The Bible was originally penned in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Therefore, unless one can fluently read all three of those languages, the reader of the Bible must rely on a translation.
There is no other book that has been translated more times than the Bible. All or part of the Bible has been translated into 2,798 languages, as of November 2012. Some languages, like English have more than one translation. English has over 100 from which a reader can choose. Of course, this brings up the question of, which is the very best translation.
To answer the above, the reader must be able to make an informed decision, in answering the following questions. What different types of translations are there? Of these different types of translations, what are the strengths and weaknesses of each? How can we know which type is preferred? Why should we be cautious when we read certain types of translations?
