Dear Dr. Logos,
How come when I look up the same scripture in different Bibles the words aren’t the same?
Sincerely,
Kind of Confused

Dear Confused,
I get that question a lot! You see, the Bible wasn’t originally written in English. If fact, different parts of the Bible were written in different languages. Most of the Old Testament was written in ancient Hebrew. Small portions of the Old Testament were written in ancient Aramaic. The New Testament was originally written in ancient Greek. See a pattern?
God wants everyone in the world to be able to read, understand, and believe the Bible. To meet this goal, people throughout the ages have translated the Bible into lots of different languages- English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, French, Arabic, Tagalog, and Swahili just to name a few. The list goes on and on. In some languages (like English), the Bible has been translated more than once. That’s because languages change over time. People don’t speak and write English today the same way they did hundreds of years ago when the Bible was first translated into English.

Here’s an example of a verse from one of the oldest English translations The King James Version:
“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1: 21-22

Have you or one of your friends used the phrase “superfluity of naughtiness” lately? Not very likely (though you may from now on!)

Here’s the same verse in a more modern translation, the Contemporary English Version:
“You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message that is planted in you to save you. Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it.”

You see, the words are different but the meaning is still the same. Bible translators have a special calling to make sure the Bible speaks as clearly to as many people as possible in every generation. That’s the main reason there are so many different versions of the Bible.

So kids, keep those brilliant questions coming because you know how much I love The Word!

Love,
Dr. Logos