Do you ever make a purchase and then think “that was dumb, I should not have done that” ?
Do you ever make a purchase and then think “that was dumb, I should not have done that” ?
My wisdom tooth is uncomfortable this morning.
Recently I was reading the translation notes in my NLT bible and there were a few lines which made me raise an eyebrow. This led me to go on a bit of a deep dive into all the translations which I read.
I am not an expert and all information provided can be found online with ease. All I did was read and collate it with some thoughts.
To be clear, despite this information, I believe all the listed translations are reliable enough to be inspired. This is a narrative on translation philosophy, not an attempt at critique. It is intended to be a research session in which I educate myself and share my findings. I believe they are all good translations for different purposes. However, I have preferences, which I will summarise at the end.
First Published: 1996 (second major edition was 2004)
Copyright: Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved.
Type of Translation: Dynamic equivalence, “Designed to be read aloud,” according to translation notes page.
Translation basis:
– OT: Masoretic Text as primary with comparison to Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Greek manuscripts, Samaritan Pentateuch, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate
– NT: The UBS 4th revised edition and the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece 27th edition (basically, the Greek NT)
Examples of translation philosophy: Gender-inclusive language is used where the editors believed that it was appropriate and deity pronouns are not capitalised. Plural pronouns (they, them) are used in place of the masculine singular (he, him) example of this is in Proverbs 22:6 (table below)
The tetragrammaton is rendered as “the Lord” (small caps, no idea how to do that on my keyboard)
– Weights and measures, money, dates and times, etc., are described in modern terms, with footnotes giving the literal translation. For example, John 6:7 reads: “Philip replied, ‘Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them'”, with a note that the Greek text reads “Two hundred denarii would not be enough” and an explanation that a denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage. (Found on wikipedia but I checked the reference)
– When the content of the original language text is poetic in character, NLT has rendered it in English poetic form. NLT sought to break lines in ways that clarify and highlight the relationships between phrases of the text.
– “ten shekels of silver” becomes “ten pieces of silver”
– “denarius” is rendered as “the normal daily wage”
Information sourced from:
– [www.tyndale.com/sites/nlt...](https://www.tyndale.com/sites/nlt/faq)
– [www.bible-researcher.com/nlt2prefa...](https://www.bible-researcher.com/nlt2preface.html)
– [www.tyndale.com/sites/nlt...](https://www.tyndale.com/sites/nlt/translation-process)
– …and, Wikipedia, all claims checked.
First Published: NT 1973 & OT 1978, 2011 update.
Copyright: The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
– Updated ‘gender inclusive version’ published 1996, but only in the UK and commonwealth publishing areas.
– 1996, additional: An easier to read version, New International Reader’s Version (NIrV), was published in 1996. It was written at a third-grade reading level, to enable those with limited English literacy levels, the ability to read the Bible
– 2011: Many criticisms addressed and minor changes made.
Type of Translation: Hybrid of literal and phrase-by-phrase.
Translation basis:
– OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Masoretic Hebrew Text. Other ancient texts consulted were the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac Peshitta, the Aramaic Targum, and for the Psalms the Juxta Hebraica of Jerome. (Source: wikipedia, checked)
– NT: New Testament was the Koine Greek language editions of the United Bible Societies and of Nestle-Aland. (Source: Wikipedia, checked)
Examples of translation philosophy: The NIV should not be confused with the NIrV or the NIV-Gender-Inclusive-Version. I would encourage you to check all claims as these versions have been confused, often intentionally, online.
– The 2011 edition of the NIV aims to avoid using “he” or “him” as the default reference to an unspecified person.
– “the Lord of hosts” and “God of hosts” have little meaning, this version renders them “the Lord Almighty” and “God Almighty.”
– The word προσερχόμενον – means “he who comes” and is in the male singular accusative case. Yet the NIV translates this with the gender-neutral “anyone who comes.” (nickcady.org)
The tetragrammaton is rendered as “Lord” (small caps, still no idea how to do that on my keyboard)
– NT Wright commented saying: “if a church only, or mainly, relies on the NIV it will, quite simply, never understand what Paul was talking about.”
– Mark Given (Missouri State University) commented saying “several inaccurate and misleading translations” since many sentences and clauses are paraphrased, rather than translated from Hebrew and Greek.
– Poetical passages are printed as poetry, that is, with the indentation of lines and separate stanzas
Information sourced from:
– [www.christianitytoday.com/1997/06/b...](https://www.christianitytoday.com/1997/06/bibles-hands-off-my-niv/)
– page 51: [books.google.co.uk/books](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6i2xvonpvMwC&redir_esc=y) (NT Wright comments)
– Mark Given (Missouri State University): [web.archive.org/web/20161...](https://web.archive.org/web/20161012024005/http://courses.missouristate.edu/markgiven/rel102/bt.htm)
– [s45600.pcdn.co/wp-conten...](https://s45600.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Development-and-Use-of-Gender-Language-in-Contemporary-English-Collins-Report.pdf)
– [www.thenivbible.com/niv-trans...](https://www.thenivbible.com/niv-translation-philosophy/)
– [midmichigannow.com/news/loca...](https://midmichigannow.com/news/local/gender-neutral-2011-niv-bible-creates-controversy)
– [web.archive.org/web/20090...](https://web.archive.org/web/20090906220811/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/religion/post/2009/09/bible-politics-a-new-new-new-niv-announced-today/1)
– [www.bible-researcher.com/niv-prefa...](https://www.bible-researcher.com/niv-preface.html)
– [nickcady.org/2018/06/1...](https://nickcady.org/2018/06/13/making-sense-of-different-bible-translations-part-3-gender-inclusive-language-and-the-niv/)
– …and, Wikipedia, all claims checked.
First Published:
– OT: 1982
– NT: 1979
Copyright: The Holy Bible, New King James Version® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Type of Translation: considered to be a word-for-word (complete equivalence) translation, which I found surprising.
Translation basis:
– The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being “scrupulously faithful to the original King James Version, yet truly updated to its clarity and readability. (wikipedia, source no longer available)
– A note from me: This does not seem to be totally accurate as different translational choices were made (as illustrated by footnotes and other consulted texts, however the core of the statement appears to hold.
– A word that occurs 11 times in the NKJV: “Hades.” In each of those places, the KJV has “hell” instead.
Examples of translation philosophy: Honestly, in this case its worth reading the Pronouns section of this site [www.tbsbibles.org/page/TheN...](https://www.tbsbibles.org/page/TheNewKingJamesVersion?srsltid=AfmBOoo2WzyTiFMMDujmGT7egxObeuYd7iOY4ddluq8g629dsfKaAJGH#Pronouns) Because there is a lot there to unpack but here are the highlights:
the KJV uses older English pronouns like “thou,” “thee,” and “ye,” which are singular and plural forms respectively, while the NKJV modernizes these pronouns to “you”
Specifically the NKJV replaces most “thou” and “ye” pronouns with “you” which can sometimes lead to ambiguity in certain verses
Tetragrammaton rendered as “LORD” in all capital letters
Information sourced from:
– [web.archive.org/web/20210...](https://web.archive.org/web/20210823082918/http://www.bible-researcher.com/nkjv.html)
– [www.bible-researcher.com/nkjv.html](https://www.bible-researcher.com/nkjv.html)
– [www.bible-researcher.com/comma.htm...](https://www.bible-researcher.com/comma.html)
– [www.gotquestions.org/New-King-...](https://www.gotquestions.org/New-King-James-Version-NKJV.html)
– [byfaithweunderstand.com/2020/03/1...](https://byfaithweunderstand.com/2020/03/13/why-do-our-tr-only-brothers-reject-the-NKJV-with-such-passion-the-trinitarian-bible-societys-examination-of-the-new-king-james-version/)
– [cdn.ymaws.com/www.tbsbi...](https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.tbsbibles.org/resource/collection/D4DCAF37-AEB6-4CEC-880F-FD229A90560F/What-Todays-Christian-Needs-to-Know-about-the-NKJV.pdf)
– [www.tbsbibles.org/page/What...](https://www.tbsbibles.org/page/WhatTodaysChristianNeedsToKnowAboutTheNewKingJamesVersion?hhsearchterms=%22nkjv%22)
– [www.paulkhosla.org/blog/ive-...](https://www.paulkhosla.org/blog/ive-shelved-my-nkjv-maybe-you-should-too)
– …and, Wikipedia, all claims checked.
First Published: 1611
Copyright: Public domain
Type of Translation: considered to be a word-for-word (complete equivalence)
Translation basis:
– OT: Masoretic Text, Apocrypha: Septuagint and Vulgate
– NT: Textus Receptus
Examples of translation philosophy: Its not modern English so you need to put some work in
– “T” pronouns are singular: Pronouns starting with “t” (thou, thee, thy, thine) always refer to a single person.
– “Y” pronouns are plural: Pronouns starting with “y” (ye, you) are used for multiple people
– Luke 2:33 is an example where the KJV and NKJV refer to Joseph, where other translations refer to ‘his father’ which actually lacks clarity while paraphrasing, which is the opposite of the intended purpose. there are multiple cases of this which are outlined in [www.scionofzion.com/kjcompari...](https://www.scionofzion.com/kjcomparisons.html) ← honestly after reading through this, I have reassessed my thoughts on translations somewhat.
Information sourced from:
Please note the KJV is the only translation which has been referred to as a ‘new revelation’ and there are many people who a ‘KJV only’ – As far as I know most of these people do not accept NKJV as an option, despite its similarities and identical textual source.
– [nickcady.org/2018/06/0...](https://nickcady.org/2018/06/06/making-sense-of-different-bible-translations-part-2-the-king-james-bible/)
– [www.thebereancall.org/content/s...](https://www.thebereancall.org/content/september-1992-q-and-a-3?sapurl=Lys5MjZkL2xiL2xpLyt3dm44dWs4P2JyYW5kaW5nPXRydWUmZW1iZWQ9dHJ1ZSZyZWNlbnRSb3V0ZT1hcHAud2ViLWFwcC5saWJyYXJ5Lmxpc3QmcmVjZW50Um91dGVTbHVnPSUyQnd2bjh1azg=)
– [www.gotquestions.org/KJV-only....](https://www.gotquestions.org/KJV-only.html)
– [joshuateis.com/2019/11/2...](https://joshuateis.com/2019/11/25/the-history-of-kjv-onlyism/)
– [www.scionofzion.com/kjo.htm](https://www.scionofzion.com/kjo.htm)
– [www.scionofzion.com/kjcompari...](https://www.scionofzion.com/kjcomparisons.html)
– [www.scionofzion.com/luke_2_14...](https://www.scionofzion.com/luke_2_14.html)
– …and, Wikipedia, all claims checked.
While I have given you a somewhat confusing outline and comparison of each bible translation which were of interest to me, the attached web links give more context to each section. I read it all. and a lot more on top of that. After literally days, (and days) of reading I came some surprising conclusions (at least, to me.)
Up until this point have favoured two translations they have been the NLT for group study and reading for enjoyment and the NKJV as a more formal source for studying.
After all this research and consideration, I think there is a case to consider the KJV with more weight than I previously did. I also can not find a major inconsistency between it and the NKJV, as all NKJV printings offer excellent foot notes and translation notes where there are differences to the KJV. As the NKJV has promised, none of these are doctrinal in nature.
Before all this I knew of some of the controversy regarding early NIV editions and have always taken it as a secondary source for study. I now consider this a wise decision.
Even assuming the absolute worse comments about all these translations are correct, I don’t think that there is a ‘wrong’ choice, however, can’t help but think more highly of the KJV now. But, I think there is a chance, that it is historical weight which has added to this opinion.
Hyperbolic and overly confident opinion: NKJV maybe the best translation! and any translation which ends with something other than “Amen” is trash, because the poetry of Amen as the last word is too good not to use!!
Imagine a world where Things got worn out when you looked at them. Like erosion of viewing. I think it happens in some ways, on a personal level, the more I look at a thing the less I appreciate it. Maybe it’s me being depleted, not the things I look at.
Why doesn’t apple mail have a share sheet? It’s infuriating
It’s foggy today. I assume this is because 2025 has started loading.
The end of the year is looming, and we approach the dark, melancholic week which sets its home between Christmas and the new year. Like a troll on a bridge, the week of limbo must be defeated to pass into the glorious bastion of twenty twenty-five.
Which, is an overly dramatic way of saying that it’s the time of year when I reflect on where I am and how I got here. Nothing too deep, but I like to check in and think about some things.
I don’t believe that the tradition of “New Year’s resolutions” is healthy, useful, or enjoyable but these are the personal points of importance which I set myself in 2024. These were set at various points rather than on January first.
This is the eternal goal. Write more. Then write some more, and, then, a little more. This year I have released two novellas. The Chronicles of Ned: Space to Breathe, and Denouement: Of Gods and Vampires. I have also partly written Denouement 3. I have to admit though, I could have written more. I have found myself distracted by many things over the last couple of months.
I think part of it maybe my workflow and tooling. While I enjoy Scrivener, at times I sense that there is a lot happening with the UI/UX which pulls my mind out of the actual writing. Not least of which is the fact that its typewriter scrolling is a strange, unpredictable beast. That’s not to say in any way that Scrivener has worked against me. I wrote plenty this year and I genuinely think that my writing has been, well, pretty good. But, ever since ‘Literature & Latte’ announced that they were working on a new writing application, I have been more willing to acknowledge Scrivener’s flaws. I don’t understand why that had any effect on me really. The result, though, is that I have been a little distracted by the flaws in my current application. I think Scrivener is actually, maybe, a little ‘long in the tooth’ in some ways. Also, I am dreadful at remembering to use the distraction-free mode, and that’s on me.
The main issue that has bugged me with Scrivener is that switching devices is harder than it should be. If I use iPad or iOS, I get a scary popup when I return to laptop, and it raises my irrational writer’s dread about losing words. It has never lost anything, but I have had to manually intervene with the sync. It just feels absurd that I have these problems with an application that has been around as long as Scrivener has.
Outside of Scrivener musings, I have had a lot going on this year with work. It has left me, on many occasions, too mentally drained to write with any gusto. That can’t be helped. And again, as I have said, I did release two things this year, so it’s not like I’m slacking. My personal aim to write more and write better, has simply not been met.
I think there have been at least a few months when I have been a little ‘down,’ generally. I don’t like writing when I’m not feeling ‘up.’ Actually, I should probably be a little more honest and say that I have been quite emotionally low, for at least a half of this year. I got out of myfunk, and it was nowhere near depression. Not at all what some people have to deal with. My ‘sad’ was not clinical or in need of professional support. But, I have been less than myself at times in 2024, and it affected my writing in ways I didn’t expect. I think it has to do with being quite lonely, over all, in life.
I set out with the goal of not subscribing to non-entertainment services in 2024. I know this is a convoluted way to say it, but I can’t get away from paying for streaming video services. I don’t have broadcast television, and I do want to watch TV shows from time to time. Paying for streaming services is just something I want to jettison from my life at this time. I probably will at some point, but right now, no.
I did however manager to not pay for Notion, Obsidian, task managers, storage solutions or other services for most of 2024. I jumped back onto Todoist as my task manger about three months ago because it made my job easier. After some reflection, I realised that Things 3 was fine for my personal life, but not ideal for work.
My solution to this has been looking at services like Craft/Notion/Click-up. Basically, if I can make a work dashboard, I can approach each day as a ‘task sheet’ rather than a task manager category. I am explaining this badly, but I want my task manger to be for my life, not my job. I want to look at it and see tasks that exist outside my work. This, in reality, means I have to subscribe to something specifically for work. I think it’s worth the cost to separate my two personas. I wasn’t too fussy which service and Craft had an excellent sale recently, so I went with that. I hope in 2025 I can be more clear with my life/work concerns and draw that proverbial line in the sand, mentally speaking.
While Todoist has made me more productive, over all, I have ended up thinking about work more than I care to, of an evening. This has been because I can see those tasks lined up for the following day. There is no profile switching in Todoist and it hasn’t been great to have it all in one place.
I think I have been more selective about subscriptions overall, and this has been good for me.
In the summer, I walked my dog at least a mile every day and picked up heavy things before my evening shower. I did well. I lost weight and felt better. Winter hit me hard, though. He’s a short-haired Chihuahua, and they don’t do well in the cold. Without the habitual daily walking, my desire to pick up heavy things has also faded. I have a home treadmill, but for the last two months I have had a knee injury which has prevented me from using it.
I hope to get back to good eating and regular moving in the next month or so. I would rather not screw my knee up any more than I have, so I am being cautious as all heck.
Still, as soon as the cold goes, the dog will be back to his daily marching, and I’ll get a lot more steps in.
I have had a year-long drive to simplify life. This was first evident in my desire to jettison subscriptions, then, became even more intentional when I started simplifying my physical space by aggressive decluttering my home.
I have even stopped using my computer monitor and external keyboard. My personal tastes are trending towards simplicity and minimalism. It has been really good for me and, I think, a large part of what pulled me out of that funk I spoke about earlier. Feeling more intentional has really made me happy.
I also have to accept that simplifying has taken time. Every aspect of my life has become more streamlined, and the physical decluttering took time. There is still more to be done, but I have come a long way. I have spent many hours packing boxes and cleaning cupboards. This is all time which could have been spent writing. The decluttering work is actually how I injured my knee, so it’s hilarious to me that I call it out as a source of joy.
I still want to jettison the last of my physical books and remove some other items from my life. This includes a plan to change my wardrobe contents and further clear my home office.
For clarity, I attend a Pentecostal Christian church (an Elim Church.)
My time with the Bible has been the single biggest source of joy in my life this last year. It sustained me through the ‘sad bits’ of the year and gave me inspiration, resolve, and motivation to keep improving my life and myself as a person.
I have become closer with my church friends too, which has also been a source of joy. I look forward to our group meetings on Wednesday nights and always take a lot away from the time.
I know some people will eye role hard at the next paragraph but I feel like saying it is important to me because I wanted this post to be honest and clear.
I love God, and that is the simplest way I can say it. Jesus is the single most influential person in my life, and that should not be taken as a statement which is devaluing to the rest of the people. Jesus is the direction which I strive, and I am certain that it has made me a better man. It has certainly got me through the tough times, and no doubt, will continue to do so when required.
When HexDSL started the year, he didn’t intend to finish it as Dandelion-Utilitarian. It wasn’t planned at all, but as part of the funk clearing, I needed to make a change. Feel like the online persona alteration has resulted in a clear message that I am who I actually am. I think there was an expectation by many historical YouTube viewers that I would behave in a specific way and I disappointed them. I never made any promises, but the name change seems to have made it clear to them that I do not intent to behave the way they wanted me to.
Honestly, there have been some high points on this year, as well as some notable lows. The truth though has been that most of this year has been ‘bland’ for me personally. I have felt aimless at times and especially in the early part of the year, just not very ‘good,’ generally.
I think part of my overall ‘meh’ about the year has been that my daughter went off to university and that took quite a lot of my general routine and threw it away. This left me thinking hard about what I wanted, sans child and I don’t think I had a good answer for a while.
Now I’m approaching the final death rattles of the year, I can say with honesty that I currently have motivation, drive, and targets. I know where I’m going, it just took me a while to find the right map for the stars I was looking at.
This is easy. Here is the plan, it’s so simple I can bullet list it for you!
There we are. Four bullets for a better me.
I also hope that in limbo-week next year, I will be in a position where I can talk about how I am finally ready to buy that camper van/motor home I have wanted for the last five years. I would rather not make ban financial decisions either, so I have told myself that I’m going to wait for a year. But, I think it maybe in good position to start shopping, this time next year.
Please tell me about your 2024, and plans for 2025, in the comments. Or shoot me an email.
Thanks for reading.
Dandy.
My desk now contains a MacBook air, two iPads (don’t ask,) a bluetooth speaker and a usb chargeable reading lamp. There is something awesome about an all battery-powered desk. I don’t know why, but it gives me great joy.
Merry Christmas.
Recently I tried the dark mode on my Kindle for the first time since I have had it. It’s strange that I ever tried it at all, give that in the decade or more I have been using Kindles, it has never before occurred to me that dark mode maybe a viable option.
My verdict after an hour was this: Dark mode is awful. It’s a horrible way to read. The light text on the black backdrop makes the words lack definition and the whole thing feels oppressive.
Now, A Kindle is essentially a device with one purpose. It shows you words. If words are far, far worse in dark mode on the device which has one task, and its good at that task, then is there a chance that perhaps I have been wrong in my assessment of dark mode everywhere else?
As you know, I am a man who is not afraid to try new things. I went directly to my MacBook and pressed that ‘light mode’ button, for the first time. I then went to my phone and both my iPads and pressed the button for glorious sunshine! (Yes, I have, and use two iPads, don’t judge me!)
Obviously, I hated it instantly. My computer didn’t feel like my computer and my phone felt like it had been factory reset. It just felt like things were failing to load correctly. It all felt wrong.
I ignored my inner petulance and kept on changing my applications to sunburn mode.
I sat all of yesterday morning feeling annoyed with my computer. It was like it had betrayed me somehow. I felt like I had taken a step back in ‘coolness’ and was betraying my cyberpunk dreams for a vista of white oppression.
But then, as the day went on, something happened.
I was feeling less eye strain and I didn’t even know I was getting eye strain before I changed! As the day went on, and I began working in lower light, it just felt more comfortable generally. I was still repulsed by the visuals, aesthetically. I just hate it. However, I have to admit, the light UI feels like less of focal point and the content feels like it just pops more. When I was writing I felt like the words were the main attraction, not the application assets.
I stuck with it and am now a day into my experiment.
I have no idea if it will ‘take’ long term, but I have to say, it does feel like it’s overall just easier to see, which makes me smile because I would have bee complaining about it being too bright a few years ago. Maybe it’s my 44 year old eyes and smaller screen size doing tricks. And, to be clear, light mode Discord looks literally broken!
I have always felt like people who use their computer in light mode were leaving it ‘stock,’ or didn’t know there was an option for something else. Now though, I have to re-evaluate this bias because they may be right to leave it the way it comes. Perhaps this is even why the default mode on most devices is the light mode. The manufacturers know, and, have been trying to tell us this entire time.
This isn’t to say I’m bashing dark mode in any way. I love the way it looks; dark mode is cool. I did some web searching (via DEVONAgent, because the web is dead to me… thats another topic though) and it does appear that there is no general medical, or specifically optometrical benefit to dark mode, there is a real benefit to correctly using brightness controls, but that seems to be separate to your preference in themes.
My plan at this time is to keep all my devices in light mode until the new year and then switch back and see if a major preference emerges. Honestly I’m rooting for darkness because I really like it, that said, if I can see more with less eye strain in light mode, I’ll use it.
Give light mode a try. Or, if you are already an advocate of the light side, drop a comment and let me know why. I would like to see as many opinions as possible regarding this.
I’ll update you in the new year.