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The Meaning Of God 's Comfort Remains The Same Essay

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The Meaning of God’s Comfort Remains the Same Many people find fault in the fact that the Holy Bible has been written and translated so many times; however, the multiple translations offer a way to validate passages of the biblical text. For example, Isaiah 40:1-11 appears virtually the same throughout four different translations of the Bible. After comparing the King James, New Revised Standard, English Standard, and New International Versions I found no major discrepancies and only a few minor changes, such as the use of synonym or the inversion of a verse. For example, v. 4 says “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain” (KJV). However, the term “exalted” was often replaced with a synonym such as, “lifted up” (NRSV, ESV), or “raised up” (NIV). All three terms mean the same thing the translators simply chose a different way of expressing the way that a valley would be filled in preparation for the Lord. Another example of the use of synonyms would be in v. 6, “The voice said, Cry. And he said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field” (KJV). Whereas, in other versions the word “goodliness” is exchanged for “constancy” (NRSV), “beauty” (ESV), or “faithfulness” (NIV). In all four translations the flower is compared to a fleeting human characteristic resulting in the same idea even if the wording is slightly

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