A Guide to Picking Bible Translations

There is a common question among English speaking Christians that I find myself being asked fairly regularly, “What translation should I use?” Gone are the days when the debate amongst churches was whether to promote the New International Version or King James Version of the Bible for use among its members. Today, anyone looking for a Bible either in paper or online has more options to choose from than they likely even know what to do with! And so to address this, with today’s post I hope to explain why that is, as well as provide a bit of a guide to help you choose which Bible best matches your needs.

The Translation Spectrum

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the Bible was not originally written in English (nor German as my grandfather used to joke). Instead, it was written in three languages: Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek. To complicate matters, each of these languages has long since stopped being written in or even spoken. And so, for us English speakers today who are not wanting to learn how to read these dead languages ourselves, we are left dealing with the imprecise art of translation.

Now, every language is different. Not just in the sense that each has different words, but also each language is different in how it is structured, the range of meaning its words occupy, and perhaps the biggest factor being differences amongst how it uses figures of speech and idioms. If I were to say, “it is hot like a sauna today”, for someone else to understand that figure of speech would require them to first know what a sauna is, or else that saying will make no sense to them. This is a problem that presents a very real problem when it comes to Bible translation, as often figures of speech and idioms are drawn from the world around us, and the world of the Bible predates us by 2000 to 3000 years. Obviously, the world has changed a lot in that time!

What all these issues mean, is that when translating the Bible, a decision needs to be made by the translators before a single word makes it across. Do you want to translate in a way that focuses on the accuracy of the words used, or do you want to translate in a way that focuses on the accuracy of the meanings those words were originally trying to convey?

If in your translation, you choose to focus on being accurate in bringing across (as best as possible) the actual words used, this is something you can do. But know that in doing this, the finished translation will likely sound unnatural or wooden to an English speaker, possibly even bordering on confusing, requiring multiple passes to make sense of it. Beyond this, there are some figures of speech and idioms that will make less sense in this method of translation, not because they are translated poorly, but instead because they are not common phrases used today. However, an advantage to this method of translation is that often the biblical writers chose words somewhat particularly, and while not perfectly preserving their writing technique, this style of translation does a better job at getting these word choices across.

On the other end of this translation spectrum are Bibles that try to focus on conveying accurately the meaning of the original, often at the expense of accuracy in the words used. Unsurprisingly, these Bibles are typically considered to be more readable than those produces with the other translation philosophy. The trade-off of this approach (beyond losing some of those aforementioned word choices) is that in order to translate a Bible like this, the translator often needs to make a number of theological and historical decisions as to what they understand the writers of the Bible to actually mean. Thankfully, the people doing these translations are almost always the best of the best. For example, the translator for the Book of Job in the New Living Translation, Dr. August Konkel (the man who officiated my wedding, so I’ll admit a bit of bias here), was a Mennonite pastor for many years before he felt called to get his doctorate, to which after obtaining it, he worked in the field of Old Testament studies as a professor for decades, earning a reputation for quality work from his peers both in academia and the Church.

Every Bible you will encounter finds itself somewhere on this translation spectrum, from very textually accurate to very meaning accurate. That said, almost none of the Bibles you would look to purchase are fully on one side of this spectrum or the other, instead, most try to find a sweet spot between understandability and accuracy in their translation.

Now, with all that said, I should also mention that there is one other kind of Bible that does not deal with this translation predicament. Apart from the spectrum, there are also paraphrase Bibles. These Bibles are not translations. Instead, paraphrase Bibles are typically retellings (or paraphrases), of other translations that have the goal of being as understandable as possible. While they are typically great for both readability and understandability, it is important to 100% make sure the writer is a trustworthy source, as paraphrase Bibles are the writer’s understanding of what scripture is trying to say. Fortunately, the main paraphrase Bible used today, The Message, was written by Eugene Peterson, a very well regarded Protestant pastor and theologian. Children’s story Bibles also often fit under this heading.

Paraphrase Bibles are scripture in the same way that retelling Bible stories in your own words is also scripture. It does have its place, especially when relaying scripture to people who are not the strongest of readers, but if your goal is to go in-depth with your Bible study, a paraphrase Bible should only be thought of as a starting point, with your search then leading you elsewhere.

While there are other factors than the translation spectrum that play into the differences between English Bible translations, those are largely secondary considerations next to this. If you are interested in learning more about the specific choices the translators of your Bible have made, often there will be a few pages at either the beginning or the end of your Bible that will talk about these decisions.

Where do the Common Translations Fit on the Translation Spectrum?

So with this all spelled out, let’s look at where the most common translations fit on the translation spectrum. To do this, we will start at the most text-accurate translation, and work our way to the more meaning-focused options out there.

Interlinears

Interlinears are Bibles that are word-for-word translations. They typically have the original languages on one line, with the closest English word immediately underneath. Due to the differences between the biblical languages and English, interlinears will make little sense to anyone just trying to read them. They are usually meant for either beginner translators or for people who want to quickly see what words the original text employed. So unless that describes you, an interlinear is likely not the kind of translation you are looking for.

English Standard Version

As we progress from word-for-word translations to those that are actually readable, albeit still somewhat clunkily, the ESV is probably the first major translation to note. When a decision needs to be made between the understandability and the accuracy of the text, the ESV sides with the later. As such, it is not a bad Bible to own for textual comparison but probably it will serve you best alongside something that is more readily accessible if you are just wanting to read.

Something that should be noted about the ESV is that it typically opts to use masculine instead of neutral pronouns even when neutral would fit what the original languages say better. The King James Version does this as well, but it was written in a time when this was common English usage, which it no longer is. As such if you use the ESV, it is best to keep an eye out for this translation decision.

King James Version

With all its “thees” and “thous”, the KJV often feels unreadable due to its age. However, since it was the main Bible of the English speaking protestant church for the better part of four hundred years likely most of the famous passages people know are in this translation, so it is worth picking up for that reason alone. It is also still the most common English translation used today. In terms of where it fits on the spectrum, the KJV is getting toward the middle but tends to lean toward accuracy in text over accuracy in meaning. Although this distinction is somewhat sidelined by the fact that these days there is also some translation that needs to happen between the KJV and modern English as well.

New Revised Standard Version

If you are looking for a single Bible to do it all, the NRSV would be a solid pick. Of all the popular translations out there today, this one is the closest to the middle of the spectrum. The NRSV is not as text accurate as the translations farther to that end of the spectrum, nor as reader-friendly as choices farther down this list, but it does strike a solid balance and as such is a good choice.

New International Version

In many English-speaking churches in North America, this is the standard Bible used today, and so is worth having on hand for that reason alone. Its popularity comes from its focus on readability, which came like a breath of fresh air to a church that before its introduction was primarily using the KJV. Among English translations, it is second in usage only next to the KJV and on the spectrum, it would be about three-quarters of the way toward a focus on meaning.

New Living Translation

Of the popular translations, the NLT is both the newest and also the most focused on getting across accuracy in meaning over accuracy in the text. If you are looking for a translation that you can just pick up and read like a book, that is still grounded in solid research and translation practices, this is the choice for you. Also, if you are looking to buy a Bible for a new Christian not steeped in years of Bible study, this is probably your best pick as well.

Final Thoughts: So which Bible Should I Pick?

So, after reading all this, you are likely still asking, which Bible Translation should I choose? To which now, I will offer my best bit of pastoral advice as it pertains to the topic.

Are you new to the Bible or are you looking to get a Bible for your daily use? Then I would suggest you air to the side of the spectrum that emphasizes getting across the meaning. These are the Bibles that are the most easily readable and as such are also the Bibles most likely to be read. In the end of the day, that is what matters the most when it comes to any translation. Will it be used?

Do you already have a Bible and you are looking for a different translation to go deeper with your study? Then my suggestion to you would be to find out where your Bible lies on the translation spectrum, and then get one that is as close to the opposite of it in terms of translation philosophy as possible. Doing that will help get across new meanings and depths that you may not have noticed before. All of the Bible translations I mentioned here, as well as the many I didn’t, each have their place and are, as such, each good in their own way. For this reason, if there is a passage you are really looking to get to the bottom of, I would even suggest you read it in as many different translations as you can get your hands on. I can’t count the number of times doing this opened up for me new thoughts on a passage I had never come across before. On this front, the internet is a wonderful tool to use, as sites like Bible Gateway, Bible Hub, and Logos (let me know if you are interested in checking this resource out as I use it extensively) all have more translations than I can count, all of which can easily be set up for quick comparison.

Finally, are you picking a Bible translation for the intent of reading it to others? Then, likely my suggestion would be based on its usage. Is the star of the show going to the Bible reading, or are you reading that passage to lead into a Bible study or sermon? If the former, I would say go with a translation that makes sure people sit up and listen. Either pick a translation they are not used to that tweaks that part of their minds that causes us to want to dig deeper or choose a translation that is easy to understand so that they focus on the passage and not the person delivering it. If the passage is to set up a Bible study or sermon though, likely your best bet is to use whatever the person preaching or leading the Bible study used to prep with, or barring that knowledge, one of the more popular translations, like the NIV.

So which is the best Bible translation to pick? Again, there is no simple answer to that question. However, no matter which you decide to go with, what matters the most is always the same thing. Make sure to read it, and often.

But what Bible do you use? Was it on the list? If not, are you curious about where it would fall on the spectrum? Do you have a different question regarding Bible translation entirely? Feel free to leave a comment to let me know.