Which Bible Should I Give My Kid?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Answering a friend's question.
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Solid advice. As a father of three young women, I lament that I couldn’t get them to take much interest in reading the Bible when they were growing up. Just getting our youth involved in reading, no matter which translation is chosen, goes a long way in today’s society. The old saying, “90% of getting the job is showing up” rings true.
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Have decided to get our three oldest, ages 10, 8, and 6, the CSB Explorer Bible. And with that focus our family’s Bibles, scripture memory, and devotions, around that translation. Seems like the best translation that can be understood by kids, yet still deep enough for adults to study. But the LSB will continue to be my personal favorite.
Awesome!
Our boys are 10 and 7. We started them off young using the International Children’s Bible (Thomas Nelson). I prefer the NKJV, and teach and preach from it, my wife prefers the ESV. When it came time to get them their own Bibles, we opted for an “Adventure Bible” in the NKJV. I had one as a child and remember it fondly. My oldest, who is special needs, will often say during devotions, “Dad, did you know….” and then read me a note from his “Adventure Bible.” I love this, because he feels he can add to our devotion time and participate.
This is a topic that deserves more attention in churches. There is so much wisdom here!
As a former KJVO, I gave my children KJV translations for their first Bibles. Even years after abandoning KJVO teaching, they still had KJVs as their own Bibles. Last Christmas, I bought NKJV Bibles for the kids (as I was planning to transition our church from KJV to NKJV in February). I expected a moderated response from them, but, to my surprise, my youngest (who it 10) was excited about it. He exclaimed, "Yes! Now I can understand my Bible!"
--As a homeschool family, we require the kids to do a devotional assignment every morning. My youngest had struggled mightily with them, but has found it much easier since the switch. He now finishes these assignments much faster than before.
--Thank-you for your ministry. These videos, as well as your book, have been most helpful to me.
Awesome!
This is the whole reason I do all this work; I'm overjoyed! I just want people to understand their Bibles better.
You going with the 1979, 1982 or 1984?
Zec 13:6
1982 “And someone will say to him. ‘What are these wounds in your hands?" Then he will answer. ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
1994 And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Will you be okay if further revisions are made?
Since the NKJV has the note on 1John5:9 "NU-Text and M-Text omit the words from in heaven (verse 7) through on earth (verse 8). Only four or five very late manuscripts contain these words in Greek." will you be moving your church to a critical text bible next?
@@casey1167 First of all, you're starting to cross the line into "jerk" territory by posting this reply to a person who's talking about their kids finally feeling like they understand the Bible by reading the NKJV. You yourself have admitted that your issues with that particular translation are minor compared to others, so please show some grace here. Otherwise, I'll begin to remove your comments as harrassment.
Second, the change in Zechariah 13.6 is insignificant. The point of the verse is that the former pagan prophets had cut themselves, but now they are ashamed to admit that they had engaged in idolatrous self-harm. Whether the Hebrew is best understood as meaning that the injuries are "in" their hands or "between" them is moot.
Third, the Matthew Bible (1537) and Great Bible (1539) also mark 1 John 5.7 as questionable, placing it in parentheses and smaller type than the surrounding text. The KJV itself has a note in Luke 17.36 calling its authenticity into question. The presence of text-critical notes in the margin is a standard part of the English Bible tradition.
@@MAMoreno My point did not relate to kids, it related to a church. But I did not know you had the power to delete my comments so I will be nicer to you.
The point on Zec 13:6 is the NKJV is not as static as people would like to believe. The Biggest selling point for the NKJV is the idea is it static and not subject to countless revisions.
I gave my daughters the KJV when they were 5. They continue to use it. They are now 13. They are aware of other translations, and they know most of them are reliable.
That’s how I grew up!
@@markwardonwords No problem. But others favour other translations.
@@alanhowe7659 Including me!
That's great.
That’s pretty impressive!
I spend some times on Twitch streams (Christians who stream games or bible study or just chatting) A few times now someone who has learning disabilities will come in and say they feel badly that they have to use an NLT because they cannot understand and process the 'harder' to read translations. It makes me sad to think they think less of themselves and I and others always thankfully encourage them to just embrace the version that they are able to read and get to know God better. That God will bless them through this. I really like that you are not telling everyone that any one bible is the best or any one is the worst. I love reading from different translations. I was using the NLT a lot when I was under a lot of stress and couldn't manage to retain information easily. Lately I have been reading the ESV as I just found out about it on those Twitch streams. I am now looking for an NASB just to see the difference. Thanks for all the videos. Enjoy your content!
The NLT. It's very clear, understandable, readable, and comes in many sizes options colors styles etc..The NLT is far superior to the kjv.
Modern English translations often advertise their "Fog score" grade level, but I think that grossly overestimates how difficult some of these versions can be. Difficulty comes not just from long sentences, but stilted constructions and biblicisms that people who are used to the Bible don't notice. I teach high school sunday school, but I still use the NIrV and similar "children's bibles" with this age. Paraphrases like the Voice and the Message are good too (at least when accompanied with guidance), simply because they sound more normal and hence are easier for kids to read
It’s the curse of knowledge: it’s so hard to make yourself hear words as other people do. I used the NIrV in a weekly ministry to the functionally illiterate, and I loved it.
Your approach is absolutely the right one. Avoid all 'only-isms'. Choose the Bible best suited to the child; and maybe review the choice as the child grows. As long as the translation is reliable - there are some that are and some that aren't!
Last night a member of our youth group turned up carrying a teen version of the NLT - which I was thought was great. At the end of the evening, after our Bible Study time, I invited her to compare the passages we had been looking at in the NIV with those in her new Bible. We had already spotted that the word 'forsaken' (in Matthew 27:46/NIV) was translated 'abandoned' in the NLT - how illuminating, as the first thing in our Bible Study was to make sure everyone understood 'forsaken'! I rest my case!
So do we avoid Jesus as the only way to heaven? The answer obviously no! God is exclusive. He is exclusive with His word as well.
@@KJBTRUTH With respect, this is a specious argument. Please show me where the evangelical non-KJV versions deny the exclusivity of faith in Christ as the way to heaven. Answer: they all affirm John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 just as the KJV does.
Great Video Mark. My personal favourite translations are the ESV and the CBS. I purchased a NLT for my daughter as she was entering high school. I also just purchased the Message for my wife who feels that she has been understanding. I think choosing options which are going to help people get into the word for themselves is the key. I would only say NOT choosing the passion translation (althought that is a catergory mistake...the passion more a paraphrase with a particular theologigal with additions to the text).
I often read to my youngest daughter (2 yr old) from the ESV at night, along with kids Story Bibles...I alternate. Then I read other stories. It is a great joy to me to be able to read to my daughter. I'll take ut while I can.
Grace and peace,
Benny
@@markwardonwords i think this comment was for another person ????
Sure enough. Not sure happened!
What a great video. And what a surprise to have Mark Ward answer, "which is the right translation to. . . " So thoughtful, entertaining, educational and (checks notes, looks up word in dictionary) pragmatic.
My pleasure!
Another well balanced and godly piece of advice.
I bought my son an; now out of print, NIV Disciples Study Bible and my daughter, a NKJV Life Application Bible; then also a(n) NIV Thompsons.
They have ready access to a KJV, NASB (various editions) and an ESV.
We’re not perfect, but there isn’t any extreme indoctrination or liberalist complacency in our household.
I really like that CSB study bible. As far as study bibles go, that one does a very good job that isn't too basic or has a particular bent toward its purpose or systematic.
It's owned by the Southern Baptist Convention.... might have a bit of a bent.
@@casey1167 They definitely do with the Disciple Bible, but so far I haven't "noticed" anything in the study Bible.
@@ericsmith7287 I have not look at the CSB that much. I just always try to know who owns the copyright of a version so I can have some clue how it might be slanted. I think the SBC just wanted some control over a version, and they probably are tired of paying royalties when doing study Bibles.
The changes in words between the CSB2017 and the CSB2020 are more than the KJV1611-KJV1890, so the CSB might not be a real static text.
I'm KJVO, but I would think as far as modern versions go the CSB probably will not see as many revisions as other versions over the years so probably the best bet if you are Critical Text.
You're second point made a lot of since in my own life. You said, "We teach kids things we know they won't understand only when we expect they will remember those things and later come to understand them." Although my first Bible was in the NIrV (New International Reader's Version), the only things I really remember about it are the pictures scattered throughout. I was too young to be able to follow along with our preacher in a different translation, so I begged my parents for a "grown-up Bible" (by which I meant a KJV like what our preacher at the time used) and I was able to learn a lot more even as a 7 or 8 year old reading 1611 English becuse I was following along with our preacher and listening to him as well. When I got older, in high school I got an NASB, familiar enough with Scripture by then that I could still follow along in a different translation. Most of my Scripture memorization is a bit of a hybrid between the KJV and NASB, though the two are already pretty similar. Currently, I use the NIV and NRSV; the NIV is a good median translation between formal and dynamic, having the familiarity of the KJV structure and relaxed readability. The NRSV I don't necessarily agree with some translation decisions as I lean conservative in my thinking, but it's the only translation that the C.S. Lewis Study Bible comes in, so I make do. Having studied Hebrew and Greek, I can do my own word studies anyway if I see something I'm not sure about.
Mark, thanks for sharing this video. My first 2 Bibles were KJV Bibles. I don't remember having too much difficulty reading them (they were confusing in places), but what really got me interested in the Bible was The Picture Bible, which had the narrative portions of the Bible in graphic novel format (edited for content for children, of course). I knew that The Picture Bible was not a real Bible as it was missing entire books (the wisdom books in the OT were absent), and books such as the minor prophets and general epistles were heavily summarized, yet at the same time this graphic novel format told the Bible story in a way that made it easier for me to pick up on things when I read through the NKJV from Genesis to Revelation as an adult.
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For three and a half years, starting when she was 6, my youngest daughter and I read a chapter a night from a "Precious Moments" NLT. Together. I read the text in "my column" on the left, she read the text in "her column" on the right. She is now 22 and loves her ESV the most, carries her KJV when she's in a KJVo church. Most importantly, she knows her Bible, she knows God, she knows Christ and she is committed to being in the Word continually throughout her adult life, always open to learning what He has to say to her.
How do you go from the NLT to a KJVO church?
I rejoice with you, Steve!
@@casey1167 Family circumstances have unfortunately meant that one parent goes to another church, convicted that KJV is the only correct translation, that all other translations are corrupt, and churches who use them are teaching falsely. While it seems wrong for a husband and wife to go to different churches, it also seems wrong, to each spouse, to attend a church which is against one's convictions. Though the marriage is intact, the children become wishbones. They are all grown. At family gathering everyone tires of the perennial debate. It is so unnecessary. As Dr. Ward points out, we in America have an embarrassment of riches with which to understand God's Word even better. Using Romans 14 as a guide, "15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love." So we sometimes carry, and read, and use a KJV. It is God's Word too. But the NLT opens God's Word and brought understanding which helps in the understanding of the KJV, hopefully a bridge at family gatherings. The polyglots with gracious attitudes are better armed with understanding. As Dr. Ward models.
@@stevegroom58 I'm sorry to hear about that. This is exactly the sort of thing that makes me so opposed to the movement.
I had a Good News Bible when I started to read with it's unique and oddly interesting illustrations but my parents gradually would mention that it sometimes oversimplified the translation, probably because I started making comparisons with what was read from the front, but it deliberately uses a restricted vocabulary to make it easier for people starting to read English. When I was bit older I had a NKJV kids Bible which made me feel really grown up! It also made it easier to follow and understand when my KJV preferring Grandad and his friends were preaching. My parents had been given KJVs (AVs, we're English) at school which had a great detailed line drawing illustration on many pages which I loved looking at. It just brought it alive and showed it was rooted in history but I didn't actively use the text! As a teenager I had an NCV Youth Bible which had useful study aids and advice, but I found the translation in places was a bit woolly, I also got a NIV to match the church Bibles from holiday Bible club which was then my default Sunday Bible but had no pictures or extra helps. I used that for my scripture copying correspondence course my parents signed me up for, which I quite liked doing. That was my main Bible until my head knowledge became heart knowledge in my early 20s and I got a NIV Study Bible and a NKJV Thompson Chain Reference Bible. I think I liked the NKJV as a kid as it felt more solid and didn't try chop up long sentences and kept initial 'And's etc. Maybe it was the old-fashionedness that made it feel more robust. But I read the preface to the NIV so I understand and appreciated their approach to. We had a Greek interlinear in the house and a Strongs concordance so grew up understanding that there original languages and in time could then see why the NKJV and KJV sentence structures were a bit odd - not because 'old' (early modern) English was always like that but because the Greek was written like it in places and then influenced subsequent English!
For what it's worth, my experience with our kids changed my mind-slightly-about children's Bibles. Of our nine kids, only our four biological kids read. (Our five adopted kiddos all have special needs and don't yet read independently. A couple of them probably never will.) Our oldest and youngest bios read very well, while our middle two struggled to read. When our oldest was ready for his first Bible, I bought him an ESV, since that's what our church uses. For our middle two, I bought them the NIV because I thought they'd have an easier time reading it. What I found, however, was that they grew frustrated at church because they couldn't follow along with the public readings in the own Bibles. So, I bought them each an ESV to ease that frustration. Whenever I read Bible passages aloud, I try to at least reference other translations positively, if not read directly from them. For us, at least, this approach has seemed to encourage our kids in their Bible reading rather than frustrate them.
As a side note, I have bought the children's versions for our kids. I don't know how much they use them, but I want them to know that it's important to get help from others in understanding the Bible, and so in my estimation it seemed appropriate to get them Bibles with notes aimed at their age range (or slightly above it). In particular, the ESV Student Bible is great for teenagers, because it's a pared down (not dumbed down) version of the ESV Study Bible.
I appreciate your videos, your thoughtfulness, and your desire for Christians to grow in God's Word. Keep up the good work.
A very thoughtful and helpful comment. Thank you for this!
My dilemma is this my great niece recently showed me that she added the Bible App to her Phone and she was very excited about that but she said I wish I had my own Bible. So, I as the only Christian in her life have decided to get her a Bible. Her father is adamantly apposed to Christianity and the Bible. Her Mother although not a Christian would not be apposed to Uncle Brad getting her a Bible.
Maybe get one that doesn't look too much like a Bible?
I have two 4-5 yo goddaughters and this question of just what exactly to offer them has been on my mind .
Thanks for your advice, I’ll put it to good use .
This is something I've been pondering for a while, even more so now as a new father. Still have a few years to either decide or just teach her Hebrew and Greek 😆Looking forward to your insights.
lol
Great advice again brother Mark Ward. God bless
Thanks for listening!
Hi Mark, I enjoy your all videos and your informed insight about different versions of English bible translations. Can I ask you to please make a review video on the Berean Standard Bible?
It takes so, so many hours to make a fair assessment of a whole Bible translation… I just can't promise I'll get to this one! But it's definitely on my radar!
I’ve been wondering what to do. I’m memorizing whole epistles in the KJV because it’s easiest. I tried a book in the CSB and found the KJV easier as many online predicted. I grew up with the niv and ESV.
Can’t deny your experience! Others have had a different experience, of course, such as my friend Andy Naselli, who has memorized 1 Cor in the ESV.
Well my church uses ESV and my younger siblings were gifted NIV Bibles 😳
Fine choices!
Believe it or not this is THE question that I give as my first assignment in my hermeneutics class - haha
Now I can show my class your video when we discuss this and assign more of your videos as homework 🙂
Ha! Cool!
I agree that you can't really go wrong when it comes to a 5 year old. At that age it really is just about introducing the ideas, getting the major points and providing a tool to use. That being said, I do think it sound unnecessarily confusing to have multiple kids with all different translations. I would imagine having consistency inside the family unit would facilitate a fair bit easier study.
I personally would recommend NKJV once the child's proper reading level is achieved. That makes it significantly easier for family study as I use the KJV (with NKJV as study tool). I personally think its more important to have a consistent translation inside the family unit, even if you choose a translation I wouldn't personally use. That just seems pragmatic.
When it comes to versions having an "easier" translation to use along with it, the NIV has the advantage of being paired with its own dedicated children's edition, the New International Reader's Edition. (The NIV has the disadvantage of being the NIV, but credit where it's due.) I'm still waiting for the Southern Baptist Convention to come out with the Holman Children's Starter Bible (HCSB), but no one has been brave enough to attempt it yet.
Great advice, Mark. I would also probably choose a NLT for a young person, but the new Humble Lamb NASB 2020 would also make a great choice, IMHO. It is in paragraph format, words of Christ are in blue, and beautifully illustrated by Gustave Dore.
I think you have more faith in a young person than I do. Of all my kids, I would not trust one with a $200 Bible.... ;)
@@casey1167 I see your point, but I believe they can still be pre-ordered for $164.00.🙏
@@guymontag349 ya, I have four boys, two girls... my youngest will be getting a KJV from the Goodwill when they can read. I still have my KJV from when I was 10, and it looks like I did not take care of it very well.... All said, the Humble Lamb looks like a really, really nice Bible.
@@casey1167 I still very often reach for my KJV when my NKJV is out of reach! God bless you and your family.
Hello Mark Ward, thank you for all your videos they're all very informative. It would be cool to get a review on the NET Bible Full Notes Edition, and derivatives. I know according to Dr. Wayne Grudem, it was used in preparing the ESV.
I'm planning a NET Bible video. May take a while! I have literally hundreds of ideas in my files…
What are some of the modern bibles? KJVER,, Simplified KJV, the MEV...
As for little kids, I find that picture bibles come in very handy, and not those stupid books with all the extra articles.
As for me- I never even saw a bible until I was close to 30. My spiritual education was verbal. I knew the myth of the rainbow snake long before hearing about the Messiah.
Great thoughts! A question I've asked you myself!
One minor disagreement: For straight up reading, I now care less about whether it has one or two columns and more about whether it has cross-references and study notes. My first real Bible was a NKJV with center references and they were confusing for me for a number of years. Get rid of those for normal reading (e.g., kids) and relegate them to study bibles, is what I say!
A valid opinion!
I have the NKJV with Center column references, that is my Bible to read from. I’m in the UK, the only NKJV I have found with just the text is a readers bible. I use the cross references, I find them helpful when I’m not familiar with a passage. But I agree, the notes really are study aids, and probably should be in a study Bible. I guess a readers bible is a “reading bible” But I would love it if they did more NKJV editions with just the text. The notes were just confusing to me. I used to interpret passages and feel like God was revealing things to me, then I read “NU omits” and I thought “what is NU? Maybe the N is for New Testament, it must be important, and this omits it. But then why is it in the bible if it shouldn’t be there?” This was just my experience for somebody who had no prior knowledge of anything to do with the bible. Somebody like me is faced with a dilemma. Either give somebody a KJV with words that will confuse them, or a NKJV with footnotes which could confuse them.
Great video Dr. Ward. I have 2 daughters that are 7 & 6 and they are very keen on noticing small things. I was thinking of getting them the ESV Creative Bible yet I hesitate. The reasoning, for example, the missing verses. How can I explain textual criticism to my children when they notice these? Thank You.
Good question. I think you explain the truth when they ask. They will encounter this truth at some point. God made the world to include this truth. And there’s no neutrality: they could just as easily grow up on the NKJV and MEV and KJV, encounter friends at church who have the ESV, and ask you, “Why does the NKJV you gave us have extra verses added into it, Dad? Where did they come from?”
Our top 3 contenders:
1. Contemporary English Version: Is the Good News for Modern Man too tough for Modern Boy? The American Bible Society has you covered!
2. New Century Version: Also known (in a slightly different form) as the International Children's Bible, this easy-to-read version is the basis for the Expanded Bible.
3. New International Reader's Version: If you're planning to move them to the standard NIV in their teenage years, you might as well get them used to it at a young age.
I'm a bit biased, because it's what our church gives children, but I tend to like the NIrV even if the kids might be going to an ESV, NASB, or other when they get older.
@@glenn1611 (Brits have better taste in Bible translations.)
When the the "Good News for Modern Man" first came out, my Lutheran church handed them out for free. I was around 13 years old at that time and the "the Good News" bible was only the New Testament (and Psalms) at that time (the one with the 'newsprint' cover). It was the first time I read through the New Testament (and Psalms) cover to cover. The church reminded us that is was more of a 'bible story' book than a bible - their way of saying it was paraphrased - and shouldn't replace a 'real' bible, which I understood. Still, to this day, I don't know of any bible translation that ever had even such a profound impact the GNB had during its release. I believe it was instrumental in the growth of the Jesus movement, something I was heavily involved in back in the early 1970s.
@@19king14 I have a great fondness for it, myself. It is certainly a loose translation sometimes, but I would stop short of calling it a paraphrase. The Living Bible is a paraphrase because it was literally rephrased from the ASV, and it is a far less careful or scholarly work than the TEV (or GNB or GNT or whatever they choose to call it this week). The Message would also fall into the category of paraphrase even though it's directly paraphrased from the original languages into English rather than being a paraphrase of a translation. The TEV often looks like an interlinear compared to the Message!
@@MAMoreno True.. The Living Bible Paraphrase was the first bible I bought with my own money (the GNB, KJV and RSV were all provided to for free from the lutheran church) and yes, it is more paraphrase. I wouldn't use it for deeper study. There is even a scripture where they have Peter cursing! The "Good News for Modern Man" NT was phenomenal when it came out. It seemed, at that time, near everyone read it cover to cover.
Hey mark great video. The 1st Bible I got as a kid. Was AKJV. Because that's what I mean right from. I switched to NIV. When I was 13? And still use it to this day. Both editions 1984 and 2011 And our family we have many different translations like you and see the value a
In all of them.
Thanks for sharing!
The NirV is phenomenal as was the new century version if you can find it. .
The new life version is a great easy English version as is the ERV..
I just acquired a simplified King James Bible, but I'm interested in the Nasb 2020..
I think multiple Bible translations are great..
🤣🤣🤣 9:45 - so true!
Yup!
@@markwardonwords hilarious (but true) 🙂
The following or very similar is the only way to ensure you're not an utter failure as a parent:
1. First, give them an interlinear (biblical) Hebrew and Greek Bible with translations in English and other major languages like Spanish and Chinese.
2. Next, give them a full blown Christian classic education curriculum (at least quadrivium) so they learn ancient Greek and Latin, etc., alongside a solid plan to read and study the greats of Western culture.
3. Don't forget to make them learn a traditional musical instrument like the piano or viola, not guitar or bass.
4. As well, to engage in strenuous physical activity to make them robust in mind and body.
5. Join your local Hebrew and/or Chinese schools for their after school and weekend studies too.
All these will doubtless help kids better understand the Bible. All are necessary, though their sum total may still be insufficient. But we all have to start somewhere.
/satire
On a serious note, I completely agree with what Mark Ward said in the video. I'm only being tongue in cheek (via a reductio ad absurdum) for those parents (like me) easily inclined to stress about these sorts of things. In the end, the Lord is sovereign and we need not fret. We pray for his grace, we do our best given our kids and our circumstances, and we pray again for his mercy and give him thanks for it all.
Yeah, stress is easy to come by in parenting, I find!
Mark,what is your opinion on the word only BEGOTTEN,is this word important.
Yes. Theologically yes. I prefer John 3:16 to include the word. But those translations that don’t have a cogent reason for not doing so.
Children’s kjv by reformation heritage
Does it have any helps for archaic words? I've seen the cover of this edition, but I haven't seen the interior. I do love RHB.
@@tbuitendyk "Hades" isn't archaic. People know what it means without having to look it up. The actual problem may be that it's a loan word from Greek, whereas "Hell" is a Germanic word that's more native to English. The actual problem with using "Hell" to translate ᾍδης (Hades) is that you have to find some other word to translate Γέεννα (Gehenna) and Τάρταρος (Tartarus) or you end up conflating different ideas of the underworld and the afterlife. What's clear in Greek should ideally be clear in English.
Might it be better to ask: “Which Bible's' (plural) should I give my kids?”. I even used basic bible story books for their earliest years. At the same time though, it’s good to use a translation that requires some thinking and an expanding of their vocabulary. Thus we used more than one translation. My kids (like many) were raised using what some people say is the most “wooden” translation of all - The New World Translation, the older edition at that! They understood it. Yeh, we pulled out the dictionary now and then - that’s a good thing! We don’t want our brains go “lazy.” We’re blessed with having varying levels of English translations. Teach them the advantages of using more than one translation.
Yes! I bring up the theme of the use of multiple Bible translations!
@@markwardonwords I had a strong hunch you would do that! :)
@@markwardonwords This is what I favour - especially when checking out difficult verses. An interlinear Bible is also an extremely useful tool.
You should look at gary f zeolla analytical literal translation (alt3) of the bible. You should check out his concordance and companion volumes and also take a look at his "why are these books in the bible and not others 3 volume set and his book differences between bible volumes, lastly take a look at the scripture work book second edition; 2 volumes in 1.
Westminster Reference Bible, which had definitions, etc. My twins are memorizing out of the KJV at 6, so by the time they are reading the KJV will be very comfortable for them.
I am really not sure how you use a version different than the one the parents use. The changes in meaning throughout the different versions, especially the kids versions, are so large it causes issues.
I’d argue they should read whatever the father is reading. That would go for everyone in the home. Keeps the home unified.
What if the father is reading multiple translations all the time? That’s the way it is in my family!
@@markwardonwords No Mark, I doubt you read multiple translations. People like you have a main Bible, and LOGOS open on their laptop. And if you let your kids read multiple Bibles, well Daddy-O is the expert and you tell them what is correct, so you become the Bible for them. Same goes with Bible commentaries, you might have them all, but you lien pretty heavy one one.
I might be totally wrong, but I'm just not seeing a guy that has spent his life in the Greek going for Bibles he believes are not the correct translation based on his study for his own family.
@@markwardonwords that’s fine, but then the father IMO should choose one specifically to read with the family and leave the rest for his own study. Whichever one the father determines to be his favorite, most accurate, or whatever factor(s) he chooses. I should clarify, my original argument is for the average father out there not the person making videos on different bible versions😉
@@txnorseman Ha! Point well taken.
@@txnorseman I have four boys, and was a boy at one point. Boy want to emulate their dad to a fault at times. If Dad is using a using a Dake's Annotated study Bible with Blue Letter in Goatskin in 11.23 font, with John 3:16 in Latin on the back cover, that is what a boy wants for himself. That's how I was, that's how my boys have been.
I grew up with David Cloud stuff lying around, D.A Waite booklets. I did not care what bible the Sunday School teacher was using, if it was not the one my Dad used, well, they were wrong. And we had a dozen non-KJV versions in the house, all in pristine conditions. Shockingly how I turned out.
For more advanced readers, I recommend the Cleenewerck EOB, based upon the Septuagint and the Patriarchal Text of 1904. I look for the Septuagint or a Septuagint-based Old Testament without the deletions of the Reformers. Many a book, especially the Maccabees, are deleted because they refute certain pet doctrines. The more Books of the Maccabees, the better, with 4-5 being optimal. While Maccabees may not be in of itself critical, tampering with the Books of the Maccabees shows evidence of foul play.
The Vulgate is the only official translation for those under 10.
Glad someone has the courage to speak truth. 😂😂😂
Why, a NA28, of course! Your choice of apparatus. But then, I'm a little unusual.
Ha! Yes!
Or maybe, for kids, the SBLGNT. =)
@@markwardonwords I don't know why I didn't think of that! Brilliant! ...let's not saddle junior with interlinear crutches, unless he's six or younger. ;-)
@@mgoodman2302 "Koine Greek is my heart language." - your teenage kid to the hip new youth pastor with the latest NLT edition
I know the LSB and the 2020 NASB are both good translations. But if you personally had to to choose one over the other which would you pick ?
I don't have to pick! But if I had to pick one over the other for church ministry, I'd read through them both. I haven't been able to do that yet. I'd give strong weight to the beauty and utility and availability of nice editions, I'll tell you that.
@@markwardonwords Oh ok. That makes sense. I'm asking cause while I am settled in the LSB. There's still apart of me that's drawn to the 2020 NASB.
But thats mostly because during my struggle with trying to find a translation that could take the place of the KJV In my life I prayed for God to tell me which one He would want me to pick. I woke up the next morning and the first thing on my mind was the NASB.
But at the time I couldn't use it cause my mind and emotions for whatever reason wouldn't allow it.
Long story short I eventually started to use the LSB. Buy I've been thinking about that experience I had with the NASB, and I wonder if maybe I should give it another try.
But knowing that with either translation I'll still get the same thing I honestly don't see the point and trying anymore translations.
Not that other translations are bad mind you. I still use others. But for a main one I don't see any reason to continue that pointless search anymore.
@@austintucker394 The LSB is only slightly different than the NASB 1995, and the NASB 2020 isn't all that different, either.
@@MAMoreno actually I would say nasb 2020 is very different from its predecessors and very different from it's brother the LS B. In that uses 21st century English while still remaining a literal translation thus putting it right below the LSB and right above the ESV in regards to how literal it is on the translation Spectrum. I've actually thought about switching over to the nasb 2020 because of that
@@austintucker394 When I say that it isn't all that different, I mean that it's still recognizably the NASB and not a new translation. Most differences between the NASB 2020 and the LSB are miniscule, which I'll demonstrate with a comparison.
Here is Romans 8.1-17 in the NASB 2020, with variant readings from the LSB in brackets. (I'll use italics to indicate which words in the NASB correspond to the bracketed LSB reading. If the LSB has no corresponding words, I will not include anything in brackets. If the NASB has no corresponding words to the LSB, I'll not italicize anything in the text. I won't bother noting minor punctuation differences.)
_______
Therefore there is now no condemnation _at all_ for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the [righteous] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are _in accord with_ [according to] the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are _in accord with_ [according to] the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh _cannot_ [are not able to] please God.
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. [But] If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
So then, brothers _and sisters,_ we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh- for if you are living _in accord with_ [according to] the flesh, you _are going to_ [must] die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the _deeds_ [practices] of the body, you will live. For _all who_ [as many as] are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons _and daughters_ of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons _and daughters_ by _which_ [whom] we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, _heirs also,_ [also heirs,] heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
_____________
So they're not identical, but they're nearly identical. They're the same translation, for all intents and purposes. I slightly favor the NASB 2020 here over the LSB, but the disagreements are so negligible that I could use one and easily follow someone using the other. That being said, you are right that the NASB's language is generally less dated, which is a strong point in its favor.
There are three types of kids - 1> We can't have nice things, kids. 2 > We try to have nice things, kids. 3> Don't care about things, kids. Type 1 will trash their Bible - but they are sad when they do so, and hold it in high esteem - that to say - they read it and drag it everywhere with them. Type 2 keep their bible on the shelf and admire it, and on occasion show it off to friends. They take it to church by try not to ever open it unless they have to - its sacred - it says Holy right on it! Type 3 don't care about their bible at all. Its just another book I can draw in; except that "grama gave it to me, so I have to care a little bit about it as I don't want to disappoint grama. Why read it when there are so many bugs to catch - Why do they give boring sermons a church? We could just sing the whole time, that would be funner and make everyone happier." Giving your kid a three digit cost bible is not being a good steward. They WILL want to get a "better one" later. My childhood bible sits on a shelf at my parents home a state away, very trashed with pages beat up and falling out of it. I am fortunate that it was functional enough to go back on the shelf for history sake. Jr. High brought me to the NASB - I was that annoying radical kid that questioned everything the teachers and pastor said... Very much a Type 1. By brother was a Type 3. My mom was a Type 2 as a kid.
Every good translation of the Bible has the Spirit of the KJV
In other words the same Spirit that gave us the KJV,Latin Vulgate, and most importantly the original Greek and Hebrew; is the same Spirit that gives us the morden translations. Because that's how He does things. He speaks the beautiful Word of God in the language of the people.
As seen in the book of Acts at Pentecost.
So while it's true I don't use the KJV anymore. Never the less the current translation I have ( the LSB/ Legacy Standard Bible) has the Spirit of the KJV like any good translation or edition of the Bible.
I use to sell Bile and the thing I would recommend is to find a translation they would understand maybe the NLT or NLT. But get one that the church and family use. If it is the KJV then get KJV.
I am KJVO, but I would say what ever version the parents are using is the one the kids should use. Not sure how it would work otherwise.
NIV, then (later) ESV or NKJV. But consider which one(s) your church uses. Don't get involved in KJV-onlyism.
Which NIV? The 1984 or the 2011? And ESV? So the ESV2016 or the ESV-CE?
@@casey1167 The NIV 1984 is better than the 2011. Either ESV will do the job perfectly well.
So: KJV 1611 or 1769? Surely no-one has the 1611 version any more.
Why not the Geneva Bible of 1599 - which the Pilgrim Fathers brought with them to America, not the KJV? I have a copy - it's great. It's published by Tolle Lege Press.
Then there's the MEV based on the KJV.
The KJV is great. But is it the best? No: the NKJV, to name but one, is more accurate and more readily comprehensible. And so are other TR-based translations.
Remember too that most Christians in the world aren't bothered about this debate. They have (if they are fortunate enough) translations in their own language produced since the era of missionary expansion - and it is in their parts of the world that the faith is growing , not in the West where we are debating Bible versions (of which we have far too many) when we could be spending our time more profitably.
God bless - whichever version you use.
@@alanhowe1455 I have the 1611, it is the same as the 1769 with fewer changes in the entire Bible than the NASB1977-NASB1995 has in a single book.
"most Christians in the world aren't bothered about this debate" -- actually, that is not true. Every major language has the TR vs. Critical Text issue with Bibles.
Well, don't want to give my kids something less than the best, so is it the ESV-CE, Gideons-ESV, or ESV2016?
@@casey1167 I favour the TR, but was converted using non-TR Bibles. The best, in my view, would be the NKJV. Let's leave it there as we probably won't agree - and watch the upcoming video.
@@casey1167 The fact that Christianity is growing far faster in the Third World tells me that it is the possession of reliable Bibles of whichever text type that is more important than debating which is superior. I personally favour the Byzantine text over the TR which has late medieval additions. But there is no doctrine that cannot be established with 100% certainty from CT translations.
Hi Mark, could you explain what "even" (in italics) means in the KJV? 99% of times I just skip it because, to my uncultured eyes, it is not necessary. I wonder what the intentions of the translators to add it were.
Can you give an example passage or two?
Here's the corresponding definition from the Oxford English Dictionary:
*Prefixed to a subject, object, or predicate, or to the expression of a qualifying circumstance, to emphasize its identity, or to reinforce the assertion being made about it; namely, that is to say, truly. Now archaic.*
So let's try placing "namely" in where the KJV has "even" in italics. Here's Romans 1.20 with the suggested word swap:
*For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, namely his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:*
This one still doesn't make sense simply because the parts of the sentence are in an unnatural order. But that's an easy fix (with a few more word updates for good measure):
*For God's invisible things, namely His eternal power and Godhood, are clearly seen and understood through His created things, so they are without excuse.*
Let's try Romans 4.16-17 next. Again, we start by simply changing one word:
*Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, namely God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.*
Again, it's a little clearer, but a bit of modernization goes a long way:
*Therefore, the promise is through faith so that it might be by grace, the end goal being for the promise to be sure to all the seed (that is, offspring): not only to the person who is "of the Law," but also to one who is "of the faith," i.e. that of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") before Him in whom he believed, namely God--the One who brings life to the dead and calls those things which yet to exist as though they already do.*
I hope that addresses your question. If _even_ is in italics, it probably means "namely."
@@markwardonwords Sure:
Genesis 35:14
And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, _even_ a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
Exodus 4:23
And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, _even_ thy firstborn.
Leviticus 24:7
And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
But in Leviticus 11:11, where the word "even" is not italics, it makes perfect sense:
They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
Thank you, Mark.
@@MAMoreno Thank you! Now it makes sense. Even though, I would still think those italicized "even"''s are redundant, but of course I am a mere 21st century reader.
@@hukes The three examples you gave Mark Ward work even better than the ones I picked from Romans! Let's plug in those namely-s:
Genesis 35:14
And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, namely a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
Exodus 4:23
And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, namely thy firstborn.
Leviticus 24:7
And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, namely an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
Yes, it may be unnecessary, but the adverb does serve a slight buffer to ensure that readers don't assume that they're reading a list of items.
"Easy does not mean dumb". Amen! Thanks so much for saying this, brother. Oh boy. Man! I tried to reason just this week with a KJVOist in my life and l told him how much better l could understand the Bible after l switched to the ESV. His response? Well basically 1) l must be dumb if l can't understand the KJV (hang on a minute, I'm the one picking him up on false friends he continually misses.) 2) maybe it's good if the Bible is hard to understand. I kid you not! This guy would have known how wrong that assertion was, the moment it was coming out of his mouth, but l think once anyone makes an idol out of something, they are compelled to defend it.
The huge cultural gap between the Ancient Near East and the modern America is big enough without filtering it through Elizabethan England.
@@MAMoreno correct! I told him l am learning Biblical Greek and l expect that to be quicker and more fruitful than learning Elizabethan English! Let's just say he begged to differ lol.
KJV hands down. Kids need the challenge. When they ask what a word means send them to the dictionary.
My friend, what if they don't ask what a word means? What if they read right past words they don't realize they're misunderstanding?
@@markwardonwords We would never want someone to be confused.
Song of Songs 5:10
NIV: My beloved is radiant and ruddy
NLT: My lover is dark and dazzling
CSB: My love is fit and strong
ICB: My lover is clean and tanned
MSG: My dear lover glows with health- red-blooded, radiant!
NIVR: The one who loves me is tanned and handsome
MEV: My beloved is white and ruddy
Yes, no confusion here.
@@casey1167 This is a fair question. What does the Hebrew say, and how does one find out?
@@markwardonwords Well, I would defer to you for which is correct, I don't have the training. That said, at least a couple of these have to be wrong.
I can just go by how Strongs H6703 and H112 are translated throughout the KJV and then look at the resources I have for those Hebrew words. I plug in what a version other than the KJV uses in all instances the Strong's number is used and see if the verses still make sense. (For example if I plugged in "dazzling" to Numbers 19:2 now I have a dazzling Heifer not a Red Heifer.)
Also, I usually look at chabad to see how the Jews translate it. And drop it into Google Translate just for the fun of it. And yes I know, I readily admit I am a moron in Greek and Hebrew.
I did find it surprising the NIVR does not agree with the NIV. But, I spent about an hour on this the other night and white (or light skinned) with red hair and/or complexion is what I would say is it saying. But as a guy with red hair, I might have bias in my translation.
@@casey1167 As usual, the "confusion" lies in the Hebrew itself. Poetry is notoriously difficult to translate, especially when it is using figurative language. Here's what the NET Bible has to say about these words:
*The term צַח (tsakh, “dazzling”) is ordinarily used to describe the shining surface of jewelry or of smoothed rocks (Ezek 24:7-8; 26:4, 14; Neh 4:7). Likewise, אָדֹם (ʾadom, “ruddy”) can describe the redness of rubies (Lam 4:7). Throughout 5: 11-15 she compares his appearance to valuable jewels, gems, and precious metals.*
*The adjective אָדֹם (ʾadom) denotes either “manly” or “ruddy,” depending upon whether it is derived from אָדָם (ʾadam, “man”; HALOT 14 s.v. I אָדָם) or אָדֹם (“red”; HALOT 14 s.v. אָדֹם). If it is “manly,” the idea is that he is the epitome of masculinity and virility. On the other hand, the emphasis would be upon his health and virility, evidenced by his ruddy complexion, or it could be a comparison between his ruddy coloring and the redness of rubies (Lam 4:7).*