One of my readers - I think I only have about 2 at this moment - asked a good question after noticing that I usually link to the New Living Translation of the bible (NLT). I thought that it was a good question, so I decided to post most of my response here so that it is easier to find.
We use the NLT a lot at Yellowstone Church. I grew up reading the NIV, and when I first started reading the NLT - I didn't really care for it that much. It seemed watered down and like you say "paraphrasy". But the more I sat with people who had never opened a bible the more I found myself having to explain what the NIV was really saying to them by putting it into relevant daily language. As I did that and as I compared it to the NLT, I came to realize that a lot of what I was doing had already been done in the NLT.
I still use the NIV a lot. Just recently, I have started reading the ESV in my own devotions (it is a relatively new - essentially literal translation).
By the way, some people confuse the NLT with the old Living Bible which was a paraphrase. But the NLT is actually a direct translation from the original language done by a huge team of scholars. It is done with a thought by thought approach as opposed to a word for word approach.
What I tell people is that they should read whichever version of the Bible they find the easiest to understand and read (don't confuse this with whichever translation says what you want to hear. :) provided that it is a good biblically faithful translation.
I do confess though, sometimes I like to see what Peterson has to say in The Message, but I find it very difficult to do any sort of Bible Study using a paraphrase like The Message.
Just out of curiosity, which translation of the bible do you read the most?
I'm Moving
12 years ago
2 comments:
Wow...nice response time there! I'm a bit ashamed that I didn't do any digging to find out just what the NLT is. I figured it was a rehash of the Living Bible, which I really don't care for. I have basically no use for The Message.
I like a Bible that *sounds* like the Bible. The ESV made a nice read, but my favorite version so far is the New King James. I like to read a different version each year. This year I'm finally doubling back and doing the NIV.
BTW, I definitely prefer word-for-word. The NETBible comes in handy for quick look-ups, too.
I have also been enjoying reading the NLT this year (Dad I likes the original NLT that was superceded by the current NLT only a few years later). NRSV is also one that I like a lot. And I have one obscure version, the "New Jerusalem Bible" that I ran into while at a Catholic Hermitage Retreat in MN that is ironically run by extended family members of the Wanchena family from Roundup. The "New Jerusalem" is refreshing when reading OT stories or even NT passages that have become so familiar that they don't "jump" as much when reading the same version again and again. I am interested in looking at the NET and ESV.
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