Trinitarian Bias in the Holy Bible

Glorifying the Father-Or Glorifying the Son?

Is there a theological/Christological bias in Bible versions?

"Whether Christ is called God must be determined from Jn. i.1; xx.28; 1Jn. v. 20 ; Ro. ix. 5; Tit. ii.13; Heb. i.8 sq., etc,; the matter is still in dispute among theologians." Thayer's Lexicon

There are certain scriptures used to try to deify Jesus Christ. But as you can see, many do not agree. A "YES" means that the version in question could be viewed as assigning Deity to the Son. A "NO" means that a certain rendering was translated in a way to promote the Deity of the Father.

Bible	Jn1:1	Jn1:18	Ac20:28	Rom9:5	2Thess1:12	Tit2:13	Heb1:8	2Pet1:1
King James	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Revised Version	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
RV mg.		YES	NO	NO		NO		NO
Revised Standard Ver	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
RSV mg.		YES	NO	YES		NO	NO	NO
New English Bible	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
NEB mg.		YES	NO	YES		NO	NO
Moffatt	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES
The Message*	YES	NO	YES	YES?	NO	YES	YES	YES
Goodspeed	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES
Translator's N.T.	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
Good News Bible*		YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
GNB mg.*		NO	NO	YES
21st Century NT Literal	NO	NO	N/A	N/A	NO	NO	NO	NO
21st Century NT Free	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
New International Ver	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
NIV mg.		NO	NO	NO	YES
New World Trans	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Modern Lang.Bib	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Jerusalem Bib	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
New Amer.Stan.Bib.	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
Amer.Stan.Ver	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
ASV mg.							NO
Young`s	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES
An Inclusive Ver.*	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
An Inclusive mg.		NO	YES	YES		NO	NO	NO
New RSV	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
NRSV mg.		NO	YES	YES		NO	NO	NO
New Amer.Bib	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES
NAB mg.	NO	NO
Revised NAB	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES
RNAB mg		NO	NO		NO	YES		NO
New Jerusalem	YES	NO	NO		NO	YES	YES	YES
Catholic Con.Doc.	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
Amplified Bib	YES	NO	YES		NO	YES	YES	YES
Darby	YES	NO		NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
S.T.Byington	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES
Beck	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Cotton Patch*	NO	NO	N/A	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES
Williams N.T.	Yes		YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
Contemp.Eng.Ver.*	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
CEV mg.*			YES	YES		NO
Diaglott	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES
Concordant Lit.N.T.	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Rotherham	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES
Bib.Basic Eng.	YES	NO	YES	NO		YES	YES	YES
Knox	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Revised Version-Parkinson	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Living Bib.*	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
Weymouth	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO
Simple Eng.Bib	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO
Worrell	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES
New Century Ver*	YES	YES	YES	YES	No	YES	YES	YES
NCV mg.*			NO	NO
Revised Eng.Bib	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
Phillips*	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO
Montgomery N.T.	YES		YES		NO	YES	YES	YES
Jewish N.T.	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Schonfield	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Douay	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES
Kingdom Interlinear	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
King JamesII	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO
Deaf*	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Unvarnished NT	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES
God`s Word*	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Geneva	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO
Lamsa	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO
Cath.RSV	Yes	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
ISV	YES	NO	YES	YES	N/A	YES	YES	N/A
Wuest*	YES		YES	NO		YES	YES	YES
Webster	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Net Bible	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Hebrew Names Version	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES
New Living*	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
NIrV	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES
Wesley Trans.	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES
Inclusive Lang. NT*	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES
New Life Ver.*	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES
Kleist&Lilly	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO
Lattimore	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES
Newcome	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Tyndale	YES	NO	YES	N/A	NO	NO	NO	YES
Aitken 1782	YES	NO	YES	N/A	N/A	NO	YES	NO
Fenton	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES

*=Paraphrased Bibles

Examples of the above:

John 1:1

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God".(King James Version)
"In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god".(NWT, Parkinson's Revised Version-Improved and Corrected)
"In the beginning the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was divine".(Goodspeed,Moffatt)

For Professor Jason Beduhn's letter on this scripture click here.
For further discussion of this interesting scripture click here.
There is actually some fresh material in BDAG on the subject of QEOS. There is an interesting quotation from Diognetus that was not in BAGD.
BDAG - QEOS 2 - provides an interesting parallel to John 1:1b,c when it
quotes Dg 10:6. It says:
hOS hA PARA TOU QEOU LABWN ECEI, TAUTA TOIS EPIDEOMENOIS CORHGWN, QEOS GINETAI [QEOS as predicate nominative preceeding copulative verb] TWN
LAMBANANTWN (one who ministers to the needy what one has received from God
proves to be a god to the recipients). (cp. Sb III, 6263, 27f of a mother). Such understanding led to the extension of the mng. of Q. to pers. who elicit special reverence.

John 1:18

"No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the father's heart, who has made him known".(New Revised Standard Version)
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."(Revised Version, KJV)
"No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him".(New American Standard Version,NWT)

Acts 20:28

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood"(New American Standard Version)
"Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son".(Revised Standard Version,NWT)

Romans 9:5

"Their ancestors were great people of God, and Christ himself was a Jew as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise!Amen".(New Living Translation)
"to them, belonging the patriarchs, and of their race, according the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed for ever.Amen".(Revised Standard Version,NWT)

2Thessalonians 1:12*

"That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ".(Douay-Rheims Bible)
"that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ".(Young`s Literal Translation)

Titus 2:13*

"as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear".(Good News Bible)
"as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our Savior Jesus Christ".(New American Bible)

Hebrews 1:8

"But of the Son he says,"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, thy righteous sceptre is the sceptre of thy kingdom".(Revised Standard Version...incidentally, this is a quotation from Psalms 45:6 which this same bible translates"your Divine throne".
"but as to the Son "God is your throne forever and ever...."(Bible in Living English-S.T.Byington)

Theos" in Kittels Dictionary of New Testament.On Hebrews 1.8 it says: "In Hebrews 1:8-9
the designation of the OT king as theos is transferred to Jesus."

2 Peter 1:1*

"Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with our in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ".(Revised Standard Version)
"Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us throught the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ".(King James Version)

*compare Ephesians 5:5 and Proverbs 24:21 in the LXX (Septuagint)

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Last Updated April 30 2002