Translation vs. Interpretation

There are many reasons why I prefer the King James Version bible over all the others. It is derived from the oldest and most popular text used by the first century church, it is the most beautiful and clearest to read and it holds the verses familiar to my childhood when I accepted Jesus as my Savior. But most of all it is because it is a Translation and not an Interpretation of the original Word of God.

What is the difference?

A Translation takes each word of the original text and rewrites it using words we can understand, in this case English words.
An Interpretation, on the other hand, reads an entire passage and the interpreter does his best to rewrite it to capture the overall theme or thought of the passage.

Why is this important?

Luke 4:4 says; “And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD of God.”

Proverbs 30:5 says; “EVERY WORD of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”

EVERY WORD is important not just the “thought” behind them. In an interpretation you lose the Words of God in a Translation they are maintained and kept pure.

Also, when you chose to read an interpretation like the NIV, NKJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, NJB, TEV, ect., you are relying on the interpreter having perfect understanding of God’s Word. Since this is not possible it would follow that all interpretations would be flawed since their authors are all flawed.