The Complete Guide to Bible Versions

by Philip W. Comfort, Philip W. Commfort

This book answers the many questions about the different translations of the Bible. In an easy-to-read style, the author explains how the Bible was first written and how English translations developed. He also gives a detailed explanation of all the English translations, with suggestions for using each of the several excellent versions now available.

145 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1991

About the author

Philip W. Comfort, Ph.D., has studied English literature, Greek, and New Testament at the Ohio State University and the University of South Africa. He has taught these classes at a number of colleges, including Wheaton College, Trinity Episcopal Seminary, Columbia International University, and Coastal Carolina University. He is currently senior editor of Bible reference at Tyndale and served as New Testament editor for the New Living Translation. He has contributed a number of books to the Tyndale collection, both as author and editor. Among these are The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament, The Origin of the Bible, The Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Essential Guide to Bible Versions, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts (with D. Barrett), and Who's Who in Christian History�all of which are currently available at Tyndale.

Philip lives in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, with his wife, Georgia. His three children (Jeremy, John, and Peter) live nearby, as do his grandchildren. He enjoys the ocean, soccer, and writing poetry.

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the 1991 edition of this work. The lapse of nearly 30 years since it's publication has left it wanting--particularly in the absence of major Bible versions published since that time: the NLT (for which the author served as an editor), the ESV, the HCSB/CSB, and the NIV2011, to name a few. However, it was a worthwhile light read. There is not much new here. Perhaps the one connection that Comfort made that had not been settled in my mind yet was the connection of the discovery that the NT was written in Koine Greek precipitated the advent of idiomatic translations. "New Testament scholars began to discover that most of the New Testament was written in Koine Greek—the language of the people. As a result, there was a strong prompting to translate the New Testament into the language of the people. Various translators chose to divorce themselves from the traditional Elizabethan English as found in the King James Version (and even in the English Revised Version and American Standard Version) and produce fresh renderings in the common idiom." While I was familiar with the discovery of Koine Greek and its importance to the study of the NT Greek text, the association of that discovery with new ventures in Bible translation philosophy was new to me.

This book is not deep or profound. But it's good stable ground to walk on. For me it served as a pleasant though uninspiring refresher of things I've studies more comprehensively elsewhere, and I think it would serve very well as an introduction for those not very familiar with the composition or history of the Bible and its English translations.

It has been completely revised by the author under a slightly different title. I would be interested in reading that sometime, but even it is not recent enough to include the ESV, HCSB/CSB, or the NIV2011.

I'm having a really hard time deciding between giving this book 2 stars (It was ok) or 3 (I liked it). I think I will go with 2. I believe it will be more useful than enjoyable, a book I would likely look back to if I were to prepare a Sunday School series on English Bible translation for basic information and organization. And if someone asked me for a book matching this profile, I would probably mention it. But I doubt I would introduce it in conversation myself to recommend it to a friend.

[Scott Beddingfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise easy read and short, helpful guide to Bible translations and their origins. Differences explained and advice provided as to why we should read more than one translation as well. Excellent example provided of the way one might critically examine the same passage of scripture with different translations.

[Paul Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't too impressed with the book. I was looking for some details on different English versions of the Bible, but there wasn't as much as I'd hoped. The book was published in 1991, so I knew there wouldn't be up-to-date information, but even information before publication was light.

Chapter 8: A Comparative Study of Modern Translations was the most interesting, as it compares John 1:1-18 in several English versions, and describes the strengths and weaknesses the translators chose.

The book FROM SPOKEN WORDS TO SACRED TEXTS: Introduction-Intermediate New Testament Textual Studies by Edward D. Andrews had more useful information.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief guide to the major translations and versions of the English Bible.