Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
John 18:38

What is Truth

… the truth will make you free.
John 8:32

Resting in God’s truth, we are made free and set free. That freedom leads to an eternity in the presence of Jesus, our King, and frees us from the penalty of sins against our perfect and holy God. This freedom delivers us from the lake of fire that burns with sulfur (Revelation 19:20). It saves us from an eternity in outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:13). This truth establishes our peace with God (Romans 5:1).

With the power of social media and the broader Internet, it is a simple matter to reach thousands and establish a fan base. Millions will accept any lie and never ask the question, what is truth? Reasonable people know evil is flourishing and flooding the earth. The growing influence of wickedness and the ease of delivering a dark message worldwide makes everyone vulnerable. We are in danger of hearing, and perhaps believing, a message that is not God’s truth.

The Bible is the preserved word of God. In its pages, we find the truths of the everlasting gospel. Jesus promised,

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.

Luke 21:33 WEB

Which translation of the Bible is the perfectly preserved Word of God and properly answers Pilate’s question, what is truth? The answer may surprise you. No translation perfectly renders the word of God. His word is perfectly preserved in ancient manuscripts. Some 6,000 Koine Greek Manuscripts preserve the New Testament. Koine is the Hellenistic Greek spoken by Alexander the Great. We have Old Testament Hebrew manuscripts dated well before the birth of Christ (Dead Sea Scrolls). The Hebrew found in these manuscripts is the language of Moses.

As you probably know, translation from one language, especially an ancient one, to English does offer some difficulty. This is especially true when a word in Hebrew or Greek has no absolute equivalent in English. So, what are we to do?

Bible Translation Types

There is a wide range of Bible translations available today. They are generally categorized into three groups, Literal (Word for Word), Dynamic Equivalent (Thought for Thought), and Paraphrased translations.

Literal translations attempt to use only those words found in ancient manuscripts. As a general rule, they only modify the word order of a passage to make it readable in English.

Dynamic Equivalent translations attempt to render every word or phrase from the manuscripts into a roughly equivalent English summation.

Paraphrased translations tell the Bible story in the translator’s words instead of the words of Moses, Isaiah, Peter, John, Paul, and even Jesus.

A quick way to know where a translation falls on this scale of translation types is to google “bible translation chart.” Your search will return several charts that place each translation on a scale from the most literal to the most extreme and “out there” paraphrased Bibles.

I’ll not tell anyone which translation to use. I can only speak for myself. I want to know what the original writers actually said. I want to avoid having some translator force his bias into my scripture. I will not accept a translator who adds and subtracts from the manuscript translation in an effort to tell me what he thinks the original authors meant to say.

According to the Bible, original authors wrote as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Consequently, hearing directly from them is the same as hearing from God. Only in this way can I answer Pilate’s question, what is truth? The above translation chart is, in my opinion, an awesome visual illustration, green means go, yellow means caution, and red means STOP! Truth is what I want, so my translations of choice are NASB, ESV, KJV, and NKJV, listed by preference.

Another way to check a Bible translation is with an Interlinear Bible. I have a printed version; however, interlinear Bibles are available online through biblehub.com and other services. They include every word from the manuscripts in the original word order. Associated with each ancient word are the English pronunciation, the most literal English translation, and a number corresponding to a detailed translation study in Strong’s Concordance, also available online.

In closing, I will use the Interlinear to examine John 1:1. Almost every translation renders this verse as, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God“. This is a faithful rendering of the manuscripts, adding only one word (the) for readability in English and removing nothing.

Heretical Translations

The three renderings that follow are from a fourth category of Bibles, which I call heresy.

In the beginning the Living Expression was already there. And the Living Expression was with God, and yet fully God.

John 1:1, Passion Bible

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.

John 1:1, New World Translation / Jehovah Witnesses

In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God.

John 1:1, Joseph Smith Translation / Mormons

When contrasted with the Interlinear Bible, we see the addition and subtraction of words; we see Jesus rendered in a way that John never considered. We see provably false scripture!

Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 John 1:4

Questions for Mormon Bishops

• What evidence can you provide to establish the Joseph Smith Translation as a true and trusted Bible translation?