Bible Translation Differences

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

That’s a great question. I need to warn everyone… hold onto your hats. This answer could be lengthy.

Our question was actually 3-in-1 this week: Why are there different wordings used across different versions of the Bible? What is the purpose? Is one version more Biblical than the other?

Primarily, the differences come down to a few things:

1. Different types, or sets, of manuscripts used in the translation process
2. The translation technique of the translators

   1. There are different “types” of manuscripts that the Bible came from. The Old Testament is generally translated from the Masoretic Text and/or the Dead Sea Scrolls. The KJV Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Text, while most modern translations (NASB, ESV, NIV) are translated from the Dead Sea Scrolls (NKJV uses both).
      
      In the New Testament manuscript world, there are two main types of manuscripts translators use: the Byzantine text and the Alexandrian text. The KJV uses the Textus Receptus (which came from the Byzantine text) for its New Testament. Most modern translations are translated from the Alexandrian text.
      
      As you can tell, there are different sets, or families of manuscripts for both the Old Testament and the New Testament. If your Bible was translated from the Textus Receptus (KJV, NKJV), it will be a little different than someone else’s Bible that was translated from the Alexandrian text (NASB, ESV, NIV). Naturally, since manuscripts were copied by hand back then, they have some differences with each other in some places. These differences between the manuscripts are what scholars call textual variants. By the way, in case anyone is wondering, these variants only make up 1% of the entire Bible, most of which have no bearing on the meaning of the text or doctrine at all.

In the case of Revelation 13:18, as also asked about, the vast, vast majority of manuscripts on both sides (Byzantine text and Alexandrian text) read 666. There have only been a handful throughout history that have read 616. A 2nd century scholar, Irenaeus, very close to the action, wrote that he believed that the manuscripts reading 616 were not authentic and simply incorrect. For me, it seems like the most reasonable explanation for that is a “slip of the pen” from a scribe. In Greek, the difference between 666 and 616 is minuscule. It would be very easy for a scribe to accidentally slip in a 1 when it was supposed to be a 6. That isn’t a problem, however, because we have numerous other manuscripts that tell us what the verse was supposed to say. It is easy to reconstruct the verse based on the other fragments. Scribes were extremely meticulous, detailed, and skilled. Of the many manuscripts that we have of this passage, the ones that read 616 for the mark of the beast are very, very few. Translators know that, so all Bible translations that I know of read 666 in Revelation 13:18.

2. Some other differences within Bible translations come down to the technique the translators used when translating. Some Bibles are more of literal, word-for-word translations. Others are more thought-for-thought translations. Still others are paraphrases. The more literal translations are called formal equivalence, while the thought-for-thought are called dynamic equivalence. After that, we have paraphrases.

Formal equivalences, or literal translations (NASB, KJV, ESV, NKJV), get as close as possible to the original Greek or Hebrew. Because of that, they are a little wooden and rigid at times, so they can be a little difficult to understand. Dynamic equivalences (NIV, CSB, NET) back off from that a little and try to convey the meaning of each verse. They are thought-for-thought, so they flow better when reading. However, many of them still have a nice element of word-for-word in them so they stay honest to the original text.

I’m okay with any Christian daily studying any legitimate Bible translation. Obviously, a word-for-word translation and a thought-for-thought translation are going to word things differently. Translating something with one word is going to sound different than if offering a meaning.

What is written above are the primary reasons why Bible translations vary a little. It's not necessarily that one is more Biblical than another, it’s just that the process is a little different. In any case, I hope we never let those small variations between Bibles pull us away from God. Let’s keep spending time with Him and studying our Bibles, whether they are word-for-word, thought-for-thought, and no matter which family of manuscripts they come from. It’s worth noting again that none of the small differences have any effect on the meaning of the text or God’s message. He gave us exactly the word He meant to give us. 

Matthew 24:35