I suppose that at one time, I assumed that Bible translation was an easy task. There was probably a big gleaming machine somewhere into which were tossed Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. At the other end, out rolled fresh, new-smelling Bibles. If a Bible ever read differently, that was probably because something was wrong with the machine.Beginning to learn Greek quickly changed those assumptions. I realized very soon that translation was both an art and a science. Translation always involves interpretation. It may boggle the mind to think about the amount of work that might go into one verse of Scripture--- "Can't you just translate it word for word?" someone might ask. Unfortunately, it's not that easy.
I commend to your reading this short post from the ESV Blog which gives an overview of the difficult questions that every translator must answer when rendering the first part of 1 Peter 3:15 into any language besides Greek. It isn't just modern versions that have to answer these questions; they have been answered for centuries--- every time someone translates that verse.
A common fallacy is that the oldest translation is the standard; any different translation is a deviation. This kind of thinking shows up in phrases like "this version leaves out words." If those "left out" words are not in the original (Greek or Hebrew) text, then any version that includes them is actually adding words.
In my thinking, the plethora of versions is a good thing, because it keeps before us the fact that these difficult interpretive questions must be answered. As we pursue understanding of God's Word, his Holy Spirit can apply that truth to our hearts. The Bible is God's agent of spiritual change: making us more like Jesus Christ (2 Cor 3:12-18).
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