The New International Version (NIV) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) are both communal projects. In other words, there’s no single translator for these translations. What are the main differences between the NIV and the NRSV? In response to decreasing literacy rates in the United States, for instance, a number of recent translations have provided sentence structure that is more comprehensible to a wider variety of people, that is, by providing sentences in the active voice or using vocabulary that attempts to match reading levels of a common English reader. There are many other legitimate reasons for the production of new translations, including attempts to communicate more effectively in the current language of the day. For example, the King James Version (originally published in 1611) was based on an ancient manuscript tradition that did not coincide with the oldest manuscripts available or the best practices from the discipline of textual criticism in order to determine what was likely the closest words to the original writings of the Bible.

In the recent past, new translations were needed to correct the inaccuracies of older translations. Why are there so many Bible translations? Many of the examples below came from our hour-long conversation one afternoon.

In an effort to wrestle with these questions in a more communal manner, I invited my Messiah University biblical studies colleagues - Rebecca Harris, Eric Seibert, and Brian Smith - for a conversation on the topic. In addition, all translators have biases - some conscious and others less conscious. There is no easy way around this process, partly because many ancient words have multiple meanings. Professional translators make interpretive choices in their work all of the time. Most American readers of the Bible depend on English translations.

Different bible versions comparison