Differences in Bible Translations

The following passages are excerpts from the first book, Genesis, of the Old Testament of the Bible. But the passages are different. This is because they come from different translations of the Bible. The first is from the VTI Bible, while the second is from the Catholic Bible. By looking at the two translations we can see the differences in the language used and analyze them to see if they have the same or different meanings. The significance of this analysis is to see if translation changes meaning and to see how the same passage can be interpreted differently based on the way it was translated.

VTI Bible

1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

4. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

5. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.

Catholic Bible

1. In the beginning God created heaven and earth.

2. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.

3. God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.

4. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness.

5. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night’. Evening came and morning came: the first day.

One big difference between the two versions is that in the second verse the Catholic Bible says there is a divine wind hovering over the waters. This is referred to as the Spirit of God in the VTI Bible. A divine wind and the Spirit of God are two very different things. The Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit, is part of the trinity of God- the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By saying a ‘divine wind’ we do not necessarily get this same understanding. Perhaps this was a wind directed by God. The meaning is unclear and could be any number of things. In this sense the VTI translation is much more specific. Also, the word void is much stronger than the word empty. Void makes me think of a black hole.

In the beginning of the third verse the VTI Bible has the word ‘and.’ This seems to imply that God’s statement is additional or secondary. In the Catholic Bible the verse simply says that God said, “Let there be light.” This makes the statement more profound because it stands alone. It is by itself, thus giving it more weight.

Verse 4 of the Catholic Bible truly emphasizes the actions of God by repeating ‘God’ twice, rather than referring to him the second time as ‘he,’ as in the VTI translation. Also, the Catholic Bible states that the light and darkness were divided from one another. This is a much stronger verb than the verb separated, as is used in the first translation.

I find the fifth verse of the Catholic Bible to be much smoother and easier to understand. The fact that evening and morning came makes it seem like much more of an event, verses a passive occurrence. In the VTI translation there is just a sense that they are now in existence.

I found the Catholic Bible to be much clearer and concise, besides the part in the second verse that talks about the ‘divine wind.’ Otherwise, the Catholic Bible uses stronger, more active language than the VTI Bible. I think this is of great significance because this passage comes from the very beginning of the Bible, the book on which Christianity is based.