Comments on: Loosening the iron grip of the King James Version of the Bible?

By: Not a Cougar

Not a Cougar — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 00:23:41 +0000

David, I tend to think that she understood the trouble involved with it and would admit as much if asked about it. Just as Elder Oaks would admit that the Lord doesn’t always protect his missionaries from harm (citing to his address last fall). I also think the incentive to focus on a verse of scripture that talks about women was so great to her that she was willing to put up with the translation problems. We’re still very much an American-centric church.

By: David Tayman III (@dltayman)

David Tayman III (@dltayman) — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 13:36:20 +0000

And a followup? Yesterday in GD, the question was asked to the class why we use the KJV. I answered, “Mainly? Tradition.” And the teacher just about had a heart attack.

By: David Tayman III (@dltayman)

David Tayman III (@dltayman) — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 20:08:02 +0000

So I saw this, and suddenly thought about the ‘Certain Women’ talk from the Women’s Session, riffing on an alternate meaning of the KJV ‘certain’ clearly not intended. I wondered how this talk was handled in translation, and saw in Spanish, when the prooftext was quoted, they had to literally change the verse from ‘y algunas mujeres’ (some women) being replaced by “y [ciertas] mujeres…” .

I see that she added a footnote to her text noting, “In English the word certain has a second meaning of “a selection of” or “a variety of.” But it is the meaning of assurance, confidence, and faithfulness that I most wish to emphasize today.” – That footnote is so weird in non-English editions, especially since for her talk to work, the quoted scripture has to be literally changed to a completely different word in those languages.

Is it that’s she’s not aware that just because there are different ways to interpret that English word,that the same ambiguity really doesn’t really exist in the source text, or in likely most translations being used in the world?

By: Aaron K.

Aaron K. — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 13:59:45 +0000

Many years ago I attended a singles ward in California for a summer. The Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday School was very relaxed and we used three different bibles in that class, often comparing verses. One version was KJV, the second was NIV, but I don’t remember the third. It doesn’t matter. I thought it was a wonderful way to study the gospel. I prefer the language of the KJV which is extraordinary, but I think insights can be gained from reading other translations that cannot be obtained from reading KJV alone.

By: sjames

sjames — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 03:35:54 +0000

For those of us whose English spelling system has not been (fully) Americanised, the KJV is a welcomed text. Frequency counts of words and phrases across the standard works, is, however, interrupted with the need to use both spellings as in labour/labor. Perhaps the Gospel Library App people could create some collocations where this occurs.

By: Ben S

Ben S — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 23:25:15 +0000

Nice catch, Eric.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:36:55 +0000

It's worth noting here that one our newest apostles, Elder Renlund, said in a recent Facebook posts that he studies non-KJV Bible translations: https://www.facebook.com/DaleGRenlund/posts/1846593732284134?comment_id=1846594438950730

By: Sheldon

Sheldon — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 19:31:29 +0000

I use and like Lumina on my iPhone for the NET. Its free, which means that if you don’t like it all you have lost is time.

By: Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 18:39:25 +0000

Joel, thanks for the input. Does anyone recommend a good NET Bible app? I’d rather not plop down $10 after $10 before I find one I like.

By: joelmartin

joelmartin — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 02:26:57 +0000

#26
“One thing I don’t know and would love to know is how different Christian denominations handle this same question. Is it mainly on a congregation-by-congregation basis or do most denominations declare a preferred translation? Or is there little uniformity from household to household?”

Denominations generally do not declare a preferred translation, although they do exist informally. Catholics have official translations, but that doesn’t mean they have to use them. Many Reformed denominations have gravitated to the ESV since its introduction. Anglicans use the Book of Common Prayer, which is tied to a lot of the language of the KJV, but in the last century the RSV was probably preferred by Anglicans. With that said, none of these translations are decreed to be official.

By: Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 14:03:00 +0000

Darn you guys for getting me fired up to read the Bible! I spent the whole evening reading the two linked BYU articles and testing out Bible apps (couldn’t stand the Faithlife Bible app’s split screen because I couldn’t get the bottom screen to load anything), but the NET Bible website it really cool, and it’s actually fun to take 20 minutes to read ten words. Thanks for all the resources.

By: Ben S

Ben S — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:50:26 +0000

Thanks JMS. Not sure how I missed that when writing my piece. We cover a lot of the same territory.

By: JMS

JMS — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:03:43 +0000

Another relevant BYU article is this: https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/king-james-bible-and-restoration/14-modern-english-bible-translations

By: Northern Virginia

Northern Virginia — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 17:08:11 +0000

Ben, gracias mi amigo for the link. Great article.

By: Terry H

Terry H — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 16:31:49 +0000

It should be noted that the BYU Studies New Testament Commentary (3 volumes released so far with more to come–Hi Julie, no pressure :) ) uses the KJV, but then has what’s called a “New Rendition” for the Greek. As scholarship gets stronger, we’ll have to deal with the Bible issues. I agree with Ben S. Jewish Study Bible is excellent for OT/HB and the HarperCollins Study Bible is good for the total. The Annotated Jewish New Testament has an interesting slant (and there’s a 2d Edition in the works).