Bible Versions

Yesterday I shared a couple of thoughts on this issue, urging thought about what we say as preachers concerning Bible versions. Today I’d like to offer a couple of thoughts about what we do with Bible versions:

3. Preach from the text people are looking at. Whether you like it or not, if most people in the church use one version, and that version is sitting in the seat in front of them, and that version is projected on the screen at the front, then you should probably be using that version when you preach. Why do anything to undermine communication? Now you may not prefer the NIV, many don’t, but if that is what people have in the congregation, you should probably use it for preaching. By all means study in a translation you prefer (or original language if you can), but up-front use what people have in front of them. I suppose that if I were in a KJV church, I would be tempted to do the reading from that, but then preach from a more understandable version (and perhaps not state that I’m doing so!)

4. Think carefully about bulk buys of Bibles for the church. When churches buy dozens of “pew Bibles” in a certain version, the ramifications are massive. Some of you remember the decision being made thirty years ago, and some churches are still using the same “pew Bibles” from that decision. More than that, many people in those churches are still using that same version at home, and repeatedly buying the same version when their Bible wears out (hopefully), because, after all, that’s what everyone uses in the church. So it is a big decision. And it can be a difficult, but potentially strategic decision to change the version used in the “pew Bible” and “from the front.” I know of some churches that have made that change in recent years from NIV to ESV, for example. This year we will see a revised version of the NIV coming out in a couple of months, probably with significant fanfare. Whether churches switch to a different version, or make the transition to the new NIV, is up to each church leadership. I would just suggest that there are moments when a decision to start replacing worn Bibles with more of the same version is not unlike signing a three-decade contract for your church. Whatever is decided, let it be a thought-through and informed decision!

(NB Cor Deo podcast about relational Bible reading – click here.)

NOTE – Peter has replied to helpful comment on this post.

Different versions translate some things in slightly different ways. One version says “healed” where another says “saved.” Sometimes a footnote points out an alternative reading to the one in the text, but other versions choose the alternative reading. What do we do when we are preaching a text with a textual variant in it?

1. Recognize that the listeners may be using different versions. This means that it might be worth a brief passing comment that “your version may have it this way…” Generally it is probably better to affirm both as possible, or express a preference for one over the other in a gracious manner that does not tear down the alternative.

2. Recognize that your listeners are not experts in textual criticism. (Incidentally, be honest with yourself too. Just because you can pronounce a Greek word in a dictionary does not mean you are a Greek scholar.) So we should be very hesitant to overwhelm people with textual critical issues. In reality, most of the time this will achieve a double goal. First it may show how much work you’ve done, what skill you have or perhaps add confidence in your understanding of the passage. More importantly, second of all it almost certainly will undermine their trust in their own Bibles. People don’t understand how their version came to exist, they don’t grasp the process from inspiration to translation, and so your textual critical observation may very well cause them to distrust their Bible. “If my version is wrong in this verse, why should I trust it anywhere else?”

3. Do your work in preparation, but think carefully what you say while preaching. The last thing we want to do is inadvertently undermine peoples’ trust in the Bible sitting open in their lap!