Which Translation is the Best Translation?

“You are a letter from Christ…”

2 Cor. 3:3

We English speakers don’t know how lucky we are.  There are so many languages in this world that still don’t even have a portion of Holy Scripture translated into that language. To me that is so very sad because the Scriptures tells us that “faith comes from hearing the message, the message about Christ.”  That’s why I have always been sold on the mission of Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT) – “to make the Word of God available to people in the language of their hearts…”  To me that is the first and most important step in mission work – to translate Scripture into new languages that have never before had a translation before. 

But that also helps me to realize how fortunate we English speakers are.  I googled the question – “how many translations of the Bible are there in English?”  The answer surprised even me.  There are over 450 translations of the Bible into the English language. You know many of them – the KJY, the NIV, the NASB, the Good News Bible, the ESV and more.  Now I understand why one of the most frequent questions I get from people is – “Which translation is the best?  Which translation should I use?”

There are all sorts of answers to that question.  Many of those 450 translations can be eliminated right away – because they are centuries old and/or because they are no longer being published.  Some would choose a translation because of the beauty of the way the translation is worded.  I think this is one of the reasons the King James Version is still being used 500 years later… even though we no longer speak that style of English.  Other’s chose a translation based on familiarity.  They have used the translation over and over again – so the familiar verses roll easily off their tongues. 

In translating the Bible, the translators usually seek for two goals – readability and accuracy.  Each translation will seek both of these but tend to emphasize one over the other.  The New International Version (NIV) emphasizes readability.  They sought to have a translation that reads the way we speak today – so that it will be easily understood. As a result, accuracy sometimes suffers.  The English Standard Version (ESV) emphasizes accuracy.  The result is that sometimes the translation can sound clumsy when you read it.   

The truth is, I can’t tell you which the best translation is.  You simply need to choose the one that you feel most comfortable reading and using, and use that one.  That’s the most important thing – use it.  Read it.  Study it.  Make notes in your Bible when something strikes you or when you are in a Bible Class.  Use it – after all God promises to work in our hearts through His Word.

All that makes me wonder what would you say if I told you that you also a translation of God’s Word?  That is what St. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:3. “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  You are a translation God’s Spirit has been writing since the day you were born.  By His adoption of you in baptism,.. by the experiences in life through which He brought you to faith, and kept you in the faith… by all that He has taught you through Sunday School, confirmation, and Bible class… through the way He has cared for you in sickness and health, in good times and hard… God has been working in your life.  He has been writing your life and your words as a living translation of His Word.  You really are “a letter from Christ” to every one who meets you. One man said it this way – God intends that by our words and deeds we would be “Jesus with skin on " for those who meet us. The Spirit is working through us. 

That means that our witness in word and deed – intentional and unintentional is so important.  People will determine what they think of Jesus by what they see and hear from us.  So our goals should be the same as any translator of the Bible- readability and accuracy – that people would gain from our lives a simple and faithful witness to Christ…. That you and I would be one of the best translations people ever read.

Which Rock is Your Rock?

“That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

1 Samuel 17:46

I want to tell you about these two rocks that Linda and I picked up years ago in Israel.  First there is this piece of marble.  We found this along the shore of the Mediterranean, at Caesarea Marittima.  This is the site of the harbor constructed by Herod the Great.  That harbor was a marvel of engineering… a harbor built by Herod in a place where there was no natural harbor.  You maybe have heard of this place from the Book of Acts. This is where Paul was imprisoned.  Herod was one of the greatest builders of all time – building huge palaces all over Israel.  You have heard of some of them – the Herodium… and Masada are two.  He built the temple in Jerusalem that was there in the days of Jesus.  The harbor at Caesarea Marittima was one of Herod’s crown achievement.  It included a palace, a Coliseum, a Hippodrome and the harbor.  To build his great city he imported three kinds of marble from different parts of the empire.  This piece of marble, that washed up on the shore, was probably once part of that magnificent harbor.  Why did Herod do all this building?  The answer is quite simple.  He was really into himself.  He wanted everyone to remember him.  You might say that Herod’s life goal was that the world would know that there was a Herod.  That’s this rock.

I found this other rock, a smooth round rock, in a creek in the valley of Ellah.  You know that valley at the place where David fought and slew Goliath.  In the story David is mystified why the Israelites are afraid to go out and do battle with Goliath.  Indeed, he is so upset by their fear, that he volunteers to go out and fight.  King Saul offers David his armor but its too big and bulky for David.  Instead David picks up five smooth stones from a creek in that valley, takes his sling shot and goes out to meet the giant.  As he goes, David gives us his reason for fighting this battle.  “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel…’”

There you have it, two very different rocks that represent two very different purposes for life.  Think about the outcome of these two lives.  Herod did all that He did that the world might remember him, yet all that most people remember about Herod is that he killed some babies in Bethlehem.  David’s purpose was to glorify God and still today people all over the world can tell the story of how David slew the giant in God’s name.

Which rock is your rock?  Is your life all about you… about making a name for yourself?  Or is your life about the Lord, about bringing glory to God so that the world may know about him?  I visited with a man today, whose life and witness reminded me of the difference between these two rocks… these two purposes of life.  He has hit a real rough patch health wise lately – heart trouble, cancer trouble and more. As I visited him today, I couldn’t help but think about how I would probably react in his situation.  I think I would be a Herod.  I’d be feeling sorry for myself, whining about my lot, complaining that God isn’t being fair.  Not this man.  He kept talking about having a great peace of knowing that it’s all in God’s hands.  He told me he is praying that God would use his situation to bring glory to God – whatever happens – whether he gets better or not.  Trusting in God, wanting to glorify God, this man was picking up his rock to go out and face his own personal Goliath – that the earth may know that His God and Savior Jesus is real.

Where does such faith come from? It comes from the fact that our God and savior Jesus is real.  God really did give His son Jesus to die and rise for us. In Jesus we really don’t have to be all worried about ourselves.  We are more than conquerors through Jesus.  There is nothing in all creation that can separate us from His love.  No matter what happens we can’t lose because Jesus has already won.  With all the people you and I know who are facing Goliath’s of various shapes and sizes, what could be more important than for them to meet Him in us.  So lets pick up our smooth stone and go out and live our faith so that the world may know there is a real God, one who loves us so much that He gave His own Son to slay our Goliaths.