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For the fill-in-the-blanks portions of the homework in this course, you will want to use the King James Version (KJV). For the other portions, I encourage you to use a variety of translations and paraphrases. Sometimes you are even invited to make your own paraphrases! Most of what I do in telling the stories is my own paraphrase; sometimes it’s actual translation, because I can read the Greek and Hebrew.

A Bible translation is something brought over from the original languages, often done by a committee of scholars. A Bible paraphrase is something told in someone’s own words, often using a translation as it’s source, usually done by one person.

No translation gives the full impact of the original languages, yet I believe God protects His word, making it effective throughout. No translation is perfect. For that matter no original rendition is perfect, since no one living now has seen the actual paper and handwriting that Paul or Jeremiah produced, the “autograph.”

A formal translation is one that tries to render the old language nearly word for word in the new language. This can seem rather stilted and difficult to read. Popular formal translations include the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

A dynamic translation seeks to render the thoughts and phrases of the old language into the current style of the new language. Popular dynamic translations include the New International Version (NIV) and its offspring, the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), Today’s New International Version (TNIV), and the NIV2011.

A paraphrase seeks to render the ideas, thoughts, and cultural setting of the old language into the idioms and lifestyle of the new language and culture. Among paraphrases there is wide variety. The Message is a paraphrase and expansion done by Eugene H. Peterson, a Presbyterian pastor, professor, and scholar. The Clear Word is a paraphrase and expansion done by Jack Blanco, a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, professor, and scholar. The Word on the Street is a paraphrase and condensation done by Rob Lacey, a professional storyteller and mime from the Brethren tradition.

All translations since 1900 depend on a set of assumptions and presuppositions quite different from those that produced the King James Version (KJV). Of course, this would be expected since three hundred years of language and cultural change passed between. Most of today’s scholars take for granted the new set of assumptions and presuppositions, which yield the belief and teaching that the KJV is inferior because based on inferior manuscripts. However, there are some scholars who see no need to do this. I am one of these.

Therefore, I invite you to get several translations and paraphrases so you can alternate your reading. Please use as many versions as you can. Since the KJV is a formal translation and most well-known across the decades, this is what I use for the formal fill-in-the-blanks work in this course.