Trusting that the collective discernment of historical religious leaders were somehow inspired by God to “correctly” put together the Bible is certainly an area of understanding that I find difficult. Why were 66 books included, and not 65 or 67 for instance? Why were 150 Psalms chosen, whereas I am sure countless others omitted? Not only do we assert that the words themselves are divinely inspired, but also the selection of the original writings themselves. In both instances, there is a level of trust given in order to know that these words and selections truly are “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). Trusting that it’s God’s inspiration, and not solely man’s choosing, is definitely challenging for me.
These questions I wrestle with are certainly helped by the number and consistency of biblical manuscripts, as they demonstrate a certain perseverance that I feel only God’s will could establish. I would have expected that the lack of technology before the printing press would have rendered large differences and inaccuracies during the copying and translating process, and yet that’s not the case.
When I read the Bible for myself, I prefer the NIV version, since I was taught that it is an attempted middle-ground for both word-for-word translation and sense-for-sense translation. However, I’ve also enjoyed the ESV as a word-for-word alternative, and I’m actually enjoying the NKJV version of The Story for its ease of readability.