Introduction
Our Bible wasn’t written in English, it wasn’t even written as a book. It is a collection, a library of different kinds of material from over 2000 years written in several different languages by lots of different people. It was written by kings, prophets, historians, musicians, priests, disciples and apostles, and much of it claims to be the very words spoken by God. Different parts will have been written on different materials depending on where and when they were written. Some pieces will have been inscribed on clay tablets or stone, other parts would have been written on animal skins or papyrus (a kind of paper made from reeds). The skins or papyri were usually stitched together into long scrolls, but these would normally have never contained more than a few “books” of the Bible at most. The Bible was a collection of different scrolls, being added to over a period of centuries, before it was finally decided that there were no more books to add.
The Old Testament
Most of the people who wrote what we call the Old Testament spoke Hebrew, and so most of the Old Testament is written in Hebrew. There are one or two exceptions - parts of Ezra and Daniel were written in a language called Aramaic. This was the language used in the Babylonian and Persian empire, and both these books were written in that context. Aramaic also became the language most Jews spoke after the return to Israel in the time of Cyrus, until the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, and was almost certainly the language spoken by Jesus (Hebrew was mainly used in religious services and theological discussions).
By the 3rd century BC, there were a large number of Jews living in Egypt and they mainly spoke Greek, and did not understand the language of their scriptures. So they could be able to read their history and their law, the scriptures were translated along with other religious works, from Hebrew and Aramaic into Greek. This Greek translation of the Old Testament is what is now called the Septuagint. When the Jews in Israel finally decided which writings were considered scriptures from God, and which ones were not, the Jews in Egypt carried on using some of the other religious works which were included in their Septuagint. Later on Christians were divided as to whether the books included in the Hebrew Bible, or the larger number in the Septuagint were the correct collection of God’s revelation. The Protestants accepted the Hebrew version, the Catholics and Eastern Orthodox kept to the version from the Septuagint. The books which were in the Greek translation of the Old Testament scriptures, but were not accepted by the Hebrew and Aramaic speaking Jews, are what we now know as the Apocrypha.
The New Testament
Jesus and his disciples all spoke Aramaic, but would also have been familiar with Hebrew and Greek. At the time of Christ, Greek, not Latin was the language spoken through most of the Roman Empire. In what is now Spain, France, Turkey, Egypt and Syria, Greek was widely spoken and understood. In fact until the late 2nd century, there were more Greek speakers in Rome than Latin speakers. This is why the writings of the New Testament were written in Greek. Unlike the Old Testament scriptures, their target audience was not Jews alone, but also gentiles who had responded to the gospel, so it was essential that it be easily understood by the most people. The New Testament writings were originally separate papyrus scrolls, but by the second century they had begun to be collected together, and a new method, the codex was used to keep them that way. The codex was an early form of book in which separate sheets of parchment were sewn and bound together into a single work. In some of the early codices (the plural of codex) of the New Testament scriptures, other books are found which do not appear in our modern Bibles - in fact it wasn’t until the late 4th century that the exact collection of 27 books which we currently used was finally established.
The Earliest Translations
Although the New Testament had a head start in getting the gospel heard around the world by being written in Greek, it still couldn’t reach everyone in the world that way. By the second century the books of the New Testament began to be translated into other languages so the gospel could be more widely heard and understood - Syriac, Latin, Coptic, Gothic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Georgian and other versions appeared. By the fifth century, most of the western part of the Roman Empire spoke Latin, and there were numerous different Latin translations of both the Old and New Testament for them to use. To parts of the church this diversity was considered confusing and divisive, and so a translation published with the backing of the Pope was made to replace all the others. This translation by a monk called Jerome was made from Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, and is known as the Vulgate.
Over the years, the church began to discourage translations into other languages, and it made Latin the language used in all religious services. The gospel which once spoke to the common man in his own tongue, became unknown and foreign to those unable to speak Latin. All they still had were stories and plays loosely based on the Bible stories, together with portrayals on windows, sculptures and carvings. Those who sought to convey the gospel in any language other than Latin were discouraged, persecuted and even put to death. Those such as those friends of John Wycliffe who translated the New Testament from Latin into English in the 14th century did so at great risk.
Renaissance And Reformation
Suddenly things began to change at the beginning of the 16th century. There was a rediscovery of Greek literature in the west, as scholars fled following the downfall of the Byzantine empire, bringing with them manuscripts and different ways of thinking about things. The spread of ideas through books became cheaper and easier with the invention of printing - no longer did every copy have to written out meticulously by hand. Following on from these a group of people began to challenge the authority of the church, and the things it taught. Martin Luther claimed that the church did not follow the teachings of the apostles, but misrepresented them. To help people see what the Bible really said, he translated it from the original languages into German.
Within a short time, translations of the Bible or parts of it were appearing wherever these challenges to the authority of the church were taking hold throughout Europe. In England, the New Testament was translated from Greek into English for the first time by William Tyndale. He didn’t do it in England however, as the Bishop of London refused to allow him to do so, so he worked in Germany. His translation became available illegally, and both it and its translator were condemned by Henry VIII and the catholic church. When the church eventually caught up with him he was put to death.
What the church couldn’t stop was the demand from people to be able to read the scriptures in their own language, and over the next 80 years there were a succession of different English translations, based in the New Testament mainly on a Greek text prepared from a few manuscripts which had come into the hands of a friend of Luther called Erasmus. In England, as the King himself broke away from the Roman church, translations based heavily on that of Tyndale began to not only become available, but be authorized by the King for use in the church. The Great Bible of 1539 and the Bishops Bible of 1568 were both “Authorized Versions”, approved by the monarchy and the English church. There were also Bibles produced by those for whom the religious climate in England was not safe. When Mary was Queen, many protestants were persecuted and martyred. Some escaped abroad, quite a number ended up in Geneva in Switzerland. There a group of Englishmen associated with a a preacher called John Knox, prepared a translation which is known as the Geneva Bible. It was undeniably the best English translation which had appeared until then, and was in many ways superior to the Bishops Bible which appeared a number of years later.
It was not just Protestants who translated the Bible into their own language. The Catholics, in spite of their commitment to their Latin text, recognized that even their own people were beginning to read these translations, so in the spirit of “if you can’t beat them, join them”, a group of Catholic scholars who were living in France (England in Elizabethan times was not safe for catholics), produced an English translation initially of the New Testament, then eventually the whole Bible. What was different was that they didn’t make any attempt to go back to the original languages for their translation, it was all translated straight from the Latin Vulgate (and as such is a translation of a translation).
The Authorized Version
Of all these early translations, most of you will only heard of one. You might know it as the Authorized Version, or you may know it as the “King James” Version. Each generation thought they could do a better job in translating the Bible into English than the one which came before, and as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I had done, so King James I authorized a group of translators to produce a new translation from the original languages. Contrary to what many people think, King James did not do any of the translating, there was a team of 47 scholars and church men who were responsible for it. It wasn’t really even a new translation, it was a revision of the Bishops Bible which had appeared 43 years, and the brief of the translators was to follow the Bishops Bible except where it was considered innaccurate. Since the Bishops Bible was itself a revision of the Great Bible, and that was mainly based on the translations of Tyndale and Coverdale, a considerable part of the text of the AV is actually taken from translations produced 80 years previously, one by a man denounced and put to death as a heretic.
Not everyone thought the AV was a very good version, for many years many churches and Christians continued to use the Geneva Bible, but eventually the AV became “The Bible” for most people. Strangely, unlike the previous versions, successive monarchs did not call for its revision and improvement, and apart from some minor changes in spelling, it is still widely available and widely used by people today.
The Need For Revision
Over the next 250 years, almost all English speaking Christians used the AV. It’s expressions and rhythms became part of the language, a particular kind of “holy” English. The language however was moving on and changing, and most people did not speak “Bible English” in their daily lives. Scholarship was also moving on: there was a greater understanding of Greek and Hebrew, and some words and phrases that had baffled the AV translators began to be better understood. There was also a greater availability of Greek manuscripts than there had been for Erasmus and those who had based their work on his editions. Numerous people tried to produce their own improved version of the AV, to incorporate this newer understanding of the original sources. One was John Wesley, who made 12,000 changes to the text of the AV in his New Testament.
Eventually in the mid 19th century, the Church of England agreed that the AV could and should be improved upon. A group of scholars and churchmen was put together, from both the established and free churches. Their brief, like that of the revisers of the previous two authorized versions, was to make as few changes to the text as possible - only those which were necessary. As a result, their revision sounds exactly like the AV to most people today - it still has the Thees and Thous and all the other expressions which were in use in 16th century English, but which were no longer part of the language of most people in the 19th. The changes they did make were not because of changes in the language, but were because of better understanding of the Hebrew and Greek, and because of better evidence for what the original text was likely to have been. This was the controversial part, because a whole mythology had grown up around the AV and the text underlying it (for the New Testament this was the so-called Textus Receptus).
Hundreds of Greek manuscripts and codices for the New Testament were known by the middle of the 19th century, dating back as far as the fourth century - Erasmus only had access to a handful, none earlier than the 12th century. The differences between the different manuscripts were minor, but it is important with the scriptures to translate as accurately as possible, so it is also important to know which of the different readings in the manuscript were likely to be correct and original, and which were additions or mistakes. The committee that had been formed to revise the AV were using an edition of the Greek text being compiled by two Cambridge scholars called Westcott and Hort who were on the committee.
When it was eventually published in 1885, the English Revised Version caused quite a stir. Many were deeply offended by the idea that anyone would want to change the Bible, the idea that the AV could be in any way improved upon was deemed shocking. A few years later a minor revision of the Revised Version appeared in America, under the title the “American Standard Version”. This won slightly more support, particularly among scholars, and it has become an excellent version for study purposes.
God Speaks In Our Language
Revisions of the AV, such as the Revised Version and the ASV, might have corrected errors caused by lack of understanding of the meaning of the original texts, and by the lack of availability of the best manuscripts, but they still had one problem. They all sounded exactly like the AV, it was still Elizabethan or Jacobite English, very similar to that of Shakespeare; it was not the language in which people spoke to one another on a daily basis.
One of the great blessings which came to the church in the 20th Century was translations of the Bible in modern English. The first one of these came out in 1901, and was called, appropriately, the “Twentieth Century New Testament”. It is a marvellous piece of work, and so different to everthing that came before it. Jesus no longer spoke a strange religious language, people were able to read his words in words they understood and used themselves. Instead of the AV “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them”, the TCNT reads “Always, then, treat others as you would like them to treat you”. Or where the AV reads “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled”, the TCNT has “For, believe me, till the earth and the sky disappear, not even the dot of an ‘i’ or the cross of a ‘t’ will disappear from the Law—not until all is done”. In most parts, the TCNT still reads easily and clearly today, a hundred years later.
Where the TCNT led, many others were to follow. Some were the work of individual translators, like the scholars Richard Weymouth and James Moffatt, others like the TCNT were the work of a group of translators. What the translations were trying to do was express in English what the original meant, not translate the original words as literally as possible. So when the AV spoke of a jot or tittle it was referring to small characters in Hebrew script and translating what the original said, but most people would not understand the meaning. When the TCNT spoke of the dot of and ‘i’ and the cross of a ‘t’, it was not translating what the original said, but what it meant and providing an equivalent illustration which would mean the same to a modern English speaker, as what Jesus originally said had meant to his hearers.
There have been hundreds of translations which have appeared during the 20th century, some have been better than others, and many never gained much popularity or use. Not everything has tried to be particularly modern in its language. The American Standard Version has twice been revised to produce the “Revised Standard Version” and the “New American Standard Version”. Both of them are easier to read than the ASV (which read just like the AV), but neither of them would pretend to be simple everyday English.
The one thing in common with virtually all modern translations is they use a very similar Greek text for the New Testament. This text is the result of comparing over 5000 different manuscripts to work out what the original text was most likely to have said. The one exception to this is a translation called the “New King James Version” (originally known in Britain as the “Revised Authorized Version”) which sticks to the Greek text used by the translators of the AV in 1611. It is a curious decision, and one which cannot be easily defended, and results in a number of passages which differ from those in other modern Bibles
So which is the best translation to use? It is impossible to answer that, as different people have different levels of understanding, and use the Bible in different ways. Personally I use quite a number. Whilst my favourite at the moment is the “New Revised Standard Version”, I usually recommend people try the “New International Version”, or the “Good News Bible”. Other versions which I would suggest people look at are the “Contemporary English Version” or the “New Century Version”.
The next pages show just how much translations can differ from one another in translating exactly the same passage of scripture. Take a look and see what the differences are, and which you find makes the most sense to you. There are 32 different translations given, and none of them agree entirely with any of the others as to how the passage is to be translated.
There are many ways of translating the same Greek words into English. It isn’t a matter of translating each word, because the way sentences are put together in Greek is completely different, so it would make no sense at all. Some Bibles try to stick as close as possible to the most direct English equivalents of the words in Greek, while others try instead to express what the Greek actually means. There are 36 words in the Greek of 1 Peter 1:6-7, none of the English translations manage to use less than 51, and one even uses 95 words for the passage.
1 Peter 1:6-7
en w agalliasye oligon arti ei deon luphqenteV en
In which you exult, a little [while] yet if necessary grieving by
poikiloiV peirasmoiV, ina to dokimion umwn thV pistewV
manifold trials, in order that the proving of you of the faith,
polutimoteron crusiou tou apollumenou dia puroV de
much more precious [than] gold of perishing through fire yet
dokimazomenou eureqh eiV epainon kai doxan kai timhn en
being proved, may be found to praise and glory and honour at
apokaluyei Ihsou Cristou?
[the] revelation of Jesus Christ.
Literal Translation of Greek Text
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Authorized (King James) Version (1611)
In which you shall greatly rejoice, now if need be for a little time to be made sorrowful in diverse temptations: That the trial of your faith, which is more precious than gold, (which is tried by the fire,) may be found unto praise, and glory, and honour, at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Rheims / Challoner New Testament (revised 1772)
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, ye have been put to grief in manifold trials, that the proof of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ:
American Standard Version (1901)
At the thought of this you are full of exultation, though now (if it has been necessary) you have suffered for a time from various trials. And you have suffered thus in order that the genuineness of your faith—a thing far more precious than gold, which is perishable, but yet has to be tested by fire—may bring you praise and glory and honour at the Appearing of Jesus Christ.
The Twentieth Century New Testament (1902)
Rejoice triumphantly in the prospect of this, even if now, for a short time, you are compelled to sorrow amid various trials. The sorrow comes in order that the testing of your faith—being more precious than that of gold, which perishes and yet is proved by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the re-appearing of Jesus Christ.
Weymouth - The New Testament In Modern Speech (1903)
On which account you should be exceedingly glad; although now, if need be, for a short space of time you are grieved by numerous trials: so that the testing of your faith, far more precious than gold which perishes, although tested by fire, may be found in fame, honour and distinction at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Fenton - The New Testament In Modern English (1905)
Rejoice over this, although just now perhaps distressed by various trials; they are to show that your faith when tested is found to be more precious than gold, which though it is perishable is tested with fire, and they will bring you praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Goodspeed - The New Testament: An American Translation (1923)
You will rejoice then, though for the passing moment you may need to suffer various trials; that is only to prove your faith is sterling (far more precious than gold which is perishable and yet is tested by fire), and it redounds to your praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ
Moffatt Translation of the Bible (1935)
You have cause for great joy in this, though it may have been necessary for you to be troubled for a little time, being tested in all sorts of ways, So that the true metal of your faith, being of much greater price than gold (which though it comes to an end, is tested by fire), may come to light in praise and glory and honour, at the revelation of Jesus Christ:
New Testament In Basic English (1941)
The joy of this expectation is sufficient to make you forget the various nature of your present trials, which are really intended to assay your faith. When it has been thus tried you will find a genuine residuum, worth far more than gold (for gold perishes in the long run, even though it has been refined in the fire). Then its worth will be recognized with praise and honour and glory at the full revelation of Jesus Christ.
Wand - The New Testament Letters (1944)
Then you will be triumphant. What if you have trials of many sorts to sadden your hearts in this brief interval? That must needs happen, so that you may give proof of your faith, a much more precious thing than the gold we test by fire; proof which will bring you praise, and glory, and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Knox - The New Testament In English (1945)
In all this you rejoice, even though for a little time, if it is necessary, you are pained by troubles of many kinds, that the true metal of your faith may be found to be much more precious than gold (which, though it can be destroyed, yet is tested by fire), and this for your praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Williams - The New Testament In Plain English (1952)
[You should] be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations. So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Annointed One, is revealed.
The Amplified New Testament (1958)
Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honour on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Good News Bible (1966)
You must rejoice in all this, even if at the moment you are involved in a situation in which you are bound to be distressed by all kinds of troubles. Even gold which has stood the test of the refiner’s fire perishes in the end. But the purpose of all this is that you should emerge with a tried and tested faith, which is more valuable than gold, for such a faith will find praise and glory and honour, when Jesus Christ dawns upon the world again.
Barclay - The New Testament: A New Translation (1969)
You rejoice in this, although now for a little while, if it must be, you are distressed by various trials, so that the testing of your faith, far more precious than perishable gold that is tested by fire, may be prove to be for praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Verkuyl - New Berkeley Version (1969)
This is cause for great joy, even though now you smart for a little while, if need be, under trials of many kinds. Even gold passes through the assayer’s fire, and more precious than perishable gold is faith which has stood the test. These trials come so that your faith may prove itself worthy of all praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
New English Bible (1970)
There is cause for rejoicing here. You may for a time have to suffer the distress of many trials: but this is so that your faith, which is more precious than the passing splendor of fire-tried gold, may by its genuineness lead to praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ appears.
New American Bible (1970)
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
New American Standard Bible (1971)
This means tremendous joy to you, even though at present you may be temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials. This is no accident—it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold, and gold, as you know, even though it is ultimately perishable, must be purified by fire. This proving of your faith is planned to result in praise and glory and honour in the day when Jesus Christ reveals himself.
Phillips - The New Testament In Modern English (1972)
Here is cause for rejoicing, even if for a little while you have had to suffer the distress of many kinds of trial. There is a purpose in this. It is to show that your faith is genuine. Gold perishes, even though it has been through the refiner’s fire. When your faith has been proved, it is of much greater value than that, for it will bring you praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Translator’s New Testament (1973)
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith of—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
New International Version (1979)
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 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, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
Revised Authorised Version / New King James Version (1982)
This is a great joy to you, even though for a short time yet you must bear all sorts of trials; so that the worth of your faith, more valuable than gold, which is perishable even if it has been tested by fire, may be proved—to your praise and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
Rejoice because of this, even if you now have to suffer various trials for a short time, so that the genuine nature of your faith—which is more precious than gold which can be destroyed even though it has been refined by fire—may be found in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Andy’s Personal Version (1987)
In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being much more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
New Revised Standard Version (1989)
This makes you very happy, even though now for a short time different kinds of troubles make you sad. These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold, which can be proved to be pure by fire but will ruin. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is shown to you.
New Century Version (1993)
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
The Message (1995)
You are extremely happy about these things, even though you have to suffer different kinds of trouble for a little while now. The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is. Your faith is more precious than gold, and by passing the test, it gives praise, glory, and honor to God. This will happen when Jesus Christ appears again.
God’s Word (1995)
On that day you will be glad, even when you have to go through many hard trials for a while. Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honour and glory when Jesus Christ returns.
Contemporary English Version (1995)
So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
New Living Translation (1996)
Rejoice in this, even though for a little while you may have to experience grief in various trials. Even gold is tested for genuineness by fire. The purpose of these trials is so that your trust’s genuineness, which is far more valuable than perishable gold, will be judged worthy of praise, glory and honur at the revealing of the Yeshua the Messiah
Complete Jewish Bible (1998)
How much is that?
Luke 10:35
And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence and gave them to the host
Authorized Version
The next day he took out four shillings and gave it to the inn-keeper
Twentieth Century New Testament
The next day he took out a dollar and gave it to the innkeeper.
Goodspeed - An American Translation
The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the inn-keeper.
New International Version
Luke 7:41
There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
Authorized Version
There were two people in debt to a money-lender; one owed fifty pounds, and the other five.
Twentieth Century New Testament
Two men were in debt to a money-lender. One owed him a hundred dollars and the other ten.
Goodspeed - An American Translation
Two men owed money to a certain money-lender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
New International Version
Luke 19:16
Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
Authorized Version
The first came up and said, ‘Sir, your ten pounds have earned a hundred.’
Twentieth Century New Testament
The first one came in and said, ‘Your twenty dollars has made two hundred, sir!’
Goodspeed - An American Translation
The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
New International Version
The Twentieth Century New Testament was the first to acknowledge inflation, so whereas the AV had workers being paid a penny for a days work, in the TCNT they were paid two shillings. Edgar Goodspeed took the same approach for American readers, and used American currency (his workers were paid a dollar a day). Whilst this approach helps people understand how much was involved, it also dates quickly as inflation continues to rise. Most modern translations avoid the issue by literally translating the name of the original currency (denarius, mina etc.), and then put in a footnote explaining how much it was worth, or else they will use an expression such as “fair days wage”, or “silver coin” and leave it up to the reader to establish the value.
Who is the passage addressed to?
Many passages in the Bible appear to exclude half of the human race. Does God ignore women, or is it sometimes how previous translators had interpreted the Greek? The Greek word for a person or a human being is often translated “man”, when it applies equally to men or women. On the other hand Paul does specifically say “brothers” - but does he only mean men, or are women included as honorary brothers! Some modern translations are careful to avoid sexism, and will often add extra words to make them inclusive (with the original meaning of the Greek noted in the footnotes)
Luke 2:14
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.
New International Version
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!
New Revised Standard Version
Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God
Contemporary English Version
Romans 8:29
That he might be the firstborn among many brothers
New International Version
In order that he might be the firstborn within a large family
New Revised Standard Version
So that his Son would be the first of many children
Contemporary English Version
Romans 9:3
For the sake of my brothers
New International Version
For the sake of my own people
New Revised Standard Version
1 Corinthians 7:12
To the rest I say this ... if any brother has a wife who is not a believer
New International Version
To the rest I say ... that if any believer has a wife who is an unbeliever
New Revised Standard Version
1 Corinthians 12:1
Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant
New International Version
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.
New Revised Standard Version
My friends, you asked me about spiritual gifts
Contemporary English Version
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm
New International Version
Therefore my beloved, be steadfast
New Revised Standard Version
So then, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and steady
Good News Bible (2nd edition)
My dear friends, stand firm and don’t be shaken
Contemporary English Version
Where did that come from?
Occasionally a translation will come up with an interpretation of a verse which seems almost inexplicable, and which bears little relation to how other translators have conveyed its meaning.
Judges 1:14
As she sat on the ass, she broke wind, and Caleb said, ‘What did you mean by that?’
New English Bible
1 Samuel 1:16
I was pouring my heart out to the Lord. Please don’t think that I am just some drunken bum!
Taylor - The Living Bible
1 Peter 3:19
It was in the Spirit that Enoch also went and preached to the imprisoned spirits
The Moffatt Translation Of The Bible
Andy Williamson February 2002