God So Loved the World How is your favorite Bible passage translated in versions other than the one which you normally use? In this survey, John 3: 16 is considered, using sixty-eight versions. The difference may only be one word with some. Perhaps, as you read this listing, you will find some whose wording that you like and others that you find awkward. Versions Compared AAT - An American Translation (Beck) AB - Amplified Bible AIV - An Inclusive Version ANT - The Authentic New Testament ASV - American Standard Version BNT - Barclay New Testament CENT - Common English New Testament CEV - Contemporary English Version CJB - Complete Jewish Bible CLNT - Concordant Literal New Testament CNT - Cassirer New Testament CTNT - Centenary Translation of the New Testament DHB - Darby Holy Bible DRB - Douay-Rheims Bible EBR - The Emphasized Bible EDW - The Emphatic Diaglott EVD - English Version for the Deaf GW - God's Word HBME - The Holy Bible in Modern English HBRV - Holy Bible, Revised Version IB - Interlinear Bible IV - Inspired Version KJV - King James Version KLNT - Kleist-Lilly New Testament KTC - Knox Translation LB - Living Bible LBP - Lamsa Bible MCT - McCord's New Testament Translation MNT - Moffatt New Translation MRB - Modern Reader's Bible MSNT - The Modern Speech New Testament NAB - New American Bible NAS - New American Standard Version NBV - New Berkeley Version NCV - New Century Version NEB - New English Bible NET - New Evangelical Translation NIV - New International Version NJB - New Jerusalem Bible NKJ - New King James Version NLT - New Living Translation NLV - New Life Version NNT - Noli New Testament NRS - New Revised Standard Version NSNT - Norlie's Simplified New Testament NWT - New World Translation ONT - Original New Testament PRS - Phillips Revised Student Edition REB - Revised English Bible RNT - Riverside New Testament RSV - Revised Standard Version SBK - The Shorter Bible SGAT - An American Translation (Smith-Goodspeed) SNB - Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible SSBE - Sacred Scriptures, Bethel Edition SV - The Scholars Version TBR - The Bible Reader TCNT - The Twentieth Century New Testament TDB - The Dartmouth Bible TEV - Today's English Version TJB - The Jerusalem Bible TM - The Message WAS - Worrell New Testament WET - Wuest Expanded Translation WMF - The Word Made Fresh WNT - Williams New Testament WTNT - William Tindale Newe Testament YLR - Young's Literal Translation, Revised Edition John 3: 16 AAT - God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life. AB - For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only-begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish -- come to destruction, be lost - but have eternal (everlasting) life. AIV - For God so loved the world that God gave God's only Child, so that everyone who believes in that Child may not perish but may have eternal life. ANT - For God loved the world so dearly as to give his Only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in him should not perish but have Eternal Life. SAV - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. BNT - For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not have destruction but eternal life. CENT - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes on him, should not perish, but may have everlasting life. CEV - God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never die. CJB - For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. CLNT - For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only-begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but may be having life eonian. CNT - Yes, God had such love for the world that he gave up his only Son, so that anyone believing in him might not perish but lay hold of eternal life. CTNT - For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever trusts in him should not perish, but have eternal life. DHB - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal. DRB - For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. EBR - For God so loved the world, That his Only Begotten Son he gave, -- That whosoever believeth on him Might not perish, But have life age-abiding. EDW - For GOD so loved the WORLD, that he gave his SON, the ONLY-BEGOTTEN, that EVERY ONE BELIEVING into him may not perish, but obtain aionian LIFE. EVD - Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. Gave gave his Son so that every person that believes in him would not be lost, but have life forever. GW - God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but have eternal life. HBME - For God so loved the world that He gave the only-begotten Son, so that every one believing in Him should not be lost, but have eternal life. HBRV - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. IB - For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that everyone believing into Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. IV - For God so loved the world, that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish; but have everlasting life. KJV - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. KLNT - So marked, indeed, has been God's love for the world that he gave his only-begotten Son: everyone who believes in him is not to perish, but to have eternal life. KTC - God so loved the world, that he gave up his only-begotten Son, so that those who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life. LB - For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Footnote: [Only], Or, "the unique Son of God." LBP - For God so loved the world that he even gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. MCT - God so loved the world that he gave his unique Son, in order that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but may have eternal life. Footnote: The word "begotten" in John 1: 14, 18; 3: 16, 18; Hebrews 11: 17; 1 John 4: 9 is eliminated (1) for the sake of accuracy and (2) for the sake of the honor that belongs to Isaac and to Jesus. ... . In none of the six citations mentioned above did the infallible Holy Spirit cause monos gennetheis, only begotten, to be written, but in every instance the word written is monogenes, the only one of a kind, the unique one. MNT - For God loved the world so dearly that he gave up his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life, instead of perishing. MRB - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. MSNT - For so greatly did God love the world that He gave His only Son, that every one who trusts in Him may not perish but may have the Life of the Ages. NAB - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. NAS - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. NBV - For God so loved the world, that he gave up his only-begotten Son, so that those who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life. Footnote: Christ is the unique Son of God, eternally One with the Father and the Spirit, yet truly man in His perfect humanity. NCV - God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. NEB - God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not die but have eternal life. NET - For God loved the world so much that He gave His one-and-only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Footnote: The Greek word for "one-and-only" can also mean "one-of-a-kind" ("unique") or "only-begotten." NIV - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. NJB - For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. NKJ - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. NLT - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. NLV - For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God's Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever. NNT - God loved men so much that he gave up his only-begotten Son for them. For whoever believes in him will not perish, but will find eternal life. NRS - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. NSNT - For God so loved the world that He gave His only born Son, that all who believe on Him shall not die, but have everlasting life. NWT - For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. ONT - For God loved the world so dearly as to give his Only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in him should not perish but have Eternal Life. Footnote: While much that was in his documentary source (the Memoirs of John the Priest) has been adapted by the Greek author to bring the text into line with his ideas, as here, some passages, largely by way of commentary, stand out as his distinctive contribution. Whenever possible attention has been drawn to these, as in this instance, and some have been placed below the main body of the text and in slightly smaller type. The present passage is John 3: 16-21. [This passage has been so placed by the translator.] PRS - For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be lost, but should have eternal life. REB - God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not perish but have eternal life. RNT - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that every one who believes in him may not perish, but have life eternal. RSV - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. SBK - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. SGAT - For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that no one who believes in him should be lost, but that they should all have eternal life. SNB - For YAHVAH so loved the world, that His Only Begotten Son He gave, that whosoever believeth on Him might not perish, but have life age-abiding. SSBE - For Yahweh so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes on him should not perish, but have eternal life. SV - This is how God loved the world: God gave up an only son, so that every one who believes in him will not be lost but have real life. TBR - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. TCNT - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that every one who believes in him may not be lost, but have Immortal Life. TDB - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. TEV - For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. TJB - Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. TM - This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. WAS - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes on Him should not perish, but have eternal life; ... . WET - For in such a manner did God love the world, inasmuch that His Son, the uniquely-begotten One, He gave, in order that everyone who places his trust in Him may not perish but may be having life eternal. WMF - God so loved the people of the world that he sent his only Son, affirming that whoever believed on Him would not perish, but would have eternal life. WNT - For God loved the world so much that He gave His Only Son, so that anyone who trusts in Him may never perish but have eternal life. WTNT - God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son for the intent, that none that believe in him, should perish: but should have everlasting life. YLR - ..., for God did so love the world, that His Son -- the only begotten -- He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during. The History of the Textus Receptus Erasmus's first edition was a great success; some 3300 copies of his first two editions were sold. The success of Erasmus's edition soon called forth new Greek testaments, all of them based largely on his. The first of these was published by Aldus Manutius in 1518 -- but although it contained an independent text of the Septuagint (the first such to be printed), its New Testament text was taken almost verbatim from Erasmus, including even the typographical errors. Hence the first truly new publication was Erasmus's own edition of 1519. This featured almost the same text as the 1516 edition, but with the majority (though by no means all!) of the errors of the press corrected. It also features some new readings, believed by Scrivener to come from 3eap (XII; classified by von Soden as e: Kx a: I [K]; c: K). Erasmus's third edition of 1522 contained one truly unfortunate innovation: The "Three Heavenly Witnesses" in 1 John 5:7-8. These were derived from the recently-written Codex 61, and (as the famous story goes) included by Erasmus "for the sake of his oath." Sadly, they have been found in almost every TR edition since. There followed a great welter of editions, all slightly different (based on such figures as I have seen, it would appear that editions of the Textus Receptus typically vary at between one hundred and two hundred places, though very few of these differences are more than orthographic). None of these editions were of any particular note (though the 1534 text of Simon Colinæus is sometimes mentioned as significant, since it included some variant readings). It was not until 1550 that the next great edition of the Textus Receptus was published. This was the work of Robert Stephanus (Estienne), whose third edition became one of the two "standard" texts of the TR. (Indeed, it is Stephanus's name that gave rise to the common symbol for the Textus Receptus.) Stephanus included the variants of over a dozen manuscripts -- including Codices Bezae (D) and Regius (L) -- in the margin. In his fourth edition (1551), he also added the verse numbers which are still used in all modern editions. The Stephanus edition became the standard Textus Receptus of Britain, although of course it was not yet known by that name. (The esteem in which the Textus Receptus was already held, however, is shown by Scrivener's report that there are 119 places where all of Stephanus's manuscripts read against the TR, but Stephanus still chose to print the reading found in previous TR editions.) Stephanus's editions were followed by those of Theodore de Bèza (1519-1605), the Protestant reformer who succeeded Calvin. These were by no means great advances over what had gone before; although Beza had access to the codex which bears his name, as well as the codex Claromontanus, he seems to have made little if any use of them. A few of his readings have been accused of theological bias; the rest seem largely random. Beza's editions, published between 1565 and 1611, are remembered more for the sake of their editor (and the fact that they were used by the translators of the King James Bible) than for their text. The next great edition of the Textus Receptus is the Elzevir text already mentioned in the Introduction. First published in 1624, with minor changes for the edition of 1633, it had the usual minor variants from Stephanus (of which Scrivener counted 287), but nothing substantial; the Elzevirs were printers, not critics. The Elzevir text, which became the primary TR edition on the continent, was the last version to be significant for its text. From this time on, editions were marked more by their marginal material, as scholars such as Mill, Wettstein, and later Griesbach began examining and arranging manuscripts. None of these were able to break away from the TR, but all pointed the way to texts free of its influence. Only one more TR edition needs mention here -- the 1873 Oxford edition, which forms the basis of many modern collations. This edition is no longer available, of course, though some editions purport to give its readings. Beginners are reminded once again that not all TR editions are identical; those collating against a TR must state very explicitly which edition is being used. SEE: http://www.skypoint.com/~waltzmn/TR.html     The King James Version Authorized in 1604 and published in 1611, the King James version naturally is based on the TR. When it was created, there was no demand for critical editions. (Though in fact the original KJV contains some textual notes. These, like the preface, are usually suppressed in modern versions, making the version that much worse than it is. In addition, editions of the KJV do not print precisely the same text. But this is another issue.) Even accepting that the KJV derives from the TR, and has most of its faults, it is reasonable to ask which TR it is based on. The usual simplistic answer is Stephanus's or Beza's. F.H.A. Scrivener, however, who studied the matter in detail, concluded that it was none of these. Rather, it is a mixed text, closest to Beza, with Stephanus in second place, but not clearly affiliated with any edition. (No doubt the influence of the Vulgate, and of early English translations, is also felt here.) Scrivener reconstructed the text of the KJV in 1894, finding some 250 differences from Stephanus. Jay P. Green, however, states that even this edition does not agree entirely with the KJV, listing differences at Matt. 12:24, 27; John 8:21, 10:16 (? -- this may be translational); 1 Cor. 14:10, 16:1; compare also Mark 8:14, 9:42; John 8:6; Acts 1:4; 1 John 3:16, where Scrivener includes words found in the KJV in italics as missing from their primary text. Since there are people who still, for some benighted reason, use the King James Bible for Bible study, we perhaps need to add a few words about its defects (defects conceded by all legitimate textual critics, plus most people who know anything about translations). This is not to deny that it is a brilliant work of English prose; it is a brilliant work of English prose. But it is not an adequate English Bible. The first reason is the obvious textual one: It is translated from the Textus Receptus. There was no good alternative at the time, but we know now that it is simply a bad text. This is true event if one accepts the Byzantine text as original; the TR is not a good representative of that text-form, and is even worse if one accepts any other text form, or if one is eclectic. The Old Testament suffers the same problem -- in some ways, worse. The Hebrew text had hardly been edited at all when the KJV was translated. Today, with more Hebrew manuscripts, the Dead Sea Scrolls, various translations, more ancient commentaries, and a better grasp of textual criticism, we can establish a much better Hebrew text. The lack of Hebrew scholarship at the time contributed to an even greater problem with the Old Testament: The translators didn't know what it meant. Textual damage caused some of the cruxes; others arose from ignorance of classical Hebrew. The translators often had to turn to the translations in LXX or the Vulgate -- which often were just as messed up as the Hebrew. Today, we have more samples of ancient Hebrew to give us references for words; we have knowledge of cognate languages such as Ugaritic and Akkadian, and we have the tools of linguistics. There are still unsolved problems in the Old Testament -- but they are far fewer. The same is true, to a lesser extent, of the New Testament. Greek never entirely vanished from the knowledge of scholars, as Hebrew did, but the language evolved. At the time the KJV was translated, classical Greek -- the Greek of Homer and the tragic playwrights -- was considered the standard. Koine Greek -- the Greek of the New Testament -- was forgotten; the Byzantine empire had undergone a sort of Classic Revival. People referred to the Greek of the New Testament as "the Language of the Holy Spirit" -- and then sneered at its uncouth forms. Over the past century and a half, the koine has been rediscovered, and we know that the New Testament was written in a living, active language. This doesn't affect our understanding of the meaning of the New Testament as much as our increased knowledge of Hebrew affects our understanding of the Old -- but it does affect it somewhat. In addition, there is the translation style. The KJV was created by six separate committees, with relatively little joint effort and a relatively small body of prior work (this was 1604, after all; the committee from Cambridge couldn't just buzz down to Westminster for the afternoon, e.g.). This meant that there wasn't much standardization of vocabulary; a word might be translated two or three or even half a dozen different ways. Sometimes, of course, this was necessary (as, e.g. with ANWQEN, "again," "from above" in John 3:3, 7, 31 -- a case where the KJV translators seem, ironically, to have missed the multivalued meaning). But it is generally agreed that that KJV used various renderings for solely stylistic reasons; their translation was meant to be read aloud. They produced a version that was excellent for these purposes -- but, in consequence, much less suitable for detailed study, especially, e.g., of Synoptic parallels, which can look completely different when the KJV renditions are set side by side. Plus the committee was under instructions to stay as close as possible to the previous standard, the so-called Bishop's Bible, which in turn had been created based on the Great Bible. And even it was derived largely from Tyndale's work. The Great Bible had been created some 75 years earlier, and Tyndale in the decades before that -- not long in ordinary terms, but this was a time when English was evolving fast. This heritage means that a number of the features -- e.g. the use of you/ye/thou/thee/thy/thine -- was actually incorrect even by the standards of the time, and its influence came to produce a truly curious effect: "Thou," initially the second person singular pronoun, (as opposed to "ye," the plural form, loosely equivalent to the American Southernism "y'all") was briefly a form used to address a social inferior, and then, under the influence of the KJV itself, treated as a form of address to one deserving of high dignity. This is genuinely confusing at best. Finally, the KJV does not print the text in paragraphs, but rather verse by verse. Readers can see this, but it's one thing to know it and another to really read the text in that light. To be fair, the translators were aware of most of these problems. The preface, in fact, urges "the Reader... not to conclude or dogmatize upon this or that peremptorily." The Old Testament, according to Alister McGrath, contained 6,637 marginal notes, most of them variant readings (more notes than many modern translations, we should note). But I have yet to find a recent printing of the KJV which includes its marginal notes, let alone its preface. And, of course, since the time of publication, the language of the KJV -- already somewhat antiquated in its time, based as it was largely upon Tyndale's translation -- has become entirely archaic. In an aside, we might note that, at the time of its publication, the KJV was greeted with something less than enthusiasm, and for the first few decades of its life, the Geneva Bible remained the more popular work; the Geneva edition (unlike the other pre-KJV translations) remained in print for more than thirty years after the KJV was published. During the Commonwealth period (1649-1660), there was talk of commissioning another new translation. It wasn't until the KJV became quite venerable that it somehow assumed an aura of special value -- even of independent canonicity. Quite simply, while the King James Bible was a brilliant work, and a beautiful monument of sixteenth century English, it is not fit to be used as a Bible in today's world.       King James Version Abbreviation:   KJV Released: 1611 Contents: Old Testament, New Testament Source Used: Location: Tyndale House, Cambridge, United Kingdom It was translated out of the original tongues and with previous translations, including that of William Tyndale, diligently compared and revised. In the preface of the 1611 edition, the translators stated that it was not their purpose to make a new translation but to make a good one better. It is a revision of the Bishop's Bible of 1568. It was the desire of the translators to make God's holy Truth more and more known unto the people, even though they may be maligned by those religious persons who would keep the people in ignorance and darkness concerning it. It was presented to King James I when completed in 1611. It has been the standard English translation for almost four hundred years. It is noted for the quality of translation and the majesty of style. The translators were committed to producing an English Bible that would be a precise translation and by no means a paraphrase or broadly approximate rendering. The scholars were fully familiar with the original languages of the Bible and especially gifted in their use of their native English. Because of their reverence for God and His Word, only a principle of utmost accuracy in their translation could be accepted. Appreciating the intrinsic beauty of divine revelation, they disciplined their talents to render well-chosen English words of their time as well as a graceful, often musical, arrangement of language. There have been many publishers, many editions, and various features for this version. Sample Verses Genesis 1: 1, 2 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. John 1: 1 - 3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Comparisons The following comparative studies include this version: Additions and Omissions in the Synoptic Gospels Bishops, Overseers, Presbyters, and Elders Burden and Yoke to Be Removed Commandments or Clean Robes? Criminals on the Crosses Deceived Prophet Entering His Rest From Eternity or From Ancient Times? Falsifying Scribes Fringe on the Borders of a Garment Gifts of the Spirit God So Loved the World Gods, God, or Judges Hebrew Poetry in the Bible Hebrew Synoptic Gospels Horses from Egypt and Kue Israelites and Baal-Peor Let No Man Judge You Lord Is My Shepherd: An Anthology Miracle at Cana Offering Sacrifices to the He-Goat Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread Reference to the Trinity Sabbaths and Sundown Scripture Inspired by God Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9 Sides of the Court of the Tabernacle Some Variations in the Book of Acts Song of Solomon Story of the Adultress That Which Will Happen Before the End Those Who Work Iniquity Time of Peleg Tragedy at Beth-Shemesh Variations in the Pentateuch Was Jesus Forsaken by God? Words with Heathen Origins in the Scriptures  FROM: http://www.innvista.com/culture/religion/bible/versions/kjv.htm     John 3:16 in Error RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL PAGES DREAMS OF THE GREAT EARTHCHANGES