On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 11:53:55 -0700, Susan Carmack <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>http://www.watchtower.org/bible/index.htm
>New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures

Unless your religion is indeed "Jehovah's Witnesses", then I suggest you steer
clear of this translation, as there are many passages that are altered to
comform with their unique point of view.

I once did some investigation on Bible translations, and IMHO the "Revised
Standard Version" is the best, which you can read online at:

http://etext.virginia.edu/rsv.browse.html

When you get into the New Testament, which was written in Aramaic, you encounter
many idioms which were not understood by translators.   Fortunately, George
Lamsa, who was raised speaking Aramaic, has written some books on the idioms
used, such as:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060649275

which is described as:

For example, when a man says to Jesus, "let me bury my father," Lamsa points out
that this expression means, "Let me first take care of my father until he dies."
Traditionally, scholars assumed that this man's father was dead and that Jesus
was not interested in his burial. Lamsa's scholarship offers a more accurate
understanding of the intent and spirit of this passage. 

--
Cheers,

Ken