The Bible is The Word of God

In 2005 the Dallas Biblical Arts Center was destroyed in a terrible fire. Some of the expensive works of art were rescued by courageous firefighters on the scene, but not without damage. Many of the works were destroyed.

I visited the museum the year before it's destruction, when the dead sea scrolls were on exhibit there. It was an incredible exhibit. The museum housed a wide variety of  Bibles in numerous languages and ages. They had one of the very first types of printing presses there that was used to demonstrate how bibles were first printed.

As we toured the museum they explained the processes of translating the Bible and the extreme care that went into it to ensure that nothing was translated inaccurately. Lets look at the steps involved.

• Reviewer Check
• Consultant Check
• Exegetical Check
• Consistency Check
• Format Check
• Style Check
• Proofreading
• Oral Read-through

There are translators and a review committee who prepare the first draft, review the work of others on the team, test the translation with other speakers of the language then receive, study and assess their comments, revise the draft, and check the final manuscript for publication. Revisions are made to make it more faithful to the original meaning, more natural in expression, more accurate and readable.

Then it is back translated word-by-word or phrase-by-phrase to verify that it reflects as closely as possible the meaning and grammatical structure of the indigenous language text. Back translation can improve the reliability and validity by requiring that the quality of a translation is verified by an independent translator translating back into the original language.


Another important element to note is that the Bible should always be translated from it's original language and not from another translation. So as a language changes over time, a Bible translation may be revised to make it more readable, but it must still be translated from the original language to ensure accuracy.

That is quite a process isn't it? Do you know why so much care goes into translating the Bible? Because the Bible is inspired and holy, adherence to the original meaning of the text is crucial. Today computers are used in Bible translation to ensure accuracy but the standards must remain.

I will be discussing more about the Bible in upcoming posts. For now I wanted to share some pictures that I took during my tour of the Dallas Biblical Arts Center. This was before I owned a digital camera so the quality is not what I would like but still acceptable. Click on the pictures for an enlarged image.

From Parchment to Scroll to Bible ~ The Word of God Preserved

Plague of Locusts found in Exodus 10

Hebrew Torah Scroll

I think this is a German Bible

The Gospel of John

I believe that little card says 1578 First Geneva (something) Bible

"You have exalted above all things Your Name and Your Word." Psalm 138:2 (emphasis mine)

"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Random Question - Which is Your Prefered Bible Translation?

It's time for another RQ. I'm so glad to see that so many of you are enjoying this challange. I have loved reading the thoughts you have posted on your blogs. I'm going to take it easy on you this week. First, this weeks question is less challanging than previous questions. Second, because I love to give people choices, I have posted an optional question at the end of this post. Choose one or both to write about.

Which is Your Prefered Bible Translation? Why?

There are numerous Bible translations available to choose from these days. There's the New International (NIV), New American Standard (NASB), the Amplified Bible, the New Living Translation (NLT), the King James (KJV), New King James (NKJV), the Message, and the list goes on....

How is one to choose? Well, I don't claim to know all the differences in all of the various translations but I have narrowed my preferences down. I decided I wanted to live for Christ in 1991 as a result of reading my Bible. We had been in the Gulf War and I began wondering about it's signifigance to the end times so I started reading Revelation. Yep, I started with the most difficult book to understand. In addition to that, I was reading out of an Old King James Version.

Here is a sample reading in case you haven't had the opportunity to read this translation.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

This is just proof that it is God who reveals Himself to us and He can use anyone and anything, or nothing at all to do so.

So I have a certain fondness for the KJV but it is not my prefered translation. I was introduced to the NIV shortly after that and it is the translation that I carry and use most. It is an accurate translation and easy to read and honestly, I've become accustom to it. I do however, refer to two other translations often.

I am developing quite a taste for the NLT these days. It is written in a more common English verbiage and I have been finding deeper meaning in a number of verses lately using this translation. I am even considering switching from my NIV to this translation.

On occasion I will also refer to The Message. This translation seems to be the most frequently quoted these days. It definitely sheds a different light on scripture. I choose not to use it much but I do like to refer to it at times just to see how a verse is translated.

I think refering to different translations often offers deeper understanding of scripture, and with the online Bibles that are available today it is much easier to refer to several. So which one is your preference?

Alternate Question:
Why is it bad news for a dog to attempt to eat a frog?
Yes this is a real question with a real answer. Have fun finding it!