Bible Translations: Old & New February 24, 2014 ISSUE

Study that leads to healing

Kathryn Knox

As a student of English and linguistics, of course I love poetry, parallel structure, obscure words, and historic diction. Even so, for me, the best Bible translation is the one that best illuminates the meaning of a passage and is not obscure or difficult to understand—such as the phrase, “The smoking flax shall he not quench” (Isaiah 42:3 ). Huh?

Translation goes on continually to translate the language of Spirit into understandable language. In the book The King James Bible: A Short History from Tyndale to Today author David Norton, a professor at Victoria University, notes that the translators of the King James Version of the Bible thought of themselves as revisers, not as creators of a new translation. Their work was to revise the official Bible of the Church of England, the Bishop’s Bible of 1568—which was a revision of the Great Bible (1539, revised 1540).

Sometimes I like to read other translations because they give me an expanded view of an idea through different phrases. I can almost hear our Master, Christ Jesus, talking to a crowd directly in the common language: “Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer” (Luke 6:27–30, The Message).

Of course, reading the Bible isn’t a literary exercise for a praying Christian. Rather, it’s a regular interaction with the Word of God that goes beyond any print on the page. Reading the Bible should impel one beyond appreciation and meditation to action and healing.

About the author

Kathryn Knox lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

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Bible Translations: Old & New
My favorite translation
February 24, 2014
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