Which Bible translation is a
true translation from the original manuscripts?

Which Bible translation is a
true translation from the original manuscripts?

Q. What current English Bible translation is a true translation from the original manuscripts?

(Submitted by: R. W.)

A. I have studied this issue for many of my twenty years in the church and so have just about all Bible Scholars. Some will worship the use of the King James Version but we must remember that English is merely a translation not the original text.

There are two present sets of original manuscripts available for these translators to use. One is the Received Text which comes from the Byzantine era which was at that time more closely associated to the true apostolic fathers who were the eye witnesses to Jesus life, death and resurrection. The Western church took up the heresies of the Gnostic and other doctrines that were not held as canon by the Apostles and Paul.

The other text that seems to be a favorite for the ones who would like to change or twist the translation to mean what they want it to mean are using the Vaticanus or Siniaticus. This text was considered by Middle Age scholars to be not only spurious but in error and was discarded as credible. From what I have read this manuscript had been on the shelf at the Vatican library for some many years untouched because they realized the monk's errors. Because it was not used and was found older than the most recent copies of the Received Text, modern translators (who are perverting the truth by using it) thought it was a better one to use. I tend to steer away from any of the translations which use this text rather than the Received Text. A good book to read to help you understand the intricacies of what God was allowing to happen to the church from the first to the present century can be found in Alan Knight's book Primitive Christianity. (Read IIThessalonians for the prophecy of this time when deception will be the rule rather than truth.)

The early British church was started not by Rome but by some of the Apostles who were sent to the lost tribes in their dispersion. It used an English translation from the original Italia manuscripts but these are very rare today. I have not seen a copy of this version and it is not likely one will as with all of the material from that era was destroyed and discredited by their enemies. (I have several books that tell the story of the early Culdee Church that flourished in England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland as well as Northern Europe until Rome stamped them out during the Inquisition.)

It is a difficult study but with the help of Strong's or Young's Concordance and some basic understanding of the way Greek and Hebrew was used we can all arrive at the correct meaning of the words of Scripture. And of course the inspiration of the Holy Spirit if one asks for God's help will make it even more clear as we mature.

My husband and I had been using the New American Standard but when the knowledge of these deceptions were know we went back to the King James and likely the NKJV (NEW King James Version) is the better one to understand. I do not know where you are in your walk with God but as a new learner who needs to understand the concepts in a basic way I would use a good paraphrase such as The Good News.

If you are a more mature Christian and you prefer to compare texts by all means do so, but just remember translators take a lot of license as some idiomatic and figurative phrases do not readily translate out into the English language well. We have been listening to Mordakhai Joseph (whose lessons are available at www.teachingthelaw.org) to understand the Hebrew meanings and we have been listening to Fred Coulter at www.cbcg.org for his understanding of the Greek language. Fred is preparing a version of the New Testament to be published soon. He used the Received Text and is trying to make the translation as accurate as is possible at this time.

The majority of the newer versions have stopped using the received text and are using the Vaticanus that has many errors in its translation as I mentioned above so I would be very careful in selecting my new Bible. Not only are ministers preaching unscripturally but the Scriptures are being corrupted as well. We must be very aware of this and use our ability to discern truth from lies carefully.

Answer Given By: Charlotte Grantham