Comparison Verses

On Valentine’s Day, 2011, I asked readers at Thinking Out Loud to name their go-to verses when checking out a new Bible translation. Five of the responses are below. Later that year, the NIV2011 would emerge, but using what I had at the time, NIV1984, I reproduced their lists in full.

At the bottom with references only, are two other lists. One gives the reason for examining each passage, which is closer to the more rigorous Bible scrutiny we see more frequently today.

If nothing else, today you get to read some great scripture selections, so slow down and allow each to speak to you.

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Joe’s list:

^{John 3:3} Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

^{Romans 1:1} Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

^{Gen 1:1} In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Cynthia’s list:

^{I John 5:7} For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

^{Rom 3:23} for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

^{Col 2:9} For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form

Cloudwatcher’s List:

^{II Tim 2:16} All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness

^{Hebrews 1:1} In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.   [her list continued through verse 14]

^{Hebrews 10:10} And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.¹¹ Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

David’s list:

^{Deut 33:27} The eternal God is your refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He will drive out your enemies before you,
saying, ‘Destroy them!’

^{Psalm 18:30} As for God, his way is perfect:
The LORD’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.

^{Nahum 1:7} The LORD is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him

My own list (you’ve seen two of these passages frequently here):

^{Col 1:9} For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^[b] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

^{Phil 2:5} In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

^{Titus 3:5(KJV)} Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost

The criteria in this question was rather unusual, but I don’t think we’re ever poorer for contemplating the scriptures.  Some of the verses I wanted to choose had already been selected (i.e. Hebrews 10), so I added the Titus verse which had fallen in my radar the previous summer. The Philippians passage is still my go-to when checking out a new translation.

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Appendix:

Dave’s list with criteria:

1) Philippians 3:8 to see if someone is finally brave enough to translate “skubala” as “dogsh*t”

2)Galatians 5: To see if they scored a win (like the New NIV finally did) and translated “sarx” as flesh, not “sinful nature”

3)The gospels: To see if (like The Voice did) someone translated baptism as “ritual cleansing” or
literally as “dip” or “immersion”

4) 2 Tim 1:7: “sound mind” or “self-discipline”

5)Psalm 2:12, capitalize “Son” or no; also “his son” or “the son”?

Albert’s list with equal weight to OT and NT:

Old testament:

1. Genesis 1
2. Psalm 23
3. Isaiah 7:14 (because everyone seems to care whether it’s “virgin” or “young woman”)

New Testament:

1. Matthew 5-6
2. Ephesians 5-6
3. Philippians 2

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If you have an idea for an out-of-the-box devotional article here let us know. Also, it’s been awhile since we ran the “Quotations” series, so if you have an author to recommend, we’ll consider it.

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Go Deeper:

While we’re on the topic of translations, last month Bible Gateway decided to remove The Passion Translation (TPT) from its site. If this type of thing interests you, and you’d like to read more, with links to more detailed articles, click here.

When the Motivation is Encoded in the Description

Bible translation is both an art and a science, and we see the possibilities in various ways of rendering the same Hebrew or, in this case, Greek text.

The third verse of the first chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians apparently offered translators a variety of options.  In the NIV, the verse reads:

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Before we look at three distinct pairings in this passage, I want to point out that from my perspective, the words work and labor suggest the same thing. In some the second word is service. But even that is very similar, though not all work is an act of service, all acts of service certainly involve some effort.

The NIV would seem to say that faith, love and hope are the motivators or inspiration for work, labor and endurance.  Thus,

• faith gives way to work (something James would agree with)
• love gives way to labor (see this September, 2014 post on compassion)
• hope gives way to endurance (we would not endure if there were no hope, right?)

But in the ESV, we see the motivating characteristic embedded in the fruit that it produces:

• work of faith
• labor of love
• steadfastness of hope

To some of you it may be a minor nuance in the translation, but it certainly reads differently.

The GNT (Good News) expresses it yet differently again perhaps putting more emphasis on the motivation than the fruit:

• you put your faith into practice
• your love made you work so hard
• your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm

The ISV (still not available in print) provides a more descriptive picture combining the motivation and the effect:

• your faith is active
• your love is hard at work
• your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah is enduring

I think it’s a real blessing that certain passages can be read different ways, but also it challenges me to see the intertwining of the action and the motivator. Some people believe that as long as certain results are attained it doesn’t matter why. Paul certainly saw this as a distinct possibility:

^{ESV Phil 1:15} Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

But what a greater beauty awaits you when you see both the purity of the motive and the fruitfulness of the result; when you see them intertwined.

^{ESV Prov. 16:2} All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the spirit.

Unbeknown to most of us, the motivation (which is the word used in some translations of the verse above) is written into, or the actions we take, not unlike the genetic code is embedded or encoded in every cell in our body…

…As interesting as this is (to me at least!) we can delve into this and miss the obvious: Our lives should be characterized by the three spiritual fruit named: Faith, hope and love.

At least that’s how we say it. But in the text it actually reads: Faith, love and hope. Go deeper. Look again at the above renderings in different translations and ask yourself if perhaps there is a significance to the order in which these three are presented.

Translation Nuances in 1 Thessalonians

The third verse of the first chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians apparently offered translators a variety of options.  In the NIV, the verse reads:

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Before we look at three distinct pairings in this passage, I want to point out that from my perspective, the words work and labor suggest the same thing. In some the second word is service. But even that is very similar, though not all work is an act of service, all acts of service certainly involve some effort.

The NIV would seem to say that faith, love and hope are the motivators or inspiration for work, labor and endurance.  Thus,

• faith gives way to work (something James would agree with)
• love gives way to labor (see this September post on compassion)
• hope gives way to endurance (we would not endure if there were no hope, right?)

But in the ESV, we see the motivating characteristic embedded in the fruit that it produces:

• work of faith
• labor of love
• steadfastness of hope

To some of you it may be a minor nuance in the translation, but it certainly reads differently.

The GNT (Good News) expresses it yet differently again perhaps putting more emphasis on the motivation than the fruit:

• you put your faith into practice
• your love made you work so hard
• your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm

The ISV (still not in print) provides a more descriptive picture combining the motivation and the effect:

• your faith is active
• your love is hard at work
• your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah is enduring

I think it’s a real blessing that certain passages can be read different ways, but also it challenges me to see the intertwining of the action and the motivator. Some people believe that as long as certain results are attained it doesn’t matter why. Paul certainly saw this as a distinct possibility:

^{ESV Phil 1:15} Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

But what a greater beauty awaits you when you see both the purity of the motive and the fruitfulness of the result; when you see them intertwined.

^{ESV Prov. 16:2} All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
    but the Lord weighs the spirit.

 

 

 

I Am “Again-Rising”

^{NIV John 11: 20} When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

²¹ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Carley Evans has a very focused blog, and although she has been featured here twice already, her writing very much suits the kind of thing we were speaking of here yesterday.

Here she notes that in the ministry of Jesus, miracle-working time is not a time for parables. In those moments Jesus is very forthright and makes one of the signature statements about his ministry.

Before we jump in to this, I also want to note Carley’s choice of the Wycliffe Bible for this, as it gets us closer to a literal rendering of what Jesus actually said.  Young’s literal translation echoes this:

²⁵ Jesus said to her, `I am the rising again, and the life; he who is believing in me, even if he may die, shall live;

²⁶ and every one who is living and believing in me shall not die — to the age…

Years ago a pastor shared with me, “Let the translators do the work for you.” I have greatly valued this advice, and if you read today’s thoughts at their source, and then browse older posts, you’ll see that Carley does this. (This one is making me considering getting a print copy of the Wycliffe translation.)

Jesus speaks in analogy or parable quite often, but before asking Lazarus to wake up from death and come out of the tomb, He tells Martha, Lazarus’ sister: “I am again rising and life; he that believeth in me, yea, though he be dead, he shall live.” Jesus does not tell Martha a story meant to represent something else; rather, He tells her the truth – that He is eternal; that, despite death, He lives forever; that, belief in Him results in this same eternal life.

Don’t you wonder how Jesus stays out of the pits where the lepers live? How is it no one throws Him in with those society hates? Well, yes, His neighbors do attempt toss Him over a cliff; but in general, especially today, Jesus is called “a great teacher.” A great teacher? Jesus is not a great teacher if He is not God. He claims to be God, the One and Only God. Jesus either tells us the truth – that He is God – or He’s crazy. Why does anyone listen to an insane man?

Jesus gains the ears of modern theologians – who may or may not believe in His divinity –  because He demonstrates God’s glory and displays God’s power of “again-rising and life.”

I also appreciate the notation here that to refer to Jesus as “a good moral teacher” is dangerous because of what it is not saying about him. When interacting with people in the broader culture about Jesus, those types of statements should set off all types of warning lights. He is not simply that. He is the resurrection and the life.

Second Guessing The Bible Translators

Last week on my book industry blog, I noted a study that examined the large number of changes in Galatians and also III John in the online edition of the NIV-2011, which won’t be available in print until March.  (I’ll post the statistics later in the comments section, or you can read them here.)

III John is a particularly finite specimen for study, so I went to a free online text comparison site, textdiff.com, and input the new version from Bible Gateway, and then the old version, designated as NIV-1984.   However, I later decided the format was more useful if you input the older version first, and then the newer.

The red text indicates 1984 text that was deleted, and the green text indicates the 2011 replacement version.   It’s not just whimsical to play Bible translator and ask yourself what might be behind the revisions you see here.   Do you agree with the changes?   Can you see the reasons for the differences in the updated texts?

III John:

1 The elder,

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 It gave me great joy to havewhen some brothers comebelievers came and telltestified about your faithfulness to the truth andtruth, telling how you continue to walk in the truth.it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers,brothers and sisters,[a] even though they are strangers to you. 6 They have told the church about your love. You will do well toPlease send them on their way in a manner worthy ofthat honors God. 7 It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 8 We ought therefore to show hospitality to such menpeople so that we may work together for the truth.

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do withnot welcome us. 10 So ifwhen I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciouslyspreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome the brothers.other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

13 I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.