The Many Bibles

In the gospel of Matthew 28:18-20, the followers of Jesus are commanded to go out into all nations and teach all of what Jesus taught them. In order to communicate the message their teacher had given them to different people groups in the ancient world, all of whom had their own languages and contextual backgrounds, the disciples would have to phrase things in ways that their audience would be able to understand. The existence of several translations of the bible in the English language does not mean that any one bible is more right or wrong than another. I believe that part of the reason so many translations of the English bible exist is because the English language is an imprecise and difficult language compared to other world languages. It is the complexity of the English language that makes some translation of texts difficult because finding an English equivalent of the Greek or Hebrew is hard. Some words in Greek and Hebrew can contain a lot of weight based on cultural context and can be more specific than its English counterpart which could take several words to convey the meaning of one Greek or Hebrew word. Different teams of translators have approached this challenge differently. There are many translations such as the NIV and NRSV that translate paragraphs or main ideas of the original text and then express that in a way that is digestible for modern day readers.
Other translations such as the NASB and Amplified bible try to translate as closely as possible word for word the original text which may make reading a little harder as the idioms and expressions that come through in the original language do not transfer into the English. Each translation is a person or group of peoples understanding of the original or translations of the original text. Keeping in mind that all translations of original text are in their own right interpretations the existence of many bibles is a blessing. Many translations of the bible allow readers to compare various translations/interpretations and gain a fuller understanding of the content of the text.
In regard to the Old Testament there is very little dispute as to which books are canonical. Most Christian traditions have accepted the bulk of the Tanakh as canonical. The exception comes with the inclusion of writings known as the Apocrypha or deutronomical books that are published in most Orthodox and Roman Catholic bibles. The order of the Old Testament books varies/varied widely between one tradition to the next because of the nature of the texts. All the Old Testament books were first comprised of scrolls so books could be grouped into categories that readers thought made the most sense. The order for the New Testament is more consistent in organization because of the way in which books were recorded in biblios. The books were in one static order and so when they were copied and circulated they remained in the same order. One of the topics that I found interesting in the reading was the attempts to combine the 4 separate and seemingly conflicting gospel narratives into one gospel. I am glad that all four of these gospel accounts have survived because while early Christians may have thought that the gospels conflicted I see these conflicts as different perspectives of the same event. Like a car accident witnessed by four people at four separate corners of an intersection, each will have a different perspective of what actually occurred. Some of the details may be muddled or conflicted because different aspects of the accident stood out to each eyewitness. But when view as a whole one gains a full picture of the event. In the same way the four gospel accounts give different insight into the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. No one can completely nail down who Jesus was but when viewed as a whole all 4 give a fuller understanding of the personality of Christ.
There are many Churches that fall into the broad umbrella of Christianity. Each sub-sect has their own traditions and quibbles over doctrine. However, all of these different denominations are unified in the belief of what is best expressed in Paul's letter to the Romans.

21But now apart from the Law (A)the righteousness of God has been manifested, being (B)witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22even the (C)righteousness of God through (D)faith (E)in Jesus Christ for (F)all those who believe; for (G)there is no distinction; 23for all (H)have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24being justified as a gift (I)by His grace through (J)the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25whom God displayed publicly as (K)a propitiation (L)in His blood through faith This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the (M)forbearance of God He (N)passed over the sins previously committed;
26for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26 NASB)