I’ve begun translating the Book of Jude over the past week or so. I’m doing this for three reasons:

1. Jude is a really short and managable book,
2. I want an excuse to use and improve my Koine Greek, and
3. I want to use my study as an opportunity to discuss why Christians should switch their primary English Bible translation for something a bit different

I’ll be comparing my own translation with a couple of others, most likely William Tyndale’s 1526, the KJV, NASB, ESV, ISV and the NET. My translation won’t be very good, and certainly won’t be the best English in the world. I’m not doing this so I can win any Koine Greek awards or stylistic points. Instead, this is a great opportunity to point out why using different English translations can give you an extra glimpse or insight into the Biblical text that one single translation simply cannot do. For instance:

• Is Jude the servant or slave of Jesus Christ?
• Is he the brother of James or Jacob?
• Did Jude write to Christians who are beloved by God, or to those who have been made holy and sanctified by Him?

Depending on which English translation you read, each of these questions will be answered completely differently – and that’s just from the first half of verse 1!

Looking forward to talking about this in the next few weeks . . . once I finish translating Jude!