WHICH BIBLE TRANSLATION CAN YOU TRUST? by Bob Lyle We receive many inquiries at CRI concerning the inerrancy of the Bible -- especially in regard to the reliability of various English translations. Which Bible, we are asked, is inerrant (or _without error_)? The King James Version (KJV)? The Revised Standard Version (RSV)? The New American Standard Bible (NASB)? The New International Version (NIV)? Or some other translation? To answer this question, let us consider the following points. First, no single English Bible is "inerrant" in the technical strictest sense of the term. The various English versions are simply _translations_ of manuscript _copies_ of the _original_ inerrant documents that were penned by the biblical writers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The original texts penned by the biblical writers in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek -- which we call "the original autographs" -- are the _only_ documents that are absolutely "inerrant." The problem is, we don't have the original autographs (all of which were written prior to the second century A.D.). All we have are manuscript _copies_ (also written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) of the original autographs. And every translation since that time (English or otherwise) has relied on the particular manuscript _copies_ that were available at the time the translators did their work. Now, here's an important point: the manuscript copies that were available at the time the KJV was translated in A.D. 1611 have been dated as originating in the tenth century A.D. and later. Since the publication of the KJV, whole manuscript copies that date back to the _fourth_ century, and partial manuscript copies dating back to the early _second_ century, have been discovered. Since there copies are closer to the time the original autographs were written, most scholars believe they are more accurate than those used in translating the KJV (though, for the most part, differences between the two sets of manuscript copies are inconsequential). Second, no Bible claims to be _the_ inerrant English translation. A quick reading through any Bible will indicate that variant readings are offered in many verses where the translators were unsure of the original rendering. In the KJV, for example, questionable words and phrases were placed in italics. Simply put, there were verses in which the King James translators were unsure (by their own admission) of the correct rendering. It is therefore absurd to claim that the KJV is "the only Bible sanctioned by God." If the KJV is the only inspired, inerrant version of the Bible from God to man, then what was the inspired, inerrant Bible before the KJV was published in 1611? Third, despite the above, we need to stress that _no essential doctrine of the faith is compromised or denied in any of the standard translations_ -- including the KJV. All of the versions maintain high integrity with respect to the Greek text on which they are based. All of the translations uphold the deity of Christ, the Trinity, the bodily resurrection, salvation by grace through faith, and the vicarious atonement of Christ. Fourth, we must emphasize that the various manuscript copies are not in great opposition to one another. In over 90 percent of the New Testament, for example, manuscript readings are practically identical, _word for word._ Of the remaining ten percent, _most_ textual differences are irrelevant -- such as differences in punctuation, minor misspellings, switched words ("Christ Jesus" instead of "Jesus Christ"), and so forth. Fifth, in view of the above, we can rest assured that the Greek and Hebrew manuscript copies we possess today are _essentially_ the text that was originally penned by the biblical authors. Even though we do not have the original autographs, we do have enough manuscripts (over 5,000 Greek manuscripts alone) that -- by comparing them to each other -- we can be reasonably sure of what the original autographs said. Hence, we can be confident that our English translations are reliable and accurate versions of the inerrant Word of God. We realize this is a sensitive subject with many people. It can easily be perceived that one is denying the authority and inspiration of the Bible when making these important distinctions. We must be careful, however, to state the facts clearly. Which translation is the best? There are many good English translations available today. In order to study the Scriptures without the benefit of knowing Greek and Hebrew, perhaps it is best to use two or three English Bibles together -- such as the KJV, the NASB, and the NIV. CRI does _not_ advocate ridding the pews of KJVs, nor do we suggest that _any one translation_ should be used to the exclusion of all others. Again, no Christian will be led into doctrinal error by using _any_ of the English translations mentioned above. And, although the KJV is probably based on slightly inferior manuscripts, no doctrine of the Christian faith nor Christian practice is compromised in it. Contact CRI for more information. Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute. Reprinted with permission.