What is the best Bible translation?

[tonychanyt]

There is no best Bible translation in the absolute sense. There are different translation philosophies:

1. Word-for-word approach, King James Version, New American Standard Bible.
2. Thought for thought or concept for concept approach, New International Version, Revised English Bible.
3. Paraphrase approach, The Living Bible, The Message.

Every translation has its advantages and disadvantages.

ESV is pretty good for everyday general reading. For Bible studies, it is best to consult different versions.

Which bible translation should I use?

That depends on the person and his purposes for reading. For beginners, Good News Translation is pretty easy to read. Choose a version that is helpful for you. See Biblehub for different versions. I enjoy reading all of them. I have no favorite even though I use ESV and NIV every single day

Familiarize yourself with the whole Bible by daily reading

How to navigate the Bible? Reading the word of God is one way to know God better. I follow Tony's Daily Bible Reading | Facebook every day. It is in chronological order, more or less. I do the reading routinely non-stop just for the purpose of familiarity with the Bible. At the end of the daily...

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Instead of hard copies, I prefer to use Bible apps. Save trees. Save money. Also, I can use the search function to find verses faster.

 

[sandman]

Every translation has its advantages and disadvantages.

I think that says it best....

 

[Wings like Eagles]

When we are checking into a hot topic, my wife and I have The NKJV, NIV, ASB, NLT, ESV and a number of study bibles from various authors to try and be as informed/correct as possible.

 

[PsaltiChrysostom]

Start learning Greek so you can read it in Greek.

 

[tonychanyt]

Start learning Greek so you can read it in Greek.

I enjoy Greek

 

[B Griffin]

Start learning Greek so you can read it in Greek.

You posted a video of someone reading John in Greek. Can you tell me what version of the Greek he uses? is it UBS, or something else?

 

[PsaltiChrysostom]

You posted a video of someone reading John in Greek. Can you tell me what version of the Greek he uses? is it UBS, or something else?

All it says is Majority text. My guess it might be the 1904 Patriarchal text which is the official NT of the Greek Orthodox Church.

 

[B Griffin]

All it says is Majority text. My guess it might be the 1904 Patriarchal text which is the official NT of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Thanks. The Majority Text is well known and very reliable.

 

[Mammabear]

I have several different translations…. NIV, CSB, NLT, ESV, NAB, NRSV, and I probably have a KJV or two at my mom‘s house from when I was a kid. I have read countless articles about which is best. I have also read about what each used as its source. It’s all fascinating to me. As of now, my personal favorite is the NLT. For me, it is the easiest to read and understand. There have been times when I have read some of the word for word translations and afterward, I have no idea what I just read. My mind trails off, or the word order just doesn’t connect for me. When I read it in the NLT, it’s like anything else I might read. I can fully comprehend. Then out of curiousity, I will open another translation just to compare. And I can see that it is saying the same things. Yes, there are some nuances and word choice differences. But I can see how each is trying to convey the same thing.

So, my conclusion is the best Bible translation is the one you can understand. We are blessed to have several English translations that are accurate and reliable. While I can understand a more formal approach, it takes a bit more time and effort - which may be discouraging for me.

 

[tonychanyt]

the best Bible translation is the one you can understand.

Amen

 

[Paleouss]

English Standard Version lies between 1 and 2. ESV is pretty good for everyday general reading. For Bible studies, it is best to consult different versions.

Hi Tonychanyt, I hope God does a fruitful work through you today.

I was reading your post and had a slight technical disagreement. Particularly the placement of ESV on the continuem . To be sure, I double checked multiple sources. Here is the order from word-for-word (starting left) and working to the right into thought-for-thought (Middle) and then paraphrase (right). I will only add one translation other than the ones you give.

Word for word---------------------------Thought ---------Paraphrase
INTERLINEAR - NASB - ESV - KJV <--> NIB - NIV <--> Living - Message

As you can see the ESV falls before the KJV in word-for-word continuem. I wouldn't call it significant to want the ESV over the KJV for word for word use. But I think putting KJV in a catigory of word-for-word and the excluding the ESV from that catigory to say it is between 1 & 2 would be a missplacement.

In general reading, I use ESV and NKJV. But for real study I use the Interlinear with Hebrew, Greek, and Strong's numbers on the same page. You can do this at Biblehub (which I use) or probably many others.

Peace to you

 

[tonychanyt]

Word for word---------------------------Thought ---------Paraphrase
INTERLINEAR - NASB - ESV - KJV <--> NIB - NIV <--> Living - Message

Thanks for the research