Featured NKJV vs. NLT

I like the NASB20's rendering, as well.

 

1 Timothy 3:16

NKJV, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory"

NLT, "Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory"

"Christ" is not even in any Greek text! "God" is the Original and has the best textual evidence

1 John 5:7

NKJV, "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one"

NLT, "So we have these three witnesses"

The reading of the NLT and others that read the same, is impossible in the Greek grammar. The NKJV has no grammitical problems, and was in the Greek and Latin as used by Tertullian and Cyprian in the early 3rd century.

 

Yeah I know about the NET notes. The only reading that fits the Greek grammar is God, as does the textual evidence

If Christ is what Paul meant, then he would have written it

 

Without Controversy...God Was Manifest in The Flesh

 

If I require a translation suited to a thirteen year-old with dyslexia, I shall definitely call on the NLT.
Until then I shall carry on with the NKJV, which I find entirely comprehensible.

 

That is a bit harsh

 

I for 1 Corinthians 15:58 especially helpful, because we rarely use the word "abounding" in our daily speech or writing.

 

I have to admit: I'm using the CSB quite a bit now, and I really appreciate it (for the very reasons you've been outlining.)

 

If memory serves, 97% of the extant Greek MSS have 'God.' Of course the text is about Christ, but who does the text say Christ is?
When the Revised Version came up with 'who,' it gave much joy to Unitarians. A few years ago I posted a quote from one of them declaring that they had been vindicated.

 

The words 'keeps,' 'having' and 'excuses' are not in the original.

The word 'enthusiastically' is not in the original. Do people really not understand what 'abound' means?

The words 'file' and 'lawsuit' are not in the original.

The Greek word means 'give' not 'bring.' (dounai from didomi).

The words 'completely,' 'because' and 'in him' are not in the original.

Thank you for posting these comparisons. They remind me why I prefer formal equivalence translations. The work of the translator is to translate what's there. The work of the preacher or the commentator is to explain what's there.

The NLT is by no means the worst of the paraphrases, but I really can't recommend it. The plethora of such works has not increased the faith or Biblical understanding of the English-speaking nations; quite the reverse!

 

To 'more than conquer' is something other than to have a complete victory. William Hendricksen has quite a long note on this, comparing v.28 with v.37, which ends, "A conqueror is someone who defeats the enemy. One who is more than a conqueror causes the enemy to become a helper."