https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/HolmanChristianStandardBible.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: II Peter 1:16-21<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. Publishers are producing more translations of the Bible, in part because a popular\ntranslation can lead to a good amount of profit from royalties.\n
A. This means a drive to present the text of the Bible in modern terms for readability.<\/p>\n
B. In 2012 the most popular translations based on numbers sold are:<\/p>\n
1. New Living Translation<\/p>\n
2. New International Version<\/p>\n
3. King James Version<\/p>\n
4. New King James Version<\/p>\n
5. English Standard Version<\/p>\n
6. Holman Christian Standard Bible<\/p>\n
7. Reina Valera 1960<\/p>\n
8. Common English Bible<\/p>\n
9. New International Readers Version<\/p>\n
10. New American Standard<\/p>\n
II. What makes a good translation?<\/p>\n
A. The first thing to do is look at the preface to the translation.<\/p>\n
B. What style of translation was selected<\/p>\n 1. Literal – Here the text is translated word-for-word to the nearest English\nword or phrase. The original word order of the original text is kept, which\nmakes it very difficult to read since different languages have varying\ngrammar rules. \n a. You usually find these in Hebrew and Greek Lexicons where the\ntext is given in the original language and the equivalent English\nwords are printed underneath.\n 2. Essentially Literal (also called Formal Equivalence) – Once again, the text\nis translated word-for-word to the nearest English word or phrase, but the\norder of words is modified to match the grammar of English.\n a. Examples are the King James Version, the American Standard\nVersion, the New American Standard Bible, the Revised Standard\nVersion, the New King James Version, and the English Standard Version.\n 3. Dynamic Equivalence (also called Functional Equivalence) – Here the text\nis translated phrase-by-phrase. The original wording is generally followed,\nbut where phrasing is different between cultures, such as through the use\nof idioms, the dynamic equivalent translation is substitute a more modern\nway of phrasing the idea.\n
a. It is sometimes called thought-for-thought.<\/p>\n b. For example, the New International Version translates \u201cthe Lord of\nhosts\u201d as \u201cthe Lord Almighty\u201d because they felt this conveys the\nsense of the Hebrew expression.\n c. Examples of dynamic equivalence are: The New International\nVersion, the Amplified Bible, and the Holman Christian\nStandard Bible (the HSCB is less Dynamic than the NIV).\n 4. Gender-Neutral – Like the Dynamic Equivalence version in rendering the\n phrasing thought-for-thought, but the translators take this a step further to\n remove what they believe to be culturally unacceptable ideas from the\n past. Thus, phrases like \u201cson of man\u201d is changed to \u201cmortal\u201d because using\n masculine phrases to represent men and women is considered to be\n politically incorrect.\n a. Examples of gender neutral are: the New Revised Standard\nVersion, the Contemporary English Version, the Today\u2019s New\nInternational Version, the New Century Version\n 5. Paraphrase (or free) – These are not truly translations. Rather what you\nhave is a running commentary on the text. Many paraphrases are based off\nof other English translations. A few go back to the original languages, but\nno attempt is made to say precisely what was said, only what the\ntranslators thought was meant. The interpretation is generally done\nsentence-by-sentence.\n a. Examples: The New Living Translation, the Today\u2019s English\nVersion, and Good News for Modern Man, and the Message.\n 6. When considering the style of translation, many people like the more\nnatural flow of the dynamical equivalent or paraphrases, but we must keep\nin mind that inspiration means that God gave the prophets and apostles the\nvery words to write – I Corinthians 2:10-13; John 17:8\n a. Substituting words or phrases means the translators believe the\nwords selected can be altered \u2013 as long as they are close enough.\n b. Substitution also allows the translator\u2019s personal bias or beliefs to\nbe interjected into the text because what is being written is what\nthe translator thinks the writers meant and not necessarily what\nthey wrote.\n
C. What Greek text was used?<\/p>\n 1. We have the Bible preserved for us in well over 5,000 manuscripts and\nfragments. But because scribes will make mistakes at time, there are\nwording variances in these texts.\n a. People have taken the various manuscripts and created a composite\ntext where every word and sometimes even letter is scrutinized to\nattempt to root out copy flaws and determine what the original text\nstated.\n b. The Bible manuscripts themselves are grouped into classifications\ndepending on their history of copying. \n
(1) Byzantine texts by far have the most copies (about 95%).<\/p>\n
(2) Alexandrian, though few, are some of the oldest.<\/p>\n (3) Another group is known as the Western texts which appears\nto be the basis of the old Latin translations.\n (4) The smallest group is the Caesarean texts that some believe\nis the foundation of the Byzantine texts.\n 2. In 1516 Erasmus made one of the earliest composite texts. It was based on\nthree Greek texts, the earliest that he had dated back to the twelfth century.\nIn a few places he didn\u2019t have access to a Greek text and took some Latin\ntext and translated them back into Greek for his base text.\n a. From this Stephen made several revisions. The third, dating 1550\nwas called the \u201creceived text\u201d or Textus Receptus\n
b. It was from this text that the King James Version was translated.<\/p>\n c. It is also known as the Majority Text because it closely follows\nByzantine texts\n 3. The Wescott-Hort text was heavily influenced by the Alexandrian texts\nunder the philosophy older is always more accurate. The result was a text\nradically different in many places from the Textus Receptus..\n 4. The Nestle-Aland text started in the late 1800’s and is one of the more\nfrequently used texts.\n
a. The New American Standard Bible is based on this text.<\/p>\n b. It tends to take the middle ground between the Textus Receptus and\nthe Wescott-Hort text. It is also considered to be the better\ndocumented text, showing the alternatives and where those\nalternatives came from.\n c. It used strict rules to determine which reading was to be preferred.\nNot favoring a particular text, but because of the logic behind which\nreading is probably more accurate\n d. It came out in the late 1800’s. It has under gone frequent updates \u2013 it\nis now in its 27th<\/sup> edition.\n 5. The United Bible Societies text.<\/p>\n a. Currently in its fourth edition, it is very similar to the Nestle-Aland\ntext. In fact the two texts are now being managed by the same\nparent organization.\n b. It is popular because it documents why certain readings are\nconsidered more accurate. It rates the scholar\u2019s opinions on the\ncertainty of their preferred reading.\n 6. While the text used as the base varies only a bit, textual composites which\nare heavily biased toward only one family of text have proven to be less\naccurate. \n a. Wescott-Hort\u2019s text has eliminated passages that later finds have\nproven ought to have been included. But the text is heavily weighed\ntoward the Alexandrian manuscripts which show evidence of being\nedited.\n b. The Textus Receptus shows evidence that some marginal\ncommentary was crept into text.\n c. The Nestle-Aland and United Bible Societies\u2019 texts still give too\nmuch weighting to the Alexandrian texts, but recent editions have\nbeen moving away from the extreme.\n 7. The Holman Christian Standard Bible used the Nestle-Aland 27th<\/sup> edition as\nits base text.\n D. How many translators?<\/p>\n 1. As much as a person might want to think he is unbiased, personal beliefs\nwill creep into a translation.\n 2. When multiple translators work together, they can balance out each other\u2019s\nbias.\n 3. For the same reason, you don\u2019t want translators all from the same\ndenomination.\n 4. Preferably you want to know who were the translators so that you can\nexamine (in theory) their other writings and to see what their personal\nbiases might be. \n a. We especially want to know their attitude toward the Bible\u2019s\ninspiration because that will influence their zeal to retain the\naccuracy of their translation\n 5. The Holman Christian Standard Bible was done by a team of about 100\nscholars.\n
a. Used all Southern Baptists on its New Testament<\/p>\n b. Used a mix of Presbyterian and Southern Baptists on its Old\nTestament.\n c. The publishing company, Broadman and Holman, is strongly\nassociated with the Southern Baptists.\n d. As a result we have to watch for bias toward Southern Baptist\nbeliefs\n
E. Reason for the translation<\/p>\n 1. Broadman and Holman wanted a translation to compete with Zondervan\nwho owns the New International Version\n
a. The licensing structure cut into profits<\/p>\n 2. There was concerns because the NIV has been changing over the years,\ndrifting toward political correctness and gender neutrality.\n
III. The result<\/p>\n A. It uses contractions, especially in text referring to speech, which is the way English\nspeakers talk.\n B. It uses some gender neutral terms. \u201cWhile the HCSB avoids using \u201cman\u201d or \u201che\u201d\nunnecessarily, the translation does not restructure sentences to avoid them when\nthey are in the text. For example, the translators have not changed \u201chim\u201d to \u201cyou\u201d\nor to \u201cthem,\u201d neither have they avoided other masculine words such as \u201cfather\u201d or\n\u201cson\u201d by translating them in generic terms such as \u201cparent\u201d or \u201cchild.\u201d\u201c [Preface]\n
1. It looks like they struck a good even mix.<\/p>\n C. First edition marked the translators\u2019 inserted words with brackets, but the\ncomplaint was that they went overboard. The second edition removed all the\nbrackets and relies solely on footnotes, but those notes are not complete.\n
1. Phillipians 2:13<\/p>\n a. “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His <\/i>good\npleasure” (NKJV).\n b. “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His\ngood pleasure” (NASB).\n c. \u201cHis\u201d is an inserted word that is critical to understand that it is for\nGod\u2019s good pleasure and not man\u2019s pleasure.\n d. “For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire\nand to work out His good purpose” (HCSB).\n (1) Adding \u201cenabling you\u201d is not the same. There is no support\nfor the words, nor are they needed to understand the text.\nNor is there a footnote indicating these words were added.\n (2) Yet it alters the meaning. Baptists believe that man can do\nnothing good on his own without God first directly choosing\nthe person for righteousness.\n
2. Acts 22:16<\/p>\n a. “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash\naway your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (NKJV).\n b. “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away\nyour sins, calling on His name” (NASB).\n c. “And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your\nsins by calling on His name” (HCSB).\n d. The word \u201cby\u201d is inserted without comment or marking, yet it alters\nthe meaning. It makes the statement mean that sins are washed away\nby calling on Jesus name instead of through baptism as the text\nactually states.\n
e. Baptists deny that baptism is essential to salvation.<\/p>\n
D. Alterations<\/p>\n
1. Psalms 51:5<\/p>\n a. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother\nconceived me” (NKJV).\n b. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother\nconceived me” (NASB).\n c. “Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother\nconceived me” (HCSB).\n d. The translation shift from the environment being sinful to the author\nas a child being sinful.\n e. Baptists follow Calvin’s teaching that people are born sinful,\ncontrary to Ezekiel 18:20 and Romans 5:12\n
2. Ephesians 1:13<\/p>\n a. “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the\ngospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were\nsealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (NKJV).\n b. “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel\nof your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him\nwith the Holy Spirit of promise” (NASB).\n c. “When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation,\nand when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the\npromised Holy Spirit” (HSCB).\n d. By shifting \u201cin Him\u201d salvation no longer comes when you are in\nhim, after hearing and believing, but stated to be at the point of\nbelieving. \n
e. Baptist believe that only faith is needed for salvation.<\/p>\n
3. John 3:16<\/p>\n a. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,\nthat whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting\nlife” (NKJV). \n b. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only\nSon, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have\neternal life” (HCSB).\n c. I\u2019ve seen people excited about the \u201cin this way\u201d as being more\nexact. Some get upset by the \u201cOne and Only Son,\u201d but the real\nproblem is more subtle. It says \u201cwill not perish\u201d instead of \u201cshould\nnot perish.\u201d\n d. The Greek word apoletai <\/i>means “perish” and is in the subjunctive\nmood, which “is the mood not of reality but of possibility (or\nprobablility).” [William Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek].\n e. But Baptists teach that once a person is saved, he is always saved,\nno matter what he does.\n
E. Inconsistency<\/p>\n 1. The HCSB claims to be more accurate by translating the Hebrew yhwh <\/i>as\nYahweh.\n a. But out of the 6800 occurrences, it only does so 500 times. It was\nfewer in the first edition.\n
b. Psalms 116:3-5<\/p>\n (1) “The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol\nlaid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called\nupon the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I implore You,\ndeliver my soul!” Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes,\nour God is merciful” (NKJV).\n (2) “The ropes of death were wrapped around me, and the\ntorments of Sheol overcame me; I encountered trouble and\nsorrow. Then I called on the name of Yahweh: \u201cYahweh,\nsave me!\u201d The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is\ncompassionate” (HCSB).\n (3) One is left with the impression that a different word appears\nin verse 5 than in verse 4 when they are the same word.\n (4) The use of “Lord” for yhwh <\/i>is not arbitrary. The writers of\nthe New Testament, inspired by the Holy Spirit translated\nyhwh <\/i>as the Greek word for Lord. The English translations\nfor the most part have respected the Spirit’s guidance in this\nmatter of translation.\n 2. “Messiah” is a transliterated Hebrew word that means “annointed.” “Christ”\nis a transliterated Greek word that means the same thing.\n a. For some odd reason, the translators decided to translate some\noccurrences of Christ in the New Testament as Messiah (112 out of\nthe 597 occurrences), giving the appearance that the New Testament\nis written in Hebrew.\n b. The word \u201cMessiah\u201d does appear in the Greek text twice, in John\n1:41; 4:25.\n
c. John 1:41<\/p>\n (1) “He first found his own brother Simon and told him, \u201cWe\nhave found the Messiah!\u201d[a] (which means \u201cAnointed\nOne\u201d),” (HCSB) Footnote (a) “John 1:41 In the NT, the\nword Messiah translates the Gk word Christos <\/i>(\u201cAnointed\nOne\u201d), except here and in Jn 4:25 where it translates\nMessias<\/i>.”\n d. It would have made more sense to consistently translate both the\nHebrew and Greek to “Annointed One” than to substitute one\ntransliterated word for another.\n e. Both the text and the translators\u2019 titles show the same inconsistent\nflip-flop between Messiah and Christ.\n 3. Capitalized pronouns have been added by translators in many versions to\nindicate when the translator thought deity was being referred to. It isn’t in\nthe original text but neither is it a bad practice. However, it gets confusing\nif the capitalization is not done consistently.\n
a. Psalms 45:6-7<\/p>\n (1) “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of\nrighteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You love\nrighteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your\nGod, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than\nYour companions” (NKJV).\n (2) “Your throne, God, is forever and ever; the scepter of Your\nkingdom is a scepter of justice. You love righteousness and\nhate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you\nwith the oil of joy more than your companions” (HCSB).\n (3) Because of the use of capital pronouns in verse 6 and not in\nverse 7, the HCSB leaves the impression that the subject\nreferred to by “you” has changed when it has not.\n
F. Bad Translations<\/p>\n
1. Matthew 16:18<\/p>\n a. “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will\nbuild My church, and the forces[c] of Hades will not overpower it”\n(HCSB). (c) Lit gates\n b. The footnote reflects the correct reading. By changing “gates” into\n“forces” it changes Hades from being in a defensive position, trying\nto keep the church out, to a offensive position, trying to destroy the\nchurch.\n
2. Ezekiel 9:5<\/p>\n a. “To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city\nand kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity”” (NKJV).\n b. “He spoke as I listened to the others, \u201cPass through the city after\nhim and start killing; do not show pity or spare them!”” (HCSB).\n c. The HCSB makes it sound as if Ezekiel was listening to the people\ninstead of listening in as God spoke to the people.\n
IV. I have more examples, but not more time<\/p>\n
A. No translation is perfect.<\/p>\n B. The Holman Christian Standard Bible has some interesting features and readings,\nbut overall I can’t say it is accurate enough to be a good study Bible. \n
C. It is far too biased toward Baptist doctrine and deceptively alters readings. <\/p>\n
D. The NASB95 and the NKJV remain better translations. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 1:16-21 I. Publishers are producing more translations of the Bible, in part because a popular translation can lead to a good amount of profit from royalties. A. This means a drive to present the text of the Bible in modern terms for readability. B. In 2012 the most popular translations…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[311],"class_list":["post-35208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-translations"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1303,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-bible-translations-are-the-best\/","url_meta":{"origin":35208,"position":0},"title":"Which Bible translations are the best?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Which Bible translations have the highest accuracy? Answer: At one time, Bible translations were an arduous task that took years, if not decades, to complete. Now translations are appearing in rapid succession, and it is becoming difficult to keep up with the many that are available. I'll restrict my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68247,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-translations-authorized\/","url_meta":{"origin":35208,"position":1},"title":"Are Translations Authorized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Perhaps this seems like an odd question, but it is good to think about this. Since most people are not going to learn Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the only way they are going to hear God's word at all will be through translations. But how do we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49007,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-bible-left-to-each-individuals-interpretation\/","url_meta":{"origin":35208,"position":2},"title":"Is the Bible left to each individual’s interpretation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A few questions I have: Is the Bible left to each individual's own interpretation? How can we trust translations? Isn't that just someone else's interpretation(s)? How can I prove the Bible is correct if someone doesn't even believe it in the first place? Thank you. Answer: \"But know this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19382,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-translations-god-breathed\/","url_meta":{"origin":35208,"position":3},"title":"Are the translations “God-breathed?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does II Timothy 3:16 \"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,\" apply to reputable translated versions of the Bible, not just the original copies?\u00a0 I want to use this verse to\u00a0state\u00a0my point to\u00a0someone\u00a0that Acts 2:38 is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49264,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-language-in-which-the-bible-is-read-change-the-way-we-interpret-certain-passages\/","url_meta":{"origin":35208,"position":4},"title":"Does the language in which the Bible is read change the way we interpret certain passages?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about the Bible that I'd like to ask. Does the language in which the Bible is read change the way we interpret certain passages? Answer: Translating a text from one language to another ideally expresses the same ideas in both languages. However, there are always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58138,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/modern-versions-and-perversions\/","url_meta":{"origin":35208,"position":5},"title":"Modern Versions and Perversions","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joe R. Price There are over 450 versions of the Bible in English alone.\u00a0 New versions continue to be published, not all of which have as their primary interest that of being a precise translation of the ancient manuscripts.\u00a0 In fact, very few have that as their intended purpose.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}