Posted on 03/14/2014 9:15:38 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
When Americans reach for their Bibles, more than half of them pick up a King James Version (KJV), according to a new study advised by respected historian Mark Noll.
The 55 percent who read the KJV easily outnumber the 19 percent who read the New International Version (NIV). And the percentages drop into the single digits for competitors such as the New Revised Standard Version, New America Bible, and the Living Bible.
So concludes "The Bible in American Life," a lengthy report by the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Funded by the Lilly Foundation, researchers asked questions on what David Briggs of the ARDA, which first reported the results, calls "two of the most highly respected data sources for American religion"—the General Social Survey and the National Congregations Study.
The numbers are surprising, given the strong sales of NIV translations in bookstores. The NIV has topped the CBA's bestselling Bible translation list for decades, and continued to sell robustly in 2013.
The high numbers of KJV readers confirm the findings of last year's American Bible Society (ABS) State of the Bible report. On behalf of ABS, Barna Group found that 52 percent of Americans read the King James or the New King James Version, compared with 11 percent who read the NIV. The KJV also received almost 45 percent of the Bible translation-related searches on Google, compared with almost 24 percent for the NIV, according to Bible Gateway's Stephen Smith.
In fact, searches for the KJV seem to be rising distinctly since 2005, while most other English translations are staying flat or are declining, according to Smith's Google research.
(Excerpt) Read more at christianitytoday.com ...
You understand the KJV is also called the AV (the Authorized Version) - right?
What's your take on the Holman? I have a great NIV study bible, and enjoy the KJV because I just find it has more depth (although I have to read it a little slower due to the language), but I recently started reading the Holman and like it.
Excellent find. Seems older is better for most or more reliable. I personally keep the KJV, NASB and NKJV close by for daily reading and study. With websites like Biblegateway.com and APPs like YouVersion, it is easy to switch between multiple versions during study.
The NASB is very good. I am sure you are aware that it uses the critical text instead of the received text. Always good to keep a KJV handy.
I noticed reading a piece on translations that the NAB is a dynamic equivalent version where the Douay is a literal or formal equivalence version.
LOL you just can’t miss an opportunity:)
Indeed blue letter is a great resource. If you have a smart phone or tablet I highly recommend the YouVersion Bible App. It has hundreds of reading plans which my favorite is the M’Cheyne yearly reading plan. Takes you through the OT once and NT and Psalms twice in a year.
Good one.
Thanks for the comparison of virgin and young woman. It begs the question...What is there to “behold” about a “young woman” bearing a child? Nothing. Say behold a virgin bears a child. Well now that is something to behold!
From Webster's 1828 Dictionary.
U'NICORN, noun [Latin unicornis; unus, one, and cornu, horn.]
1. an animal with one horn; the monoceros. this name is often applied to the rhinoceros.
2. The sea unicorn is a fish of the whale kind, called narwal, remarkable for a horn growing out at his nose.
3. A fowl.
fossil unicorn or fossil unicorn's horn, a substance used in medicine, a terrene crustaceous spar.
Before taking on the Douay do a comparison of Genesis 3:15 with another version. Check it out:
Genesis 3:15 KJV
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15 DRA
I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
Well, if you take a look at the surrounding verses
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. 13 Then Isaiah[d] said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman[e] is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.[f] 15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”you'll see that the text itself is talking about when the "two kings you are in dread [of]" would end — and the answer was before the young woman's child would know good/evil.
This isn't to say that this prophecy isn't about Jesus, it is, but God is very, very good at layering
information/messages in his word, like any great story teller (i.e. rereadability).
Which version of the NIV? The 1985 version, or the more recent one? The updated version have switched to supposedly gender neutral language, and the passage now reads “17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
One of my favorites for the New Testament remains Tyndale’s 1526 version:
“As he walked by the sea of Galile, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting nets into the sea, for they were fishers. And Iesus said unto them: follow me, and I will make you to be fishers of men. And they straightway forsook their nets, and followed him.”
I noticed that with the almost a billion served none of the Catholic versions of the Bible reached double digits in the survey. Interesting...
That's a really good point!
When comparing to Greek or Hebrew the KJV is generally more accurate but not always.
I have been using the Jerusalem Bible for about 45 years. A friend of mine brought one back from Ireland for me and I wore that one out. I got a new one a few years ago (a reprint of the original Jerusalem Bible) from Amazon. We use it daily in our reading and reference. In my opinion this is much better than the New Jerusalem Bible, which reverted some of the Old Testiment language to KJV ‘Lord’ from ‘Yahweh’, among other things. The Jerusalem Bible, in my opinion, is a very accurate translation, and reads easily. Many Catholic priests have the Jerusalem Bible in their library.
I grew up reading either KJV or Darby. My great grandfather in England was contemporary with and a close friend of John Nelson Darby. He was mentored by Darby. Darby had a personal ministry to Queen Victoria, and when Darby, 20 years senior to my great grandfather, could no longer continue that ministry, it fell on my great grandfather to continue it. He did so until her death.
I have various translations in my library, and access many others on-line for study or comparison purposes. My least favorite is NIV, the ‘Not Inspired Version’.
I also have Greek and Hebrew texts that I have used for study.
I'm not happy with either of them.
**I have been using the Jerusalem Bible for about 45 years.**
Good choice; many people don’t know that the Jerusalem Bible is used in most Catholic Churches around the world (except in the United States.....sigh)
A good dynamic translation is the Knox Bible. In his little essay "On Englishing the Bible", Msgr. Knox pointed out that the idea was to convey the Hebrew or Greek or Latin words (he used all three, and footnoted where they varied), in words that a native English speaker would use.
The NAB guideline appears to be: "let's convey what WE think the words OUGHT to mean, in dumbed down language because we really don't think our congregations are all that bright."
The Church has already fixed the "dynamic" translation of the Mass from the same era (over vociferous protests from the Usual Suspects). Hopefully they will fix the Bible sometime . . . probably not in my lifetime . . . :-(
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