Which Bible Translation Is BEST?
This would be my closing remark, but it is too important to wait until the end.
Which one you use is not nearly as important as Using It DAILY, Deeply, with all your HEART.
Hide its truths there it will keep you near to GOD.
“What Bible do you recommend?”
“What’s the best translation?”
“What’s the best study Bible?”
These questions are simple to ask but complicated to answer.
Who will use this Bible, for what? The best Bible for public reading is not necessarily the best Bible for detailed, word-by-word Bible study. Avid readers and those who struggle with reading are likely to prefer different Bibles. A study Bible loaded with suggestions for the leader of a church prayer group may not serve the needs of a student in a college Bible course. Furthermore, the Bible we like the best may not serve us best. A translation that agrees with our own theological perspective, for instance, or a study Bible that relates everything to popular concepts, may not help us grow beyond our ruts and prejudices. Readers tend to like Bibles that “make everything clear” and “aren’t confusing,” but what if the passages in question really are unclear and confusing? Should we trust a translation that smoothes them over?
These questions come more from a skilled SALES hype
than a need in Bible Quality!
When Bibles were produced by hand, there was no such argument. In today’s computer generated and printed world the availability of MANY translations is possible. BUT, think about it “There cannot be One Best, Most respected version”. A Bible that we all use and everyone respects as “God’s Word”. If there is How am I going to Sell my new version. I fear the reason for so much discord about “Bible Versions” is Sales Hype. The truth is the “DIFFERENCE” in translations of words is very very small and only of interest to translators and Language experts. The Difference of ideas in Eastern to Western CULTURE is likely more of the problem in reading and understanding, Hebrew is Visual and has few abstract words, Greek and after are Abstract rational much more specific in meaning.
Yes there are spelling (or how a letter is made) differences. Yes there are some codex that are worded slightly different. A few words added or left out,
BUT THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE THAT WOULD CHANGE WHO GOD IS OR HOW MEN ARE SAVED!! The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, Executive Director Daniel B. Wallace, PhD
Here is a sample:
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. KJV
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. NASB
OK that all said for MY PART! I truly use them all. I have and regularly use 52 Bibles of different translation. I grew up with the King James Version, I know its vocabulary and understand its meaning, I also know most Americans today will have to look up a lot of words to read it. My BIBLE is the NEW King James Thompson Study Bible. I also use and recommend THE NIV, Life application Study Bible The study notes are good helpful and clear. A study Bible is the notes about the Bible not the translation. Most Study Bibles can be found in the translation you like, As far as translations go I translate it myself, I say that to say, I have not found a major “Not understandable” translation yet. I have found some out right wrong, theology based translation, but that is a choice of the author to express what they believe. Moreover, if you compare bibles you will quickly see this kind of problem.
Here are some suggestions and samples for you to consider.
Young’s Literal Translation
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible and Concise Critical Comments on the New Testament. Young used the Textus Receptus (TR) and the Masoretic Text (MT) as the basis for his translation.
. The New American Standard Bible
My note. This is the single best most accurate Bible you can use, not just my opinion but widely held at least in conservative circles.
The New American Standard Bible was commissioned by the Lockman Foundation (a private non-profit corporation) as a revision of the American Standard Version of 1901. The foundation determined that the ASV was falling out of use and needed to be “rescued” from obscurity.
The King James Version and New King James Version
The King James Version was first published in 1611. Scholars estimate that 85 percent of the New Testament of the KJV and much of the Old Testament was copied from the earlier William Tyndale Bible (1526 NT, 1536 OT). Tyndale was a wordsmith of the first magnitude. The majesty and beauty of the KJV is largely due to Tyndale. Dearly beloved phrases that appear in the KJV, such as “let there be light,” were coined by Tyndale. King James I of England ordered that a new translation of the Bible be undertaken because he did not like the popular translations of the day (particularly the popular Geneva Bible).
New International Version
Under the sponsorship of the International Bible Society, a Committee on Bible Translation was formed, and over one hundred scholars from around the world were invited to participate in the production of the New International Version. The translators worked from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The NIV was first published in 1973, then again in 1978 and 1984.
English standard Version
The English Standard Version (ESV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 2001 by Crossway. It is a revision of the Revised Standard Version](English Standard Version - Wikipedia) that employs an “essentially literal” translation philosophy. Work on this translation was prompted, in the early 1990s, by what the publisher, Crossway Books, stated was a need for a new literal translation by scholars and pastors.
The New Living Translation
The New Living Translation, 1996, was commissioned by the Tyndale Charitable Trust. The translators were charged with revising the text of the Living Bible to reflect accurately the Greek and Hebrew texts as understood by contemporary evangelical scholars.
