Bible - Article I

Throughout my life I have been familiar with the King James Version of the Bible; however I have also seen a vast number of other translations that attempt to modernize the text so that current readers can understand. I never understood this since I was raised to believe that the KJV was the purest and best form of the Bible for one to study.

Another consideration with regards to Bible translations is that the one who does the translating will inevitably adjust the text to better fit their interpretation of the passages rather than translate the exact wording. This can be seen even in the KJV and how its phrasing, focus, and general structure were manipulated by the original transcribers to better fit their perception. This same issue can be seen in all other translations of the Bible so I began to ask myself which is truly the purest.

Over the years I have picked up a few different Bible translations just to see what they were like and overall they weren't all that impressive. Then I discovered the Good News Bible. After reading the first few paragraphs it became quickly apparent that indeed this was a text that was more attuned to the modern world than any other that I have read. However, I asked myself how different from the KJV is it really and is its message altered to better fit the perception of the original translator? So I have decided to launch a little study that I will be documenting called simply "Bible" and in it I will be comparing the text from the KJV (King James Version) and the GNB (Good News Bible). I will provide copies of the text and then discuss the differences. I hope to discover how different they really are or are not.

Genesis 1:1-5

Bible - King James Version

1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Bible - Good News Bible

In the beginning when God created the universe, the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the power of God was moving over the water. Then God commanded, "Let there be light" - and light appeared. God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness, and he named the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." Evening passed and morning came - that was the first day.

Bible - Genesis 1:1

In the KGV version of the Bible it states that God created the heaven and the earth, but the GNB Bible states the universe. Looking at the two side by side it is not surprising that the GNB came to this conclusion, since most modern day readers of the Bible would agree that the reference to heaven and the earth is that of the universe.

Bible - Genesis 1:2

In this second verse both Bible texts clearly confirm that originally the world did not contain any land mass on the surface, but was covered completely by water and the earth was subsequently perpetually dark. They both also give reference to God's presence being placed on the earth, but in two different forms. The KGV Bible states it was the spirit of God, while the GNB Bible states it was the Power of God. Now one could argue that one is the same as the other, but I do not agree. It seems to me that the spirit of God is a tangible form of God whose presence can be felt, while the power of God is more in reference to his ability as a deity. The two, while connected are completely different and due to this I feel that the KGV Bible is the more accurate between the two.

Bible - Genesis 1:3

In this both translations clearly state that God created light and there is no real difference between the two versions of the Bible other than some minor word usage. However, I wanted to bring up the point that according to this passage the earth was created prior to the sun. This is assuming, of course, that both version of the Bible are referring to the sun than I must ask if this passage states that the Big Bang Theory is incorrect.

Bible - Genesis 1:4

Both passages from their respective versions of the Bible both state that God approved of the light. He then separated the light from darkness. It seems to me that both passages from both versions of the Bible mean the same.

Bible - Genesis 1:5

Again with this passage both the KGV and the GNB bibles are stating that god named the light "Day" and the darkness "Night. It then states that the first cycle between these two was the first day of the newly created earth. I see no difference between these two versions.