The religious book of the world’s most followed religion – the Holy Bible also happens to be the most favored literary works in the world. A collection of scriptures, quite a lot of which compose of divine revelations, also has a lot of incidents which actually happened in the times before and after the birth of Jesus. The Holy Bible was originally Hebrew, and some parts of it were also in Aramaic the commonly spoken language back then. The original Scriptures have around 450 English translations. But among these, the most preferred versions which are found in churches and homes of Christians across the globe are quite a few. Let’s have a look at these popular versions:
New International Version:
The New International Version is the most simplified version of the Bible. While translating this Bible, the primary goal was to come up with something simple, lucid and easily relatable to the people reading it, without actually diluting the meaning and relevance of the Hebrew Scriptures. It was first published way back in 1973. However, there have been regular reviews and updating too. The reviewing committee meets annually to scrutinize the changes and actually implement them.
The King James Version:
This version of the Bible is named after the one who was instrumental in coming up with it. King James I of England initiated the translation of this version of the Bible. The significant difference between the New International Version and the King James Version is that the latter is more precise and literal when it comes to translation. The former has a general translation, which tends to dilute what exactly has been said. The King James Version was released in 1604, and since then has a lot of readers. However, the language can come to be a bit heavy if you aren’t used to that kind of antiquated vocabulary.
New American Standard Bible:
This version of the Bible was published in 1971 – again, it too is known for its literal, word-to-word translation. Apt usage of replicable idioms and phrases to bring out the true meaning of what is mentioned in the original Scriptures is why this Bible is preferred amongst masses. Despite being literal in translation, the simplicity of the Word has been maintained in this version of the Bible.
The difference in different versions of the Bible comes in only because of the approach towards translation. Otherwise, every version has tried it’s best to bring out the best translation of the original Word.
