DO NOT USE (deprecated)
2
votes
4answers
365 views
Accurate translations of original scripts/text
I've been on what is becoming quite the mission to find the most accurate translation of Daniel 9:23-27 (or the (Tenach/OT) bible in general) of the most original scripts/text available. It seems like ...
20
votes
4answers
597 views
Is “kill” a valid translation for Exodus 20:13 (Thou shalt not kill)?
Exodus 20:13 (KJV)
Thou shalt not kill.
Many political statements have been made about this verse. This translation has been used by many to support their pacifist desires. However, it seems ...
7
votes
2answers
117 views
In the Peshitta, what is the difference between the original word translated “Sabbath” and that translated “week?”
In Matthew 28:1 of the Aramaic Peshitta text, the word translated "Sabbath" and the word translated "week" appear similar but with slight variation.
Does anyone know what the significance is of the ...
17
votes
5answers
717 views
“A god” or “God” in John 1:1?
John 1:1 (NWT):
In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.
This translation, the Jehovah's Witnesses New World Translation is, I think, unique in using ...
4
votes
4answers
114 views
How should ἐκκλησίαις be translated in 1 Corinthians 14:34?
Though it has a couple different meanings, most often ἐκκλησία is translated as "church" in the NT. I'm wondering, though, whether its use in 1 Corinthians 14:34 might be distinguished from its use in ...
1
vote
0answers
99 views
What is the actual word used in “Thou shall not kill?” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is “kill” a valid translation for Exodus 20:13 (Thou shalt not kill)?
What word is used in the original Ten Commandments for "kill"? What modern equivalent ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Judgment like light(ning) in Hosea 6:5
ESV, NIV and NLT each have a rather distinctive translation of the last phrase of Hosea 6:5:
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment ...
2
votes
1answer
278 views
Leaping over the threshold in Zephaniah 1:9
It would seem from the various translations of Zephaniah 1:9 that is is tricky to understand. Some translations give an apparently fairly vanilla, literal rendering:
On that day I will punish ...
1
vote
3answers
101 views
Is Hosea 4:11 teaching total abstinence from alcohol?
In Hosea 4:11 (ESV), God seems to condemn drinking wine:
They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to cherish ...
3
votes
1answer
94 views
What does “in the midst of the years” mean in Habakkuk 3:2?
The phrase "in the midst of the years" occurs in some more literal translations of Habakkuk 3:2:
Yahweh, I have heard the report of you, and your work, Yahweh, do I fear. In the midst of the years ...
3
votes
1answer
33 views
How should the phrase ἐλέγξει τὸν κόσμον περὶ in John 16:8 be translated?
The 1984 NIV of John 16:7b-11 reads (emphasis mine):
Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of ...
3
votes
1answer
103 views
A woman is not to put on a man's dress?
I came across a web page belonging to a christian person/org.
The page (carrying on a trait I find frequent among christian fundamentalist web sites) critiques other fundamentalist christian ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Has the meaning of “Love” changed enough to warrant substitutions in Bible translations?
The culturally accepted uses of the word "Love" seem to be a trite shadow of its biblical meaning. Common use of "Love" is now interchangeable with "Like," "Enjoy," or "Emotionally attachment" of ...
26
votes
5answers
1k views
Does the Bible mention unicorns?
I was reading Psalm 22 (from this question) and I found this verse:
Psalms 22:21 (KJV)
Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
When I switched ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the translation philosophy for tachash skins in Exodus?
In Exodus (e.g.: 26:14) we learn one of the coverings for the tabernacle is to be made of "תחש" (tachash) skins. The translation of this term appears to be especially difficult or contentious as there ...
11
votes
3answers
399 views
How should James 2:18 be translated?
James, when making the argument that faith without works is dead, makes this statement:
James 2:18-19 (ESV)
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ...
7
votes
1answer
78 views
What does Genesis 3:16 literally say?
I've noticed that sometimes words are repeated in the hebrew text.
Gen 3:16 אֶֽל־ H413 to הָ·אִשָּׁ֣ה H802 Unto the woman אָמַ֗ר H559 he said הַרְבָּ֤ה H7235 I will greatly אַרְבֶּה֙ H7235 ...
1
vote
4answers
311 views
What else can “Fifteen cubits from above” in Gen 7:20 mean?
When translating Genesis, I took pains to preserve the implied flat-Earth cosmology that a naive reading suggests. One of the places where this made a big difference is in the story of Noah. Noah is ...
1
vote
1answer
121 views
Grammar-Literal Translation of Genesis 1:3 and 12:3
In Biblical Hebrew there are two simple verb types (Qal and Niphal) which convey no causation. Are the below revisions of the King James Version more accurate to the thoughts expressed by the grammar? ...
6
votes
2answers
61 views
Blessed is the man who WALKS NOT or HAS NOT WALKED?
I noticed in studying the Psalms that Psalm 1 in the old Coverdale text reads, "Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, and hath not sat ...
4
votes
2answers
35 views
Why does the YLT render “thunder” as “voices” in Exodus 20:18?
Most modern translations of Exodus 20:18a render it something like the ESV (all emphasis mine):
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet ...
11
votes
4answers
4k views
Translation of “Hosanna” (ὡσαννά)
What does "Hosanna" (ὡσαννά) mean (as it appears in the Gospels)? What is its etymology/derivation from Hebrew/Aramaic?
3
votes
2answers
206 views
Is “wept on his neck” a Hebrew idiom?
In a number of places, the English Standard Version uses a phrase like "wept on his neck," e.g.
Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. —Genesis ...
10
votes
3answers
2k views
Which 'modern' English translation of the Bible is considered the 'closest' or most accurate translation?
Which 'modern' (anything inclusive of King James Version to date) English translation of the Bible is considered the 'closest' or most accurate translation from the original Hebrew & Greek texts?
...
4
votes
2answers
463 views
Why didn't the Septuagint translate 'ahabah to eros?
Song of Songs 2:7 in English (NPJS) reads:
I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,
By gazelles or by hinds of the field:
Do not wake or rouse
Love until it please!
As the NET Bible points ...
4
votes
2answers
151 views
Exodus 20:5 - Jealous
I asked this question here
Exodus 20:5 NIV
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your
God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the
fathers to the ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
What is the meaning of “encircled” in Jeremiah 31:22?
Yesterday, I read Jeremiah 31:21-22 (ESV):
“Set up road markers for yourself;
make yourself guideposts;
consider well the highway,
the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
...
5
votes
3answers
156 views
Why is “rega`” translated “peace” in Job 21:13?
Job 21:7-13 (ESV)
Why do the wicked live,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
Their offspring are established in their presence,
and their descendants before their eyes.
Their houses ...
5
votes
2answers
231 views
How did Biblical translators decide on cypress for the type of wood in Noah's ark?
Reading from Genesis 6:14 (NRSV):
Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover
it inside and out with pitch.
There is a note at "cypress" which says:
Meaning of ...
5
votes
2answers
92 views
Ezekiel 44:5 Mark Well
Ezekiel 44:5 ESV
And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your
eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning
all the statutes of the temple of the Lord ...
6
votes
1answer
290 views
The meaning of “stranger and sojourner” in Genesis 23:4 and Leviticus 25:23
In Genesis 23:4 Abraham is in conversation with the residents of Heth and says:
"I am a stranger and a sojourner with you. Give me a possession for a
burying place with you, that I may bury my ...
7
votes
3answers
426 views
Synthesizing Differing Translations of Proverbs 18:24
In the King James, Prov. 18:24 reads "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." This appears to be an admonition for the reader to ...
6
votes
1answer
150 views
Is “faith” a correct translation in Deut 32:20 and Hab 2:4?
I recently noticed that in the KJV, the word "faith" only appears twice in the OT: Deuteronomy 32:20 and Habakkuk 2:4. I thought maybe those anomalies were due translation so I looked up the same ...
6
votes
2answers
181 views
Does John 7:15 mean Jesus was untaught?
John 7:15 (ESV):
The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,1 when he has never studied?”
The footnote is:
7:15 Or this man knows his letters
So there ...
7
votes
4answers
913 views
Forgive us our “debts”? “sins”? “trespasses”? Which is the most accurate translation?
It seems that there are three popular versions of this passage in the Lord's prayer. "Forgive us our sins", "Forgive us our debts", and "Forgive us our trespasses".
I see one version here in the ...
7
votes
3answers
475 views
How many people were involved in the Exodus?
According to Numbers 1:20-46 (NJPS):
They totaled as follows:
The descendants of Reuben, Israel’s first-born, the registration of the clans of their ancestral house, as listed by name, head by ...
9
votes
1answer
155 views
What does 1 Corinthians 9:27 literally say?
I'm used to reading the Bible in Finnish, so 1 Corinthians 9:27 seems very non-literal in most English translations. The Finnish 1992 translation is usually quite dynamic, but in this case it starts ...
8
votes
2answers
694 views
Was 'σκύβαλον' (skubalon) profanity?
In Philippians 3:8, Paul uses the word σκύβαλον (skubalon), which is usually translated as "dung" , "garbage", or "rubbish". I've heard that this was considered an impolite word with much stronger ...
8
votes
2answers
190 views
Did Ahaz burn up his sons in the fire or pass them through the fire?
I believe the literal translation is that he passes his sons through the fire. Does that mean that they still lived but were scarred for life, or did they lose their lives?
2 Chronicles 28:3 ...
8
votes
2answers
167 views
How should the first line of Judges 5:2 be translated?
So at some point, I'm hoping to be able to answer this question. In the meantime, though, I keep running into more questions, this one concering the first line of the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:2).
It ...
6
votes
3answers
590 views
Were the Nephilim in Genesis 6 aliens?
Could Genesis 6:1-4 be talking about aliens? (ESV):
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were ...
10
votes
4answers
461 views
What translation best translates the word “vanity” (in the KJV) in Ecclesiastes?
The word "vanity" (KJV) in Ecclesiastes has been mistranslated in the NIV as "meaningless".
Is "vanity" the best translation for the hebrew word hebel (Strongs 1892), does a newer version do it more ...
6
votes
1answer
24 views
Is John 16:31 meant to be a question?
In the 1984 NIV, Jesus replies to his disciples in John 16:31 saying, "You believe at last!" However, there is also a footnote on the verse, "Or Do you now believe?" In the 2011 NIV, however, the ...
3
votes
2answers
87 views
the word for “seven” compared with the word for “Sabbath” in Scripture
Is there a connection linguistically between the word for "Seven" and for "Sabbath" in the Biblical languages, Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek? If so, could someone explain it to me.
This is related to the ...
8
votes
2answers
171 views
In the Peshitta NT, what was the original meaning of the word often translated “first day of the week”?
Is there an Aramaic word for "week" different from "Sabbath?"
Is the word for Sabbath used in the Peshitta New Testament in the following passages:
But on the eve of the Sabbath, when the first ...
18
votes
4answers
7k views
What does “meek” mean in Matthew 5:5?
Matthew 5:5 (NIV)
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
What does "meek" mean in the original language? Is "meek" a good translation for the original Greek word?
7
votes
2answers
81 views
Sense of περἰ in Romans 8:3
Romans 8:3 says the following
καἰ περἰ ἁμαρτἰας (and for sin)
Many translations suggest as an offering for sin as an alternate translation. I can see how περί can mean in place of, but is as an ...
10
votes
3answers
415 views
If Joshua can be translated why Is the name of Jesus translated “Jesus” but his name in hebrew was Joshua?
This question is in regard to Matthew 1:21, "His name shall be called Jesus for he will save his people from their sins." The question has two parts.
1) Strongs equates the name "Jesus" with the ...
5
votes
1answer
72 views
What is the name of Jesus in the Peshitta text?
In Matthew 1:21 what is the name of Jesus in the Peshitta text?
Is it the same as the name given in Luke 3:29, Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 which is rendered as Joshua in English?
4
votes
1answer
108 views
What has changed in Biblical scholarship since the Jerusalem Bible (1966) was published?
I have been reading through the Jerusalem Bible, published by the Roman Catholic Church, and have found a lot of pleasure in the copious footnotes and the surprisingly readable text. Obviously the ...
