Bible Preference

[JoshuaNY]

I was curious what Bible Translation everyone prefers. I have a few old ones and I want to purchase a new one. And if it wouldnt be to much trouble could you tell me what you like and dislike about them.
Thanks everyone

 

[Lost Squirrel]

My mom and I attended our first bible study tonight. Being former Catholics, we have the full NRSV, which includes the apocrypha. Those seated near us brought the Lutheran Study Bible, and the NIV. I also have a copy of the ESV on my iPod that I began reading/hearing recently (Bible.is). Seems the ESV reads more smoothly, whereas the NSRV is almost a direct translation in word placement. I haven't spent enough time with the ESV yet to get a good feel for its "authenticity".

 

[doulos_tou_kuriou]

I probably stick most closely to NIV. I don't really have a favorite. NRSV and ESV are overall really good translations, but they each lean on opposite ends of the "liberal-conservative" scholastic perspective in terms of which way a passage could be translated. Or better put, you can sometimes read the agendas behind the translators, not saying they were not being loyal to scripture, but if you lean one way or another it means on certain places it will translate one way or another. All translations do this to some extent (there is truth to the saying "traduttore, traditore.") but I guess I feel the NIV is a bit more in the middle. At least the older version. The newly published revisions lean more into the scholarship behind NRSV.
If you want a study Bible I would avoid both of the recent Lutheran Study Bibles put out by LCMS and ELCA. The LCMS one mainly because it has too much, which honestly concerns me. When it's regular for a page to have more notes on the text than the text itself that becomes more of a commentary than a study bible IMO (but maybe you are looking for that). The ELCA one is for the opposite reason, it has too few notes, and some of them are unhelpful or so liberal they honestly mean nothing at all and are about saying the passage is not saying anything. That and the ELCA one picked the ugliest cover in the history of Bible covers, unless you are buying it as a baby shower present for someone who is having a boy. Unless you want to pony up the dough for the leather bound version of course. If you want a study Bible, you can still get the Old LCMS one, "Concordia Self Study Bible", I really like that one. And it is the old NIV. The new LCMS one is ESV and the new ELCA one is NRSV. The new ones are both called the Lutheran Study Bible.
If you want a translation that is easier to understand the CEV I think is the best option of the more "thought for thought" translations. But really all thought for thought ones will at some point rub up against theology because they have to take more liberty in the text (and they lose some of the important details sometimes). I recently obtained a copy of the CEB (Common English Bible), which I think is a newer translation. I have yet to feel able to make a good analysis.

Overall I say NIV, ESV, and NRSV are the best translations. Just understand what lies behind them before you pick one (there is a reason conservative churches are more and more adopting ESV now and liberal ones are adopting NRSV).
I will say if you plan on reading aloud, NRSV does well to break up names to make it easier to understand how to read them. But if you are thinking for private reading that actually becomes annoying sometimes.
If you want a "scholarly" study Bible Harper Collins Study Bible is good (FYI it is an NRSV). That focuses on things more than theological meanings behind passages and has a lot more on contextual meaning and such. I guess it depends on when and how you use your Bible as to whether I would recommend this one.

Whatever you get, just please be sure to get the ENTIRE Bible, not these 21st century Marcionistic Bibles that have only NT w/maybe Psalms. The whole thing is God's word, and it all is good for us to read and hear. OT is more than mere history.

 

[Lost Squirrel]

Forgot to mention that mom's is the New Oxford Annotated (College Edition study bible), and the notes are great. My NRSV has the pronunciation text and it really is terribly annoying when reading or speaking. The Oxford does not.
I never really thought of the RCC using liberal texts, but that's what I grew up on. Suprising. I see a new hobby brewing here - collecting and comparing bibles. Hmmmmm....

 

[JoshuaNY]

Hey thanks everyone.

doulos_tou_kuriou thanks for your in depth analysis I really appreciate it. I guess I should have mentioned that I am looking for one to read and study at home. I am looking for one that is readable/understanding but still holds true to original text.

I would never get a Bible that does not include the OT. I think it is very important as well. It established our relationship with God.

How do you feel about the deutorocanonical books. I know we dont see them the same way as the other books, but do you beleive they are worth reading and/or purchasing a Bible with them?

I like the study bibles because they have notes with a Lutheran perspective and I think that would help me. The concordia study bible sounds good. This is a tough choice.

 

[JoshuaNY]

Forgot to mention that mom's is the New Oxford Annotated (College Edition study bible), and the notes are great. My NRSV has the pronunciation text and it really is terribly annoying when reading or speaking. The Oxford does not.
I never really thought of the RCC using liberal texts, but that's what I grew up on. Suprising. I see a new hobby brewing here - collecting and comparing bibles. Hmmmmm....

Haha good luck with your new hobby. Thanks for your input, I could see how the pronunciation text would get annoying. I guess maybe I should go to the book store and check em out now that I have some basic info.

 

[doulos_tou_kuriou]

ELCA LSB
Augsburg Fortress | Lutheran Study Bible (Hardcover)
LCMS LSB
The Lutheran Study Bible - Hardback
Concordia SB
NIV Concordia Self-Study Bible - Hardback

If you want a distinctively Lutheran Study Bible then these are to my knowledge the primary options available (if anyone else is aware of a different Lutheran study Bible I'd love to know).

 

[doulos_tou_kuriou]

As to the deuterocanonical books, I don't put much stock or have much personal care in them. They are interesting for some to study. I don't feel the need to have them in my Bible, I'm not sure if any of the Lutheran Study Bibles includes them.
Personally, when I find time to read my Bible, I'm going to read the part I consider authoritative and an essential piece of God's word. My Harper Collins SB has the deutero and I pretty much never read it.

The other thing to consider is to get a study bible and perhaps a second Bible. I say this for several reasons:
1) I like having a spare
2) study Bibles are bulky and sometimes I simply prefer to have a smaller one I can go somewhere with when I'm not doing personal study
3) I try to make sure I have my "travel Bible" match the translation used in worship at my church so I can bring it there to read along if I like (although I usually prefer to just listen rather than read along when the lector is reading).

Another thing to consider is getting a parallel Bible. The nice thing about these is how they show where translations begin to drift on interpretation. But if you can only get one, get a Study Bible, consider this a second or tertiary option.

 

[Lost Squirrel]

thanks for the great responses, dtk!

 

[AngCath]

Um, I have several dozen Bibles but my "go to" Bibles are the New Interpreters Study Bible (NRSV), Concordia Self-Study Bible (NIV) & Literary Study Bible (ESV)

 

[AngelusSax]

My two favorites are the older NIV and the NRSV.

 

[lux et lex]

I have an older NIV Bible that I've used for years, and I'm content to keep using it.

 

[JoshuaNY]

Sounds like the older NIV is a common choice. What did they do to the new one to make it not as good?

 

[doulos_tou_kuriou]

Sounds like the older NIV is a common choice. What did they do to the new one to make it not as good?

http://g.christianbook.com/g/home_page/NIVTranslationNotes102010.pdf

 

[AngCath]

Sounds like the older NIV is a common choice. What did they do to the new one to make it not as good?

Indeed, and if you can find a copy of the old Concordia Self Study Bible (NIV) this is an annotated Bible that includes Lutheran notes.

 

[mdseverin]

I have several Bible's and the one I use the most is the NKJV. I think I like it because I was brought up with the KJV. I use the NRSV a lot too because that's what my church uses. I think the ESV is a solid translation as well. I also own The Message and the NLT, but don't really use them too much. I've heard good things about the New Jerusalem Bible even though it is a Catholic bible.

 

[doulos_tou_kuriou]

Someone from church bought a Holman Christian Standard Bible but gave it to me because the font was too small. Having only glanced at it so far it looks decent.

Also an FYI, a new translation is being published this year known as the Common English Bible (CEB). I received one of their sample NT Bibles, as far as looser translations go I like it, but it is still that, a looser translation. It certainly seems easy to understand, but as in all loose translations it sometimes has to make an interpretation of the text in order to put it into common English. In fact I think I really like what it does in the Faith-works stuff in James for example, which I think does better than some translations to show the understanding of active faith not salvation by works.

Showing faith

14 My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing to show it? Claiming to have faith can’t save anyone, can it? 15 Imagine a brother or sister who is naked and never has enough food to eat. 16 What if one of you said, “ Go in peace! Stay warm! Have a nice meal! ” ? What good is it if you don’t actually give them what their body needs? 17 In the same way, faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity.

18 Someone might claim, “ You have faith and I have action. ” But how can I see your faith apart from your actions? Instead, I’ll show you my faith by putting it into practice in faithful action. 19 It’s good that you believe that God is one. Ha! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble with fear. 20 Are you so slow? Do you need to be shown that faith without actions has no value at all? 21 What about Abraham, our father? Wasn’t he shown to be righteous through his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 See, his faith was at work along with his actions. In fact, his faith was made complete by his faithful actions. 23 So the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and God regarded him as righteous .c What is more, Abraham was called God’s friend. 24 So you see that a person is shown to be righteous through faithful actions and not through faith alone. 25 In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute shown to be righteous when she received the messengers as her guests and then sent them on by another road? 26 As the lifeless body is dead, so faith without actions is dead.

 

[lux et lex]

That does lay it out fairly well.

 

[doulos_tou_kuriou]

I just think the phrase "I’ll show you my faith by putting it into practice in faithful action." does about as good a job as any translation is understanding it means an true, living faith, not the works themselves.

 

[mdseverin]

Doulos, How did you get a copy? I find myself obsessed lately with reading different translations.