Here is your bible, how would you like it? I have it in 38 english flavors, each one a little different and if you read the right version you can get it to say what you want it to say. We can translate it to say just close enough to what works for us, but how do we know it's the right meaning? I used to stick to just one version, I was a NJKV or an NIV girl because that is the way I was raised, I don't remember having all these translations.
This Christmas buying Bibles for my children I found that they had so many different versions and it was nearly impossible to locate NIV bibles for my children. They now have the NLT version bibles which is nice because it helps them to understand it. At the same time, I grew up reading from NKJV and sometimes even KJV. I can't say that I'm smart because of reading that version of the bible but I have to say it helped me grow, because if you didn't understand something you had to look it up, they weren't afraid to use big words.
It could be because of my love of language that I prefer reading books that use words to it's advantage. It's not about an excessive use of words but the description of the words. As I write this I have my You Version Bible next to me, able to switch quickly from one version to another, and I see this. In this passage Abraham is promising not to take anything from the king of Sodom.
Genesis 14:22 Abraham replied to the king of Sodom, "I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth" NLT.
Genesis 14:22 And Abraham said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto to the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth. KJV.
The difference is staggering, the meaning can be taken completely differently. We know that God created the world and the NLT version says, however the KJV brings it a step further, God is the possessor of the earth. Abraham didn't need anything from the king because God possesses it all. This verse was just one I randomly pulled out of the bible, there are so many more because each version is different. It's not that the version is wrong, because we know God is the creator of heaven and earth, but I think in an effort to be easy to read we lose the awe, the wonder of God that is so clearly written across the pages.
ויאמר אברם אל מלך סדם הרימתי ידי אל יהוה אל עליון קנה שמים וארץ׃
In the original Hebrew it says God possessor of heaven and earth. "The most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth." He holds it in His hands, it belongs to Him, not to us.
There are often things that are lost in translation, because of the American form of English has come so far to simplify things. As I was reading 6 different versions of 1 verse and each time getting a slightly different perspective or wording from it I wanted something more. Hence my journey begins to learn Greek and Hebrew, the original languages of the bible. As a lover of language I know words carry much power. My heart bursts with anticipation of reading the words from God in it's original form.
"Genesis 14:22." NLT Study Bible. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2008. N. pag. Print.
"Genesis 14:22." Bible. Vol. KJV. UK: Crown Copyright, n.d. N. pag. Print.
"Genesis 14:22 Hebrew Texts and Analysis." Genesis 14:22 Hebrew Texts and Analysis. Biblos.com, 2004. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
This Christmas buying Bibles for my children I found that they had so many different versions and it was nearly impossible to locate NIV bibles for my children. They now have the NLT version bibles which is nice because it helps them to understand it. At the same time, I grew up reading from NKJV and sometimes even KJV. I can't say that I'm smart because of reading that version of the bible but I have to say it helped me grow, because if you didn't understand something you had to look it up, they weren't afraid to use big words.
It could be because of my love of language that I prefer reading books that use words to it's advantage. It's not about an excessive use of words but the description of the words. As I write this I have my You Version Bible next to me, able to switch quickly from one version to another, and I see this. In this passage Abraham is promising not to take anything from the king of Sodom.
Genesis 14:22 Abraham replied to the king of Sodom, "I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth" NLT.
Genesis 14:22 And Abraham said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto to the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth. KJV.
The difference is staggering, the meaning can be taken completely differently. We know that God created the world and the NLT version says, however the KJV brings it a step further, God is the possessor of the earth. Abraham didn't need anything from the king because God possesses it all. This verse was just one I randomly pulled out of the bible, there are so many more because each version is different. It's not that the version is wrong, because we know God is the creator of heaven and earth, but I think in an effort to be easy to read we lose the awe, the wonder of God that is so clearly written across the pages.
ויאמר אברם אל מלך סדם הרימתי ידי אל יהוה אל עליון קנה שמים וארץ׃
In the original Hebrew it says God possessor of heaven and earth. "The most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth." He holds it in His hands, it belongs to Him, not to us.
There are often things that are lost in translation, because of the American form of English has come so far to simplify things. As I was reading 6 different versions of 1 verse and each time getting a slightly different perspective or wording from it I wanted something more. Hence my journey begins to learn Greek and Hebrew, the original languages of the bible. As a lover of language I know words carry much power. My heart bursts with anticipation of reading the words from God in it's original form.
"Genesis 14:22." NLT Study Bible. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2008. N. pag. Print.
"Genesis 14:22." Bible. Vol. KJV. UK: Crown Copyright, n.d. N. pag. Print.
"Genesis 14:22 Hebrew Texts and Analysis." Genesis 14:22 Hebrew Texts and Analysis. Biblos.com, 2004. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
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