NASB, NKJV or ESV? Which Translation is The Best?

[Hentenza]

It is important to understand that 66, the number of books in the Protestant "Bible," is an unholy number.

Go with a Catholic Bible, The Douay Rheims Bible

The DR is a highly biased translation. I do not use it at all.

BTW- Is not 666 but just 66.

 

[Knee V]

39 is the particularly unholy number. 66 is sanctified by the 27.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Out of these three version I wanted to take a poll and see what bibles you guys prefer.I'm currently trying to decided on which translation to stick to so I can memorize scripture. So which one would you guys prefer out of these three?

NJKV is okay, ESV is slightly biased in its terminology, NASB has the same fault. I think that the Orthodox Study Bible uses the NKJV new testament. The ESV is available with the deuterocanon included, so NASB is the outlier ... I use the RSV (which is very like the esv)

 

[Knee V]

NJKV is okay, ESV is slightly biased in its terminology, NASB has the same fault. I think that the Orthodox Study Bible uses the NKJV new testament. The ESV is available with the deuterocanon included, so NASB is the outlier ... I use the RSV (which is very like the esv)

The OSB does indeed use the NKJV for the NT. Its OT is a translation of the LXX: it starts with the NKJV OT and amends it where necessary to bring it into conformity to the LXX, retaining the NKJV wording where possible.

 

[yogosans14]

I didn't know Orthodox use the NKJV. Do they have an official version?

 

[Needing_Grace]

The OSB does indeed use the NKJV for the NT. Its OT is a translation of the LXX: it starts with the NKJV OT and amends it where necessary to bring it into conformity to the LXX, retaining the NKJV wording where possible.

Nice! How do they deal with the Deuterocanonicals, which were, AFAIK, never translated into the NKJV. I wish it were as the NKJV is my favorite version of all the English versions.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I would go with ESV. I usually use the RSV and the ESV is practically the same thing. Only reason I use the older RSV rather than the new ESV is because there isn't an edition of ESV with the full Orthodox canon (with the so called deuterocanonical books like Wisdom of Solomon (my fav) and Maccabees, etc...) at least that I'm aware of. If they come out with an ESV with the full canon I would buy it for sure though.

Christos, our Church has published this: The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes which includes not only the Apocrypha, but the deuterocanonical books and is an ESV translation:

Judith
The Wisdom of Solomon
Tobit
Ecclesiasticus [aka Sirach]
Baruch
The Letter of Jeremiah
1 Maccabees
Josephus and 1 and 2 Maccabees Compared [chart]
1 and 2 Maccabees: A Detailed Comparison [chart]
2 Maccabees
Old Greek Esther
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
The Prayer of Azariah
The Song of the Three Holy Children
The Prayer of Manasseh

1 Esdras
2 Esdras
3 Maccabees or Ptolemaika
4 Maccabees
Psalm 151

 

[Needing_Grace]

Christos, our Church has published this: The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes which includes not only the Apocrypha, but the deuterocanonical books and is an ESV translation:

Judith
The Wisdom of Solomon
Tobit
Ecclesiasticus [aka Sirach]
Baruch
The Letter of Jeremiah
1 Maccabees
Josephus and 1 and 2 Maccabees Compared [chart]
1 and 2 Maccabees: A Detailed Comparison [chart]
2 Maccabees
Old Greek Esther
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon
The Prayer of Azariah
The Song of the Three Holy Children
The Prayer of Manasseh

1 Esdras
2 Esdras
3 Maccabees or Ptolemaika
4 Maccabees
Psalm 151

Those charts comparing the Maccabees seem like selling points to me. I've read both but some parts are harder to follow than others. The dramatic story of the seven sons is...chilling.

 

[rockytopva]

Kjv

 

[NorrinRadd]

I didn't know Orthodox use the NKJV. Do they have an official version?

Maybe this?

 

[childofdust]

Out of these three version I wanted to take a poll and see what bibles you guys prefer.I'm currently trying to decided on which translation to stick to so I can memorize scripture. So which one would you guys prefer out of these three?

The best translation out of those three (at least in terms of the Old Testament) is the NASB - hands down. As I work through the Hebrew of an Old Testament book, I consistently see the NASB performing above and beyond what either the NKJV or the ESV provides in terms of its fidelity to the Hebrew and its use of the latest scholarship. The problem with memorizing the NASB, however, is that it's too wooden and it doesn't actually mimic the poetic devices in the Hebrew like root-play and assonance that would help in the oral recitation and memorization process. I would probably pick Rotherham's Emphasized Bible for memorization purposes. It mimics the oral quality of the Hebrew Bible better than many other translations. But it is outdated.

 

[NorrinRadd]

The best translation out of those three (at least in terms of the Old Testament) is the NASB - hands down. As I work through the Hebrew of an Old Testament book, I consistently see the NASB performing above and beyond what either the NKJV or the ESV provides in terms of its fidelity to the Hebrew and its use of the latest scholarship. The problem with memorizing the NASB, however, is that it's too wooden and it doesn't actually mimic the poetic devices in the Hebrew like root-play and assonance that would help in the oral recitation and memorization process. I would probably pick Rotherham's Emphasized Bible for memorization purposes. It mimics the oral quality of the Hebrew Bible better than many other translations. But it is outdated.

The ISV takes the interesting approach of rendering poetic passages of the NT in the form of English poetry, with rhyme and meter. The original goal was to do that with the whole of the Bible, but it soon became apparent that it would be impossible to do a decent job of rendering entire OT books in that way while still retaining the meaning as well as reasonable verbal correspondence.

 

[Unix]

yogosans14, the REB (Revised English Bible), is MUCH better than those 3 options! I use the REB frequently, it's great for example for several of the Pauline Epistles, and for 2 Mc and most of 1 Mc. If You want a translation of the Hebrew of the 38 books of the Old Testament the REB is also decent - less biased and more readable, than the other versions mentioned in this entire thread:

I love the NIV,NLT, AMPLIFIED,

 

[High Fidelity]

I'd recommend the KJV, but if it has to be one of these, ESV.

 

[Unix]

The Good News Translation is one of the least biased versions. It's thought-for-thought and has easy English but is not a paraphrase. The translators didn't set a strict vocabulary-limit when translating to English. It's suitable for youth, and I know hedrick has been teaching youth from it for quite some time. It was not translated by just one person because the newest Edition is from 2004: the 2004 Good News Translation 3rd Edition UK-English 66 book Bible, can be ordered from for example bookdepository.co.uk. However, it's probably not what the OP is looking for, and I haven't found any tools for the Old Testament. There is a tool for the New Testament: the 2009 Comprehensive New Testament (also available in Accordance as the Comprehensive Bible/Crossref):

I like the [...], The Good News Bible, [...]

 

[rockytopva]

KJV.... Or...


Do not pass Go!
Do not collect $200!

 

[Knee V]

I didn't know Orthodox use the NKJV. Do they have an official version?

We have no official version. The publishers of the NKJV just happened to make that study Bible easy for us to do.

 

[Knee V]

Nice! How do they deal with the Deuterocanonicals, which were, AFAIK, never translated into the NKJV. I wish it were as the NKJV is my favorite version of all the English versions.

In those cases it is a brand new translation.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

Those charts comparing the Maccabees seem like selling points to me. I've read both but some parts are harder to follow than others. The dramatic story of the seven sons is...chilling.

It is indeed.

 

[JimmyNeutron]

I can't say for the ESV because I've never read it, but I have a NKJV and an NASB. My preference for Bibles is a little weird. I'd say that NASB is the best if your going for accuracy. It's very readable, not complicated language like the KJV, and it's one of the most literally translated versions out there. So, for serious study I would say use the NASB.

However, I myself prefer the NKJV when I'm looking for more than just the text, when I want to feel inspired by the Word. It's easier to understand than the KJV but it still retains some of the poetic nature of the older translations.