Which English Translation of the Bible Is Best for You? a Comparison of Over 30 English Translations of the Bible
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Which English Translation of the Bible is Best for You? A Comparison of over 30 English Translations of the Bible by Gary Kukis Updated November 2, 20071 This is not a work which requires you to begin reading on page 1 and continue on to page2 and then page 3. Quite likely, you may want to skip over much of this and go directly to the Summary Table (which is followed by some very important tables. At a glance, you will learn what you need to about your translation and about the others which are out there. Once you have looked over some of the tables, then you may have an interest in reading about a particular translation or two. Because of this, I moved the hyperlinks to the very beginning of this document to provide you easier and quicker access. Conclusions and Final Recommendations Summative Table Format of Translations Additional Greek Reference Works Guide to Hebrew Reference Works Hebrew Grammatical Works Additional Reference Works Translations Influenced by the Greek and Hebrew Translations Influenced by Charismatics ASV The Amplified Bible The Bible in Basic English CEV (the Contemporary English Brenton’s Translation of the Version; also known as The Septuagint Promise) The Emphasized Bible by ESV (the English Standard The Complete Jewish Bible Joseph Rotherham Version) The Holman Christian Standard God’s Word™ The James Moffatt Translation Bible JPS (the Tanakh) KJV Keil and Delitzsch’s Translation The Message Modern King James Version The Modern Readers Bible The New American Bible (NAB) New American Standard Bible The New International Version The New English Bible (NEB) NIrV (NIV) The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) New King James Version (NKJV) The NKJV Greek English Interlinear New Testament NLT (The Open Bible) NRSV The New Testament in Modern English (J. B. Phillips) The New Testament in Modern Speech New World Translation 1 I spend at least 2 hours a day, each and every day, exegeting the Bible verse by verse. In doing so, I refer to these two dozen translations and their notes and their additional material (I rarely, however, make any real use out of Moffatt’s translation or the Jehovah Witness Bible). Therefore, every few days, I notice something significant about what one translation does, and I record it here. This is why this document gets updated so often. Owen’s Analytical Key to the Old Testament The Septuagint REB RSV The Twentieth Century NT TEV (the Good News Bible) TNIV William’s Translation of the New Testament Young’s Literal Translation World English Bible (WEB) Significant Passages Conclusions and Final Recommendations Summative Table Software Glossary Appendix reface: This is an examination of the many translations of the Bible into English. As you read through this, I think you are going to be rather surprised. Generally those interested in which translation of Scripture is P best are often conservative, fundamental, evangelical Christians. You will be surprised to know that one of the more modern translations, which has very conservative, evangelical leanings, is also one of the most inaccurate translations available. You may be surprised to know that one translation which is both in modern English and yet remains quite faithful to the original text is a translation that you very likely have never even seen. You will be surprised to note that the version which has the best footnotes dealing with textual criticism is a version that you have never heard of before (Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible). The most literal English translation is also a version that you have never heard of before (Young’s Literal Translation). You will be surprised to know that one of the very best of the modern translations (of the Old Testament) was not made by a Christian or a group of Christians, but was translated by the Jewish Publication Society. One of the surprising weaknesses of most translations is a serious lack of consistency (consistency is the quality of rendering the same Greek (or Hebrew) word with the same English word time and time again). However, there is one very consistent translation available to you, and yet, you probably have never heard of it (again, Young’s Literal Translation). What is the best English translation of Scripture? When I began this study, I already knew the answer to this; by the time I finished, I changed my mind—several times. In fact, I came to conclusions that surprised me (and I’ve studied the Bible for several decades). Selecting the right Bible (or Bibles) is one of the most important decisions that you will make, yet few give this decision much thought. You might use the Bible that has been laying around your house unread for several decades; you might use the Bible your church uses, or you simply pick up a pulpit copy. Maybe a Christian friend suggested this translation or that. At best, you may glance through a quarter page comparison between a dozen choices, and select a translation based upon that. One thing which will surprise you, when you read this book, is that the best translation for Timothy is not necessarily the best translation for Paul. What you will find out when you read this book is that there are more issues at stake then you first realized; I expect that you will change your mind once or twice, even though friends of your might not use the word open- minded when they describe you. If you do not want to wade through a lot of reading, then your are welcome to go immediately to the Summative Table, which is found directly below. I have given you a lot to wade through. You may find all the information that you seek in the table below. Once you get the quick and dirty information that you seek, then you may return to the individual examinations of the various translations for more information. Summative Table Cut to the Chase... Format of Translations Page -2- Additional Hebrew Reference Additional Greek Reference Additional Reference Works Works Works Guide to Recommended Hebrew Reference Hebrew Grammatical Works Works Summative Table Very literal, almost word-for-word ESV, KJV, NKJV, NASB, Young’s Literal Translation, The translations, designed for serious Emphasized Bible, The Amplified Bible. and careful study: NKJV with Scofield Notes; NKJV with NIV notes; NASB with Scofield The best Bible (in order of Notes; NASB with NIV notes. I don’t know if some of these even exist, preference): but if I was to do it all over again, these would have been my choices for my primary Bible. KJV, NKJV, ESV, REB and the Tanakh. One of the reasons that the The translation is also good KJV stood for so many years is, it was an accurate translation, but it was literature: a powerful and literal rendering as well. O, that even Shakespear could this well write! Keil and Delitzsch, in their commentary on the Old Testament, offer a translation as they exegete any given passage. Apart from being in Old English, the translation is generally very good. Barnes occasionally has a passage or two translated out—however, this is not throughout his commentary. Kenneth Wuest has a four volume set of commentaries on Other sources for very literal much of the New Testament, and included is a very literal rendering of translations: most of the books of the New Testament. Finally, I have a book called The NKJV Greek English Interlinear New Testament and it has an interlinear word-by-word rendering of the New Testament, along with a slightly more free translation. The NKJV is printed along the side of the Greek in a different column. Reasonably literal, orthodox, but relatively easy-to-read Bible NASB, NKJV, ESV and The Amplified Bible. translations: Literate, accurate and relatively easy-to-read Old Testament translation (this is a better Tanakh (JPS). translation, in many ways, than, for instance, the CEV, NLT, REB): Modern English translation which is both easy to follow and yet God’s Word™, NIV, The Amplified Bible. reasonably accurate: Reasonably accurate, thought-for- God’s Word™, REB, NEB, NAB, NJB, NIV. All of these translations thought translations have their own weaknesses. Best reading Bible (either for reading to yourself or for reading NLT, JPS (Tanakh), CEV, the Message, NAB, NJB. aloud): Page -3- Summative Table Modern English translation with a NASB, NKJV, ESV, CEV, God’s Word™. conservative bias: Very easy to read, easy to NLT, TEV, CEV. understand translations: CEV, NLT. The Open Bible (the NLT) has the most extras, which are Most pleasantly formatted or laid also pleasantly laid out. However, in both cases, the quality of the extras out: is at times questionable. Modern English translations which stray significantly from the original CEV, NLT, TEV. Note that, even though the CEV has a very conservative text (we might call these the more bias, it is not very close to the original. imaginative texts): Modern English translation with a NEB, The Living Bible, Moffatt’s Translation. fairly theologically liberal bias: Traditional Jewish order for the Old The Complete Jewish Bible; the Tanakh. Testament: The Reese Chronological Bible (KJV); The Narrated Bible (NIV). On the plus side for Reese, there are dates on almost every page. On the negative side, these dates are, in some cases, way off. Also, I don’t know that I agree with its sequencing of the narratives. The Narrated Bible seems to flow, whereas Reese’s Chronological Bible seems to be more choppy; however, one very nice feature of Reese’s Bible is that the Bibles in chronological order: history of Israel and Judah are laid side-by-side, one occupying one column, the other occupying the other.