Comparison of Various Versions of the Bible
When I first studied the Bible, I was cautioned about the different
version or translations. This has gone on since the time of Martin
Luther. In order to make it available and readable to all Christians
and not just scholars of Arabic, Greek, or Latin, Martin Luther and
others translated the Bible into German, English or other common
language. Certain texts were translated differently causing
more discussion and misunderstanding. An example is: Luke 2: 13-14 The N LT
version is "And all at once with the angel there was a great throng of the hosts of
heaven, praising God with the words: Glory to God in the highest
heaven, and on earth peace for those he favors." The KJV
version is "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Is there so much difference?
The angels are praising God and asking for His peace to the people of
Earth as the Savior has come to them. The main discussion should be on
the “meat of the subject” - meaning what are God's instructions or
directions to us.
The best example that I can think of is for you to study the many translations of the text from Mark
12:28-34.
RSV
version Mark
12:28-34
[28] And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one
another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which
commandment is the first of all?"
[29] Jesus answered, "The first is, `Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God,
the Lord is one;
[30] and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
[31] The second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
There is no other commandment greater than these."
[32] And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have
truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he;
[33] and to love him with all the heart, and with all the
understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as
oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
[34] And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You
are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to
ask him any question.
NAB version Mark
12:28-34
28 5 One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing
and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first
of all the commandments?"
29 Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God
is Lord alone!
30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
31 The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
There is no other commandment greater than these."
32 The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in
saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.'
33 And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding,
with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth
more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34 And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to
him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask
him any more questions.
NIV version Mark
12:28-34
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.
Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all
the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’c There is no
commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that
God is one and there is no other but him.
33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and
with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more
important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are
not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him
any more questions.
ESV version Mark
12:28-34
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one
another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which
commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most
important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The
second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no
other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him,
“You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there
is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with
all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s
neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to
him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one
dared to ask him any more questions.
NLT version Mark
12:28-34
28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to
the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of
all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O
Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love
the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind,
and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
32 The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have
spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. 33
And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my
understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself.
This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and
sacrifices required in the law.”
34 Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are
not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask
him any more questions.
