The Translations We Choose

Monday, November 10, 2025

Happy Monday, my friends! Like most pastors, I plan out the themes for my sermons at least several weeks in advance. Yesterday, I preached the second in a four-Sunday series on the Ten Commandments. For Advent, I’m planning to preach on the first two chapters of the Gospel according to Luke over the course of the four Sundays. In each case, I explored which translation or translations of the Bible would be the best to use given how familiar these passages are to most people with backgrounds in the church.

While I ultimately decided to stick with the New Revised Standard Version (Updated Edition) (NRSVUE) for the Ten Commandments, for Luke 1 and 2 I’m choosing to use the relatively new First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament.[1] While not strictly speaking a translation, despite the name, the First Nation Version (FNV) renders Biblical names into an Indigenous naming scheme based on the meanings of those names and introduces Indigenous understandings of Biblical concepts into the text. For example, let’s look at the Magnificat, Mary’s song from Luke 1:46-55.

In the NRSVUE this passage reads: “And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has come to the aid of his child Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.’”

In the FNV this passage reads: [When Bitter Tears (Mary)[2] heard this, she was filled with gladness, and her words flowed out like a song.][3] “From the deep in my heart I dance with joy to honor the Great Spirit. Even though I am small and weak, he[4] noticed me. Now I will be looked up to by all. The Mighty One has lifted me up! His name is sacred. He is the Great and Holy One.” [Her face seemed to shine as she continued.] “He shows kindness and pity to both children and elders who respect him. His strong arm has brought low the ones who think they are better than others. He counts coup[5] with arrogant war chiefs but puts a headdress of honor on the ones with humble hearts.” [She smiled, looked up to the sky, and shouted for joy.] “He prepares a great feast for the ones who are hungry but sends the fat ones home with empty bellies. He has been kind to the tribes of Wrestles with God (Israel) who walk in his ways, for he has remembered the ancient promises he made to our ancestors—to Father of Many Nations (Abraham) and his descendants.”

While our selection of a translation of the Bible might be based on the wording and the flow of the text, it often speaks to who we are and the theology we hold. For example, the King James Version (KJV) is the preferred translation of many conservative Protestants, some of whom claim that they can “correct the Greek” with the KJV (that’s not really possible). On the other hand, many progressive Christians prefer either the NRSV or the more recent NRSVUE. What these versions lack in poetry, they make up for in well researched contextual translations which rely as much on a critical command of the original Biblical languages as they do on understanding the cultural milieu of each book and letter and a recognition that the culture of the writers of Genesis was different than the culture of the writers of Jeremiah and definitely different than the writers of the New Testament. Therefore, the NRSVUE is regarded as the most faithful and accurate version of the Bible available in English.

What is your favorite translation of the Bible? Are you prepared to hear radically new translations such as the FNV?

Let us pray: God, your word has been translated and interpreted in almost every language on earth. Yet, we still hear you through our own linguistic preferences and personal biases. Help us break through the language which hides your truth and obscures your message of love and liberation. Empower us to hear you as you are and always have been. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our savior and liberator. Amen.

Blessings on your weeks, my friends! Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Faithfully,

Ben +

[1] Rain Ministries, Inc. First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament. InterVarsity Press. 2021.

[2] The FNV includes the traditional English version of names in parentheses after the Indigenous version of each name.

[3] The FNV adds short verses which are extrapolated from the text. While these additions are not Biblical, they help maintain congruence with Indigenous narrative styles. In quoting these passages from the FNV, I’m choosing to bracket the additions whereas the FNV sets them off with italics.

[4] The translators of the FNV note that even though Indigenous cultures do not assign gendered pronouns to the Great Spirit, they chose to follow the New Testament tradition of using he/him/his pronouns for God.

[5] The FNV notes that “counting coup” was a practice among Plains tribes of touching an enemy with a “coup stick” symbolizing that the warrior could have killed their enemy but chose to spare them. Each time a coup stick was used a notch was placed in it showing how many times it had been used.