Which version has the correct translation?
Why? Could you explain your reasoning?
1 John 5:7
NASB- For there are three that testify:
KJV - For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Depends on to which Greek manuscript one appeals.
The Greek and its transliteration found
HERE: at Bible Hub uses the Textus Receptus (TR).
1 John 5:7 Textus Receptus transliteration
for three there are bearing testimony in heaven the father the word and the holy spirit and these three are one
If we're going with the Majority Texts (MT) then,
1 John 5:7 Majority Text transliteration
For three there are testifying
Using the TR, the KJV is clearly more accurate - even though its use of "
record" and "
ghost" are incorrect. "
Martyrountes" means witness, testify, or give evidence. "
Pneuma" means breath, wind, or spirit (not an apparition of a dead person). Using the MT the NAS is the accurate version.
It boils down to whether or not a person finds the Textus Receptus (TR) or the Majority Text (MT) manuscripts authoritative. If one scrolls down the page to which I linked the thread the various Greek manuscripts are shown and there are huge difference between the Textus Receptus and the Majority Texts. Most of the Majority Texts, but not all, are identical. Most consider that inconsistency evidence of manipulation. Between the two, however, either a lot was added into the TR or a lot was subtracted in the MT. There's an article on this debate using this very verse at CARM
HERE.
"The problem is that there is no Greek manuscript evidence for this longer reading prior to around the 16th century. It seems to be a carryover from the Latin, where it was perhaps added as an interpolation. At any rate, whatever the origin of the reading, it is not by any stretch of the imagination a part of the Majority Text. This is a good example of a stark and significant difference between the TR and M-text."
I, personally, prefer the NAS and do so because it is generally the most accurate word-for-word rendering of the Greek even if on this occasion that will one day prove not to be the case. I don't much care about TR v MT because in most places the differences are significant. Since I can always check the Greek within seconds, any variations are readily visible for consideration.
