. Both versions are fine. I recommend that you pray about it and let GOD show you what he has for you in this specific time in your life regardless of the version you choose. I found some very good computer software called E-Sword. There are many free bible softwares and E-Sword allows you to download several versions of the bible and put them side by side to do a comparison while you read. I use that extensively in my bible study. I am currently using the NLT (New Living Translation) for two reasons, 1 my pastor at church teaches from this version and 2, it is easy to read. I keep a King James and a New King James handy for reference though :) Bottom line is find one that suits your study needs and one that speaks to you spiritually. Trust that GOD will lead you where he needs you to go.
Click to expand...

What Kyle has said is all correct, hon. You may remember that my clear choice is the Amplified Bible which I've read for probably over 30 years. I sometimes do quotes from it here in the IR.

THE NEW KING JAMES - A GOOD LITERAL TRANSLATION

But most of the quotes I do are from the New King James Version. Why? Well I grew up with the King James Version of 1611. This Version stood the test of time for over 350 years!!! That telling a story I reckon! I have little doubt this was because it WAS a literal translation, i.e., from the Greek words to the English words - meaning that few ideas and thoughts of MAN could come between your mind and the revealed mind of God in the Scriptures! Important, yes?!!

The [1611] version, however, now has words and phrases that are out of date, and so I've gone to the New King James for most quotes here, because it's STILL a literal translation which basically has just FIXED the above problems! Good, yes?!!

MODERN TRANSLATIONS

I have two thoughts about many/most modern translations. I am very, very wary of man trying to 'interpret' the Greek in translations like the NIV and MANY others. I accept they may be easier to read, but how many times have we said here that not one soul in the world can understand the Bible message UNLESS THE HOLY SPIRIT REVEALS IT TO HIM!! That is, I want to know what God is saying when I read His Word - not man's thoughts and ideas!

BAD PRIORITIES

Secondly I feel the sheer NUMBER of modern translations we have to be a very sad comment on Western materialistic and money-oriented Christianity, being an appalling WASTE of time, energy, money - and TREES! It's like every few months another group of scholars somewhere in the world suddenly says, "Oh dear, we're SO bored!" and so they decide that they'll do just one more Bible translation! Okay that's a bit tongue in cheek, but truly, we have miles too many already.

And here's why I'm speaking so strongly about this: Do you know how many thousands of languages are out there in the world that may still not even have the Gospel of John translated for people to read yet, let alone the whole New Testament, or all of the Bible!! - while WE have translations coming out of our nose-hairs! To me, this is crazy.

THE PLUSES OF THE AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION

Okay then, why the Amplified? Because IT'S ALSO aimed at being a literal translation, BUT with added words so as to give the FULLEST POSSIBLE MEANING OF THE ORIGINAL GREEK TEXT TO THE READER! To me it's the next best thing to being able to read the original Greek text itself (which is a pretty tall order for most of us!!) So that's what I study from. If I still have a query about what the Amp says, then I go to look at the Greek word (or words) itself, to see it's (their) meaning.

CHECKING FROM THE NET IS EASY

You may go here (and other places) to read from the Amplified, and many other translations. And go here to check Strong's meanings of all the Greek words (and Hebrew for the Old Testament). For example, try going to Matthew Ch 7:13 and click on the word "broad". You'll be taken to a page to see the basic Greek word forms at the top, then English MEANINGS below as being "spacious" and "broad". And if you read Matt Ch 7:13 in the Amplified as above - well, look at dat - it is saying the same thing!!! You'll find that many other words in the New Testament can come alive from the Amplified, such as "believe" in John Ch 3:16 (and also from checking out Strong's meanings as needed!)

Want to know exactly what the Lord is saying? I sure DO! Then above are some things that I trust may be of some help to you.

Continued in Part 2...

- BM and his Mrs
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COMMENTS, QUESTIONS WELCOME!​

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:)
Want to know exactly what the Lord is saying? I sure DO! Then above are some things that may be of help to you!
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Thank you so much! I sure do want to know exactly what the Lord is saying.. and I want to know now... hmmm.....patience my dear patience he says.. trust in me with all your heart.. be holy, be holy

thanks again Bondman

Faithwoman
 
<U>
A NOTE:

Just wanted to let you know that we've started on a task of putting all Bondman messages across onto our website. The 60+ from here, and probably another 50 or so from previous forums I've ministered on.


Some advantages of this will be:
  • All messages will be together and so much easier to navigate to
  • There will be the ability to SEARCH for words and topics that you may be interested in.
Later we may be able to take this further and make it into a sort of Online Mini-Book of some kind, for even more people to be able to come and read as well.

Starting on this has directly come from your ENCOURAGEMENT and appreciation of The Inner Room! Which was rather unexpected, so thankyou so much for that!

PRAYER will be much appreciated as we tackle this job. Beloved has to be well enough to do a lot of the copying across (not exactly a simple task, as here the text is in one programming format, and on the website it has to be in a quite different format - from BBC to HTML). Anyway, we've made a start on it, and hope to get this done not too far down the track.

- BM
Click to expand...


Ok am i missing something? Do you have a website out there somewhere besides your Inner Room here?

I say your messages would make an awesome book.. a best seller!

Hugs
Faithwoman

ps.. I still got to work on how to change my color and font back after quoting something!....</U>
 
I used to read NIV until I discovered they had left out whole verses! I mean, it skipped! It'd go from say (ok, I forgot where it was, so I'm making up numbers here for examples) verse 22 to verse 24 and a little side note saying it was left out on purpose. That bothered me. I want to know what verse did they leave out, and why???
So I went to New King James which is working for me. Its also good to take several different translations and compare them. Sometimes it deepens the understanding of what the author is trying to say.
I like the idea of the Amplified, though. My next bible will probably be one of those. What I am trying to do, (but keep forgetting about!!!) is read a bible thru, making notes and stuff in it, and then give it to one of my children. I heard about someone doing that once, and I thought it was a great idea! Oops! Getting off subject. Sorry!
 
What I am trying to do, (but keep forgetting about!!!) is read a bible thru, making notes and stuff in it, and then give it to one of my children. I heard about someone doing that once, and I thought it was a great idea! Oops! Getting off subject. Sorry!
Click to expand...
No need to be sorry for sharing how you would like to share his word.. my great aunt had done that.. it is Living Bible she has, so it is like reading a simple story.. very easy to read reading.. It is great to see what she highlighted and to read her notes.
She had passed away and left me one of her bibles. what a priceless gift for her to give me.

Faithwoman
 
Screaming with Pain

Bear with me..
The seperation I am going through right now is hard.. it seems I am being seperated by those I love ????.. my daughter, my friend I am dating, friends, my church, everything..

Even amongst the recent blessings, I feel like screaming tonite.. I feel very angry, very confused and very lost. Lord, Jesus Help me! I cry unto you to help me. I know you are there, you never leave me.. I was the one who had left you, I know deep in my heart you are there with me, but it is hard.

I just want the best for those I love, and lately Lord, it seems there is nothing I can do, However I can pray and give it all to you Lord. For you see all of everyone, you know exactly what they need, including me.

Lord, I am sooooooooo tired. physically and mentally, to tired to sleep. It just seems when I put my head on that pillow, my mind starts going spinning.

Lord, I am angry and hurt by those I love. It stinks.. just literally stinks..
Maybe I am to be off by myself with all stripped away from me? that is what you want.. you want us first and foremost.. The stripping I am going through Lord is hard. . Oh Lord, please put people here with me, that will allow me to love them, to be a shining light to them, it is hard to give love and have it fall on deaf eyes, ears and hearts, but of course Lord you see so much of that each and every minute. I am but a rag.. I am a sinner, a sinner who so much wants to do your will, but is hurting in the process of getting there.

There are days that I want so much to give into the flesh, but I have not . .. but the pain hurts, I close my eyes and I see the nails being driven into your son.. the pain he took for all of us so that we may have life.

Oh Lord, come quickly and show me.. show me your will for me. It is with faith that I walk, but I feel like my faith is quivering and shaking right now. It has seemed that all day today , the enemy has been trying to take me down, but you give a way out of tempation.. I am here tonite Lord on the forum.. just typing my hurt, my pain, sharing with those who believe in you, who love you, who have hurts and pains too...

Lord, Jesus, I thank you for all that you are. I thank you for your grace and mercy.. I most of all thank you for loving me and never leaving me.

Love
Faithwoman
 
Faithwoman said:
Ok am i missing something? Do you have a website out there somewhere besides your Inner Room here?
Click to expand...

Yes we do have a website, but it's not in use at the moment. There are about another 60 earlier messages there that maybe we'll also put in.

I say your messages would make an awesome book.. a best seller!

Hugs
Faithwoman

ps.. I still got to work on how to change my color and font back after quoting something!....</U>[/size]
Click to expand...

Just click on the "A" up above to see colours. Click on the one you want and that colour is now set, ready for you to type.

Then change the size if needed: click on the number up above and choose 2 for average size, 3 for larger.

Now when you start typing you should have correct colour and size. Any other time you want to, you can do the same thing by highlighting the text then changing the colour and/or size.

And to change the font also, click on the one that's showing, and change it the same way as I've said above.

Thankyou for your compliment! *smile*
 
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PRACTICAL NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY​


MESSAGE #75

ABOUT BIBLE TRANSLATIONS - Part 2

Continued from HERE

Fluffy said:
I used to read NIV until I discovered they had left out whole verses! I mean, it skipped! It'd go from say (ok, I forgot where it was, so I'm making up numbers here for examples) verse 22 to verse 24 and a little side note saying it was left out on purpose. That bothered me. I want to know what verse did they leave out, and why???
So I went to New King James which is working for me. Its also good to take several different translations and compare them. Sometimes it deepens the understanding of what the author is trying to say.
I like the idea of the Amplified, though. My next bible will probably be one of those. What I am trying to do, (but keep forgetting about!!!) is read a bible thru, making notes and stuff in it, and then give it to one of my children. I heard about someone doing that once, and I thought it was a great idea! Oops! Getting off subject. Sorry!
Click to expand...

There's a good reason for verses and words left out. When the 1611 King James version was translated it was done from the compilation of various Greek MANUSCRIPTS of books of the New Testament that were available at the time - all very old, fragmentary and partial, or more full. These manuscripts were copies of the originals that had been copied by monks over and over and over since about 200 AD and later.

The compiling of this final "accepted" text to translate from into English (or any other language, such as French) had been a major task for many years. What's utterly remarkable is how good this text was! Because since then - mostly in the last 100 years or so - we've discovered a lot more ancient manuscripts, many of which were up to hundreds of years older than those available to the 1611 translators. In fact we now have manuscripts from not many decades after Jesus' death and resurrection, which I find exciting and astonishing! GOD HAS SO WELL LOOKED AFTER HIS WORD - FOR US!!!

From these many extra and also older manuscripts a "new" accepted text has been compiled, and thus some words and even passages have been deemed as NOT original by Bible scholars. For example when I turn to Romans Ch 8:1 in my Amplified Bible here is what I see:

Romans Ch 8
1 THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation - no adjudging guilty of wrong - for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

The end section in italics is now considered NOT to have been in the original letter written by Paul. That is, the best texts that we now have, omit this part. But there's absolutely no problem in that, because the section omitted is IN STILL IN OTHER PARTS OF THE NT!!! Then in Mark Ch 16, there's a note at verse 9 to say that verses 9 to 20 (i.e, the last part of this chapter, and the end of Mark) are not in the earliest manuscripts. And there are more verses we're now omitting as well.

SO... we now have more reliable, more complete and earlier manuscripts available to us to get as close as possible to the ORIGINAL writings (none of which have survived from the 1st Century). But as I said above, the mostly extra verses or parts of verses or words that had somehow crept into manuscript copies seem to have DONE NO HARM WHATSOEVER to the New Testament as we've had it for the hast five hundred years or so - AND FURTHERMORE, THE OMITTING OF THESE PROBABLY COPYING ERRORS NOW also does no harm to the message of the Good News that is the New Testament!!

However my Amplified Bible, translated by serious and genuine Christians, puts these verses and passages IN, BUT also tells you what we know about them! That's being open and honest, and treating us, and His precious Word, with full respect - and man, do I REALLY LOVE THAT!!


HOWEVER... of MUCH GREATER CONCERN to me than anything above are many modern translations that have been done by liberal theologians, who seem to have deliberately translated words in such a way as TAKES AWAY from the original Greek text and AFFECTS OUR UNDERSTANDING of what God is truly saying to us. That is why I said that I am VERY WARY of virtually all modern translations, and will stick with my AMPLIFIED BIBLE and the NEW KING JAMES, plus going back to the original Greek text to check this out as needed.

I am thus VERY confident that what I read and understand is as close to the original writings as is possible! *picture of happy Aussie Christian man studying the New Testament!!*

- BM, with Mrs BM
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COMMENTS, QUESTIONS WELCOME!​

​
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Faithwoman said:
Bear with me..
The seperation I am going through right now is hard.. it seems I am being seperated by those I love ????.. my daughter, my friend I am dating, friends, my church, everything..

Even amongst the recent blessings, I feel like screaming tonite.. I feel very angry, very confused and very lost. Lord, Jesus Help me! I cry unto you to help me. I know you are there, you never leave me.. I was the one who had left you, I know deep in my heart you are there with me, but it is hard.

I just want the best for those I love, and lately Lord, it seems there is nothing I can do, However I can pray and give it all to you Lord. For you see all of everyone, you know exactly what they need, including me.

Lord, I am sooooooooo tired. physically and mentally, to tired to sleep. It just seems when I put my head on that pillow, my mind starts going spinning.

Lord, I am angry and hurt by those I love. It stinks.. just literally stinks..
Maybe I am to be off by myself with all stripped away from me? that is what you want.. you want us first and foremost.. The stripping I am going through Lord is hard. . Oh Lord, please put people here with me, that will allow me to love them, to be a shining light to them, it is hard to give love and have it fall on deaf eyes, ears and hearts, but of course Lord you see so much of that each and every minute. I am but a rag.. I am a sinner, a sinner who so much wants to do your will, but is hurting in the process of getting there.

There are days that I want so much to give into the flesh, but I have not . .. but the pain hurts, I close my eyes and I see the nails being driven into your son.. the pain he took for all of us so that we may have life.

Oh Lord, come quickly and show me.. show me your will for me. It is with faith that I walk, but I feel like my faith is quivering and shaking right now. It has seemed that all day today , the enemy has been trying to take me down, but you give a way out of tempation.. I am here tonite Lord on the forum.. just typing my hurt, my pain, sharing with those who believe in you, who love you, who have hurts and pains too...

Lord, Jesus, I thank you for all that you are. I thank you for your grace and mercy.. I most of all thank you for loving me and never leaving me.

Love
Faithwoman
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Thankyou for sharing, sweetie! So we can pray and love you! Everything you're feeling and everything you wrote is the human condition! People hurt us. We lose friends and loved ones. We may be alone. Then as a Christian our flesh rises up to tempt us to go BACKWARDS! We experience pain. And all of this can become so difficult that we feel confused, angry, and lost.

But... you know the truth!! And He would not have you going through all that you are unless you DID! You know the answers, know what to do. This is the what Peter wrote about:

1 Peter 1:7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

and this also:

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

God tests and tries us! Proving that we really ARE His son or daughter!! And of course this is for out ultimate good. We don't have to like it - we do have to endure and get through it, STILL WITH HIM! I know you will. Remember that the truth is stronger than our emotions, which can tip us upside down - yet He is there always and He WILL hold us close!

PRAYING!!! Much love! - BM
 
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Thank you, Bondman, for the explanation of translations! That was most excellent! Nobody else has ever explained it where I could understand it before.


Forgiven! Where ya been? We've been missing you!

alittlehi.gif
 
I am praying for you too, Faithwoman. Your journey is so similar to mine and you have allowed God to strengthen you, so don't give up now. You will make it, I know. BM's advise is the best and Fluffy is there for you too. We are all pulling for ya.
 
Faithwoman, I challenge you to make some extra quiet time to listen for the Lord in a new way that you've never heard Him before. In the chaos we often stick to our prior knowledge of how to listen for His voice and we don't think to open our minds to new ways of thinking about what He wants us to do and how He wants us to be. Ways that we may overlook or put aside quickly without testing them against the Word, our prior spiritual knowledge, and real-world results.

Hope that made sense.

Much love and God bless you,

Mark
 
He loves to see you thanking Him, Faithwoman. May you be blessed, you have a great heart indeed. :D

(Had to make this a separate post to get my post count off of that terrible number :D)
 
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