Which translation of the Bible do you use and why? Why King James? Why not King James? How do you decide which translation/version of the Bible or other holy scriptures to use?

Special note to our non-Christian panelists: Tell us about the role that translation and/or transliteration of holy scriptures plays in your faith.

For Muslims, the Quran is always in Arabic. There is no concept of the Quran being in any other language. Since Muslims believe the Quran to be the Divine Speech of God, spoken to the Prophet, they have historically (and theologically) restricted its recitation to the language that it was revealed in. Therefore, all Muslims the world over, Arab and non-Arab, learn how to recite and memorize the Quran in
its original Arabic. There is an entire science dedicated to teaching non-Arabs (and these days, even many Arabs!) how to read and properly enunciate the Quran.

I myself, coming from a non-Arab family, was taught the Arabic alphabet before any other, and learned to read the Quran in its original even before I could read English. As I grew older, I began memorizing portions, and eventually successfully memorized the Quran in its entirety (a feat that is not uncommon amongst religious families), in a language that I could not speak or understand. It was only later, during my studies at the University of Madinah, where I studied the classical language and began to appreciate the power and language of the original Arabic. (I would suggest to the reader to listen to recitations of the Quran that are available online to get a sense of the rhythm and melody of the recitation).

Of course, people have written translations and commentaries of the Quran since the earliest eras of Islam. However, these translations are never accorded any sacred status – they are only used, outside of
prayer, to understand the text, and not as a substitution of the text. For Muslims, the Quran cannot be translated. Any translation is merely a human’s attempt to translate the meanings into another language, and hence is never equated with the Quran itself.

There are many translations of the Quran into Western languages. The first translation into Latin was done in 1143, during the height of the Crusades, and in order to ‘expose the heresies’ of the Muslims.
Three and a half centuries later, Martin Luther himself read this translation and had it re-printed in Basle, Switzerland. In English, the first complete translation was completed in 1649, but it was a
rather poor translation as it was done, not from the Arabic original, but from a French translation. Eventually, George Sale completed a translation in 1734, and this was to remain the standard translation
for the next two centuries, despite its many flaws.

To date, there are over forty translations in the English language – which one is the ‘best’ is a matter of personal preference. The two that I would recommend are: The Quran (translated by Saheeh
International), and The Quran (translated by M. A. Abdul Haleem). Both can be found online.

Which translation of the Bible do you use and why? Why King James? Why not King James? How do you decide which translation/version of the Bible or other holy scriptures to use?

For the Old Testament, the Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Septuagint translation (200 BC) while for the New Testament, it still uses the original Greek text. However, the message of the Gospel is so powerful that it comes across in every language, in every dialect.

For English the Church uses the Orthodox Study Bible while embracing the King James Version which, according to Robert Payne, as stated in his book, The Holy Fire: the Story of the Fathers of the Eastern Church, in referring to Greek, states, “this beautiful language of immense vigor and sweetness was the perfect vehicle for the Christian message; while the King James Version retains to an extraordinary degree the original rhythms of the Greek text. The Fathers of the early Church never forgot they were speaking in a language that ripples like water and flashes like dancing flames…”

Personally, I feel comfortable embracing the NEW King James Version which, for instance, as in 1 Cor. 13 substitutes the word “charity” with the more accurate word, “love” – to mention one of several small changes.

Of course, it is enjoyable, might even say, it is “fun” being able to read/study the New Testament in the original Greek text and sharing it with my Adult Greek Class students. But I like to stress to my students that you don’t have to know Greek because the message of the Gospel is so powerful that it comes across in every language, in every dialect.

Which translation of the Bible do you use and why? Why King James? Why not King James? How do you decide which translation/version of the Bible or other holy scriptures to use?

Every translation of the Bible has its strengths and its weaknesses. The King James Version is no exception. No other translation can match the beauty and power of its prose. Advances in our knowledge of ancient Greek and Hebrew as well as the discovery of more ancient manuscripts have led scholars to identify passages that are not as close to the meaning intended by the original authors as one finds in more recent translations. And while the KJV is generally a very reliable translation, the simple—some would say unfortunate—fact is that King James English is not really a language that most English speakers can any longer read and understand very well.

Until relatively recently, the King James Version was the more or less “official” translation for most of the English-speaking world, and its impact on language and literature was without equal. To memorize scripture was to memorize the King James Version. Dozens of different translations are now in wide use. Two unintended effects of this proliferation of English translations of the Bible in the twentieth century are the loss of a shared idiom among the general public and a diminished capacity to quote the Bible among those familiar with multiple versions.

Which translation of the Bible do you use and why? Why King James? Why not King James? How do you decide which translation/version of the Bible or other holy scriptures to use?

All translations are interpretations and not always true to the original Hebrew, including the King James Bible. For instance, why did the KJV correctly translate the Hebrew word ka’ari in Isaiah 38:13 as “like a lion” yet incorrectly translate this same word as “pierced” in Psalm 22:16? Probably because Church Fathers have always cherished Psalm 22 as a chapter they saw as foretelling in vivid detail the agony of the Passion and the script for Jesus’ crucifixion. There are also the changing of past verb tenses to future tenses not only in the King James translation but also in the New International Version, Living Bible, and Modern Reader’s Bible – all of whom are intent on projecting a New Testament understanding of Jesus back into the Hebrew Bible.

The translation of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible that is truest to the original word is the Jewish Publication Society’s Hebrew-English translation. Readers will be stunned to learn that 400 of the original words of Scripture are hapax legomena, which means they occur only once in Scripture with no other context to compare them. Since there are no vowels in the Hebrew scrolls, the meaning of the original Hebrew for these words is uncertain. Bottom line: it is forbidden in Judaism to read the original words of Scripture without a commentary to elucidate what the original words of the Hebrew Bible have meant for over 3,000 years.