Why My Bible Collection?

William J. Chamberlin

I now have approx. 2,080 different English translations of the Bible and parts thereof and many
(around 200) non-canonical books as well.

Its true that my collection might be said to be several collections - - but where does one stop? What
is the Bible? What are the limits of inclusion in the Bible? The Jews believe that the Bible stops with
Malachi. But up to about 120 yrs. ago, when the Jew used an English version, they had to use the
King James, or it and a few selections of corrections. What makes the Apocrypha a part of the Bible?
The Catholics? Ah, no, the King James Bible always had its version of the Apocrypha. The King
James Bible always included a version of the Apocrypha, even though most Catholic translations
don’t include 2nd Esdras and the Prayer of Manasses. The books that were not specifically included
- - The Pseudepigrapha (Apocryphal, both the Old Testament and New Testament) - - need to be
“available” in order to examine their important value in early Christian teachings and also to see why
they were excluded. They certainly contain a lot of historical data that we may not have from any
other source.

Some ministers and lay people believe that paraphrases should not be included in this work, because
some of these paraphrases take extreme liberties with the text. I have run across some that are pretty
padded. So I classified Josephus’ “Antiquities of the Jews” as a padded paraphrase of the historical
portions of the Old Testament. Did I stretch his intention too far?

Where does the N.T. stop? The Syriac claim that Revelation and some short books preceding are
not part of the canon. Some Church Fathers have accepted other titles such as the Shepherd of
Hermas. And the old Uncials included 1st. Clement and others. Are we going to let Catholic councils
refuse us the permission to examine the evidence?

What is Islam but an offshoot from Christianity? It refers to the Bible in places and seems to tell a
different account of what happened in the few instances they “compare.” If I “must know that much”
surely accounts didn’t stop there, that claim non-human origin. So, would it suit one better if I called
it a Scripture in English collection?

“Bible History” as researched by modern scholarship doesn’t do more than intrigue the curiosity. I
want to examine the ancient written evidence myself. “Theology” doesn’t interest me from modern
viewpoints (although I do read a lot of it). I want to see what it is based on. If I am to know truth,
surely I need to know it for myself, and not somebody else’s digest and opinion of it. What did they
believe “then”?

Your reaction to all this may show you that I am not a Bible collector for collecting sake, but for
understanding. I liked English little enough in school. I have no desire to be bogged down in the
technicalities of the original languages even if the original autographs were to be found. Variant
translations seem the ideal way of understanding the opinions of what was originally written, though
there is no full equivalency to be expected between languages. Therefore, we need translations that
better reveal how the original expressed itself (literal), translations that express the thought that the
translator “understood” and paraphrases which bring out the opinions of what scholars conclude was
understood by the original readers.

No perfect translation, version, or edition of the Bible exists. All translators tend to lean towards
their own religious beliefs when choosing the words they use in their translations, including the KJV.
The KJV translators had this to say, “We do not deny, nay we affirm and avow, that the very meanest
translation of the Bible in English... containeth the word of God, nay, is the word of God.” This
being the case, we can rely on God’s Holy Spirit to guide us in our study of God’s written Word.
And new translations can help us in our studies.

There are many accurate Bibles or should I say, there are some Bibles with only a few errors in
existence today. In fact, I would suggest that most Bibles today have a high level of accuracy. Some
inaccuracies that have slipped through have been discussed more than others here and there. Every
Bible version has some inaccuracies. However, we can consider nearly every Bible version as
accurate, as long as we understand what kind of Bible version we are using. In addition, we need to
know who the translators are and their background, both educational and religious, and then watch
for the areas where they chose to use a word which was influence by their religious tradition in their
translating.

God in his grace ensures that even Bibles with some (intended and unintended) inaccuracies (and
that includes each one and every translation) are used to glorify him and bring his good news to others.

Thus, the above purpose has shown why my Bible collection of 2,080 or more translations and
versions exists and will be expanded in time. When counting 1st, 2nd, 3rd editions and multi-volume
translations, I have over 3,000 volumes. I also have approx. 5,500 volumes I found at various sites
on the Internet, most of which were free to download, and others are membership fee sites.