user17344: I am only getting fake and/or altered versions of the Dhammapada. This is a serious problem. They get changed regularly, sometimes a verse is just completely false as it describes something that is not Right View, other times the translations are poor, some verses seem untouched. Is anyone else experiencing this?

user254: I'm aware of three versions in English

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.budd.html -- I think of this as "standard"
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.than.html -- I think of this as "poetic" (and a looser translation)
https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/ -- this says of itself ...

It only remains for me now to express my deep and sincere gratitude to the members of the Editorial Committee, Burma Pitaka Association, for having meticulously gone through the script; to Sayagyi Dhammacariya U Aung Moe and to U Thein Maung, editor, Burma Pitaka Association, for helping in the translation of the verses.

... so I guess it thoroughly reviewed (not just one author), and based on Burmese version. The translations for example here include the Pali and the "background story" for each verse -- so if you doubt a translation then you can see the Pali easily.

I guess word-for-word translations are rarely perfect or only approximate (e.g. the three translations translate averena as "non-hatred", "non-hostility", and/or "loving-kindness").
There's also https://suttacentral.net/dhp which has:

One of the English-language translations
"20 translations in other modern languages"
"1 edition of the root text" (which, I'm not sure, might be a copy of the Pali Text Society 2nd edition).


17344: <p>I am only getting fake and/or altered versions of the Dhammapada. This is a serious problem. They get changed regularly, sometimes a verse is just completely false as it describes something that is not Right View, other times the translations are poor, some verses seem untouched. Is anyone else experiencing this?</p>
 254: <p>I'm aware of three versions in English</p>

<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.budd.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.budd.html</a> -- I think of this as "standard"</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.than.html</a> -- I think of this as "poetic" (and a looser translation)</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/</a> -- this says of itself ...</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It only remains for me now to express my deep and sincere gratitude to the members of the Editorial Committee, Burma Pitaka Association, for having meticulously gone through the script; to Sayagyi Dhammacariya U Aung Moe and to U Thein Maung, editor, Burma Pitaka Association, for helping in the translation of the verses.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>... so I guess it thoroughly reviewed (not just one author), and based on Burmese version. The translations <a href="https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=005" rel="nofollow noreferrer">for example here</a> include the Pali and the "background story" for each verse -- so if you doubt a translation then you can see the Pali easily.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>I guess word-for-word translations are rarely perfect or only approximate (e.g. the three translations translate <em>averena</em> as "non-hatred", "non-hostility", and/or "loving-kindness").</p>

<p>There's also <a href="https://suttacentral.net/dhp" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://suttacentral.net/dhp</a> which has:</p>

<ul>
<li>One of the English-language translations</li>
<li>"20 translations in other modern languages"</li>
<li>"1 edition of the root text" (which, I'm not sure, might be a copy of the Pali Text Society 2nd edition).</li>
</ul>
