Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Q&A Continued

We wrapped up our Q&A series this weekend. I loved it! It was so good to provide Biblical answers to questions that our people are wrestling with. We had a ton of great questions submitted in our survey. I just couldn't possibly answer them all in four messages. So, as promised, I'm going to tackle some more of them on my blog. I'm going to start with a very practical, nuts-and-bolts question that we received.

How do I know which version of the Bible to use?

To fully understand this question, you have to know that the Bible was not originally written in English. The original Bible consisted of three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Your Bible is a translation of these languages.

It can be confusing when you see so many different English translations available. That confusion can be compounded when some people preach and teach that only one version is correct. There are some people who will tell you that, “God only wrote one Bible: the King James Version.” That is a statement that is steeped in ignorance. The Bible God wrote wasn’t in King James English. It wasn’t in English period! If a person prefers to read the King James Version, that's fine. But it is arrogant and dangerous to preach that there is only one valid English translation of the Bible.

I use a variety of Bible translations in my preaching. Some of the ones I use are the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible, the New Living Translation, the Contemporary English Version, the Good News Bible, the New Life Version, etc.. I will also occasionally use The Message and The Living Bible, but these are paraphrases. They’re not actual translations from the original language.

I use these, and several more, translations because seeing a passage in different translations can really help us understand God’s truth in a deeper and more meaningful way.

When it comes to choosing a version of the Bible for your personal use, here’s a simple formula to remember. You’re looking for three things, and all you have to do is remember your ABCs. Your Bible translation should provide:

Accuracy
Beauty
Clarity

Be sure that, when you choose a Bible translation, it is accurate to the original languages. Since most of us can’t read Hebrew or Greek, we’ve got to rely on Bible translators. Be sure that your Bible was translated by people who believe the Bible is God’s Word and is without error. That’ll take you a long way on the accuracy road.

And the Bible should also read beautifully. There are so many beautiful, poetic passages in the Scripture. The great author Charles Dickens said, "The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world." The Bible is not only the word of God, but it’s also the most beautiful literary work ever written. The translation you choose should reflect that.

And finally, choose a translation of clarity. One that is easy for you to understand. If you can understand King James English, then that’s great. If not, choose a more modern translation like the New International Version or the New Living Translation. They’ll be more clear and easy to understand.