The BibleTexts.com Bible Commentary 


The Bible and the 3 Bible versions used in the Bible Lesson Online Study Aid

by Robert Nguyen Cramer, BibleTexts.com

The original Hebrew and Greek texts are what actually constitute "the Bible." All "versions," whether in Latin, English, Chinese, or Aramaic, whether produced in 384 A.D. or in 1611 A.D. or in 1996 A.D., are merely translations indirectly derived from those original Hebrew and Greek texts. The BibleTexts Online Bible Commentary at http://www.bibletexts.com/bt.htm provides verse-by-verse textual corrections that are based upon the most current knowledge of those original Hebrew and Greek texts. Most of those corrections are relevant only to the KJV, because most modern versions such as the NRSV and the TEV were translated from Hebrew and Greek texts that are much more consistent with "the original texts" than those Hebrew and Greek texts from which the 1611 KJV was translated. In the KJV most of the substantive errors are due to the faulty Hebrew and Greek texts from which the KJV was translated. (See S&H 139:15.)

Wherever there are substantial differences between the wording of the KJV and the NRSV, the NRSV should be considered as more accurately representing the wording of the original texts. Of the three English language Bible versions used below (the KJV, the NRSV, and the TEV), the NRSV gives the best word-for-word representation of the wording of original texts, and the TEV gives the best phrase-by-phrase representation of the originally intended meaning of original texts.

To further explore the value of using Bible versions other than the KJV, browse "The King James Version - its history, its accuracy, and its relevance today" at http://www.bibletexts.com/kjv-tr.htm.


For links to some other Bible-related Web pages, browse http://www.bibletexts.com

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* Copyright 1996-2001 Robert Nguyen Cramer *