Which Bible Translation Should I Use?

Dear Roger,

So many different Bibles are available today. I am overwhelmed! How do I study the Bible most effectively? How do I know which one is the right translation for me?

Sincerely, Kate

Dear Kate,

A little old lady once said that if the King James Bible was good enough for Paul, then it was good enough for her. Of course, we know that Paul didn’t write the King James Bible. He wrote in Greek. He’d never heard of English!

The name ‘Bible’ comes from the city of Byblos. Papyrus was the paper of choice for the biblical writers. It was made from the pithy stem of a water plant grown in both Byblos (near modern-day Lebanon) and Egypt.

There are more than fifty English Bible translations in circulation in the world today. I’ve used a number of different ones. Each is profitable and insightful in its own way. Let me share some basic principles of Bible translation, and then I’ll provide a quick summary of the most commonly used English Bibles.

I hope this helps you find the translation or translations that are most helpful to you.

Is the Original Bible Still in Existence?

The answer is both no and yes. In the strictest sense, the answer is no: the actual original documents (called the “autographs”) are not in anyone’s possession.

However, in a very real way the answer is yes, we do have the actual words that make up the word of God. Textual scholars are able to access more than 5,000 extant Greek texts dating back to the second century, to compare and compile over 99.9% of what the original authors wrote.

• Before the advent of the printing press in the 1600s, the cost for translating was incredibly high. Each copy had to be handwritten by a qualified scribe. For this reason and many others, the Roman Catholic Church wanted to keep the Bible away from the average person.
• In the 1300s, John Wycliffe was the first to translate the New Testament into English. He was then burned at the stake as a heretic. John Wycliffe left quite an impression on the Roman Catholic Church. Forty years after his death, Catholic Church officials dug up his body, burned his remains, and threw the ashes into the river.
• In the 1500s, William Tyndale was the first to translate the entire Bible into English. His translation served as the foundation for subsequent English translations. The Roman Catholic Church murdered him by strangulation.

Over 20 Bibles existed in English before the King James Bible was first printed: Great Bible, Geneva Bible, Matthew’s Bible, and Bishop’s Bible to name a few.

Then there’s the “Wicked Bible,” that left out the word ‘not’ in the seventh commandment so it read, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” It was quickly recalled.

There’s the Murderer’s Bible where Mark 7:27 reads, “Let the children first be killed,” instead of ‘filled.’ It also was quickly recalled.

Do you think that these printers made these changes purposely?

Some Observations to Keep in Mind When Comparing and Understanding Translations

1. There is no such thing as a completely accurate translation.

Incidentally, the translator must deal with the word ‘covering’ which is considered to be a theological issue in other passages.

5. Consider the difficulty in making ancient customs understandable to modern readers.

“Greet one another with a holy kiss” (Romans 16:16) becomes in Phillip’s paraphrase, “Shake hands all around.”

One Wycliffe translator working with indigenous Eskimos in the Arctic described Christ as “The keeper of the huskies.” They’d never seen a lamb.

6. There are three distinct approaches for handling translations.

• The literal approach prioritizes a word-for-word translation that gives priority to the original language.
• The dynamic approach gives priority to what the text means. It is still a rather literal approach which aims to make the text as readable as possible. It endeavors to find equivalent concepts in English to match the concepts in the language being translated.
• A paraphrase focuses on simplicity and clarity over precision. It seeks to bring maximum clarity by using additional words as needed to get the meaning right.

For example, Matthew 8:20:

Literal: “The Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Dynamic: “The God who put on a body and became man declared, ‘I don’t have a place to sleep.’”

Paraphrase: “Christ, the holy dude rapped, ‘Yo, the God-man has no crib to chill and catch some z’s.”’

Which translation is best for me?

1. Literal Approach

• American Bible Society Greek Text
• King James Version (KJV) – This Bible is basically literal. It stays close to the original sentence structure but changes it where meaning is compromised. It is based on the best Hebrew and Greek texts available in the 16th century. Some words used in the KJV now have different meanings. For example, the word ‘suffer’ in the King James is dramatically different today: “Suffer the little children to come in to me.” Today, the word ‘suffer’ means “approach.” The New King James Version (NKJV) is often used (Let the little children come to me…) instead of the King James Version today.
• English Standard Version (ESV) – The ESV seeks, as far as possible, to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer.
• New American Standard Bible (NASB) – This Bible is considered by many to be the most literal English translation of all the Bibles. It is conservative, evangelical, and protestant. Conservative theology affects translational decisions. It is often very difficult to understand in English. However, it is a great tool for those who don’t know Greek and Hebrew.