Translation is interpretation at the level of wording
A translator must choose between possible meanings, sentence structures, tones and levels of literalness. Even careful translations therefore differ.
Older English can preserve history but add distance
Public-domain editions such as the King James Bible, JPS 1917, Pickthall’s Qur’an translation, Besant and Das’s Bhagavad Gita, Max Müller’s Dhammapada and James Legge’s Tao Te Ching are historically important and legally useful for an open corpus. Their English can also feel older than contemporary speech.
One word may carry more than one concept
Religious vocabulary often resists simple substitution. Sanskrit dharma, Arabic taqwā, Pāli dhamma, Hebrew hesed and Chinese dào are examples of terms whose meaning depends heavily on context and tradition.
Literary style changes the problem
Poetry, aphorism, narrative, legal language and philosophical dialogue do not translate in the same way. A translation may prioritize literal wording, readability, rhythm or interpretive clarity.
Use translation labels as information, not clutter
Scroll My Faith shows the source edition because readers should know which wording they are reading. When a modern-language line is a site rendering rather than a named historical translation, it is labeled accordingly.
A practical reading method
For a passage that matters to you, compare at least two translations, look at the surrounding chapter or section, and consult a tradition-specific commentary when the wording affects theology or practice.