King James Bible
In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Revised English Bible Translates John 1:1
John 1:1
“...and what God was, the Word was.”
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Please note that these different translations do not say the same thing. And The Revised English Bible is an authoritative translation.
The churches and other Christian groups that sponsored the REB were:
Baptist Union of Great Britain
Bible Society
Church of England
Church of Scotland
Council of Churches for Wales
Irish Council of Churches
The London Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Methodist Church of Great Britain
Moravian Church in Great Britain and Ireland
National Bible Society of Scotland
Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales
Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
Roman Catholic Church in Scotland
Salvation Army
United Reformed Church
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Col. 2:9 NIV
IF THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD (DEITY) LIVES IN JESUS, THEN HOW MUCH MORE OF THE GODHEAD HAS TO LIVE IN HIM FOR HIM TO BE GOD?
I don’t think you can actually show me what the difference in meaning is between:
“When all things began, the Word already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was.” (REB John 1:1)
And Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
God is = God
What God was + The Word was = God
By the way, the REB is not a direct translation. It is a “dynamic” translation:
“Because dynamic equivalence eschews strict adherence to the grammatical structure of the original text in favor of a more natural rendering in the target language, it is sometimes used when the readability of the translation is more important than the preservation of the original grammatical structure.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_and_formal_equivalence
Here’s a literal translation:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; (Young’s Literal Translation)
Another literal translation, same exact wording
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (LITV)
The Vulgate agrees, same exact wording:
Joh 1:1 in principio erat Verbum et Verbum erat apud Deum et Deus erat Verbum
Webster, with no difference:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The ESV, no difference:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Same with MKJV, Murdock, Revised Version, Weymouth 1912 translation.
The International Standard version:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Jubilee Bible uses the same exact wording as all the former. As does the ASV,
The BBE reads:
Joh 1:1 From the first he was the Word, and the Word was in relation with God and was God.
The CEV:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God.
The Darby uses the KJV’s reading, as do most of the others. The DRB agrees. The English Majority Text concurs.
The ERV:
Joh 1:1 Before the world began, the Word was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Finally, the KJV with strong’s numbers:
Joh 1:1 InG1722 the beginningG746 wasG2258 theG3588 Word,G3056 andG2532 theG3588 WordG3056 wasG2258 withG4314 God,G2316 andG2532 theG3588 WordG3056 wasG2258 God.G2316
The latter words: ho (the) logos (Word) ane (was) Theos (God).
In case you don’t know, but the verb to be is a linking verb here, with Theos (God) being the predicate nominative. Word = God, in other words.
Actually, a mistake. The vulgate reads it “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and God was the Word.”
The latter order is just changed over :)