Many Christians are passionately attached to the King James Version. It is written in beautiful prose. However the meanings of the words used in the text has changed. In order to keep up with the changes in the language, you ought to choose something that has been translated during your life time.
The New International Version is a popular version for this reason. Another example is the New Revised Standard Version.
Each version, has the stated purpose to convey to the reader the meaning of the original languages of the Biblical texts into, in this case, English. There are many differences among the Bible versions. These differences do not indicate that the translation is incorrect; rather a different theory of translation was employed. For example, the King James Version and some other translations are attempts to translate the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into English on a word-for-word basis.The New Living Translation, on the other hand for paraphrases the original text. Paraphrase is one method to attempt to preserve the original meaning without necessarily translating each word of the original.
Some versions attempt to compromise between the word-for-word approach and the meaning-preservation approach. The word compromise is used in this sense of the word: “something intermediate between different things: The split-level is a compromise between a ranch house and a multistoried house.”
This is written to aid you in your selection of Bible study tools. This list is not complete. One suggest I would like to make here is that the serious student of the Bible select two Bibles to use. One would be a devotional Bible the other be a study Bible. You will benefit greatly. All being said keep in mind that it is the Holy Spirit that ultimately reveal to meaning of the message to you, tailored to fit your needs.
Here is a list of Bibles that are on the Market today. This list is not complete but it highlights the differences and the uniqueness of each.
The Amplified Bible
The Amplified Bible attempts to capture the full meaning behind the original Greek and Hebrew through the use of paraphrase. Paraphrase in this context is “a restatement of a text or passage giving the meaning in another form, as for clearness; rewording.” Verses with difficult word order or vocabulary have been retranslated into smoother English.The Amplified Bible is easy to read. Passages with Old English "thee's" and "thou's" etc. have been updated to modern English. Words The Amplified Bible
uses a system of brackets, parentheses and italics to capture the rich meaning of the Bible’s original languages. When you first read it, it seems strange but with use, it becomes an aid to understand. The Amplified Bible has editions that contain footnotes which attempt to provide concise historical and archaeological information and devotional insights. Some editions of the Amplified Bible employ Book Introductions which tell you about the book’s author, background, purpose, and themes. Some version also contains a concordance which helps you find the location of verses (25,000 entries). These are nice features to have for your use
Clear word Bible
This Bible represents the work of one man and not a committee. This should be kept in mind if you should choose this version over any version. Again I say that it is nice to have two Bibles to read and study from. The Clear word Bible is a paraphrase and a deeper level of paraphrase.Paraphrase Bibles are intended to give a quick overall understanding of the passages. The translator elaborates on some passages to explain what he thinks they mean--and that is why this is a "Devotional" Bible. It’s not meant for scholarly Bible study. It is used to grasp the meaning of the original texts into English. The Clear Word communicates what the Bible is trying to say in modern, contemporary language.
The Message
The Message is a contemporary English version of the Bible. Some editions contain just the new Testament, others New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs and still others contained the entire Bible. The message tries to convey the earthy truths of the original Greek and Hebrew texts. There are two levels of language in the ancient Greek-speaking world. One was “formal" and the other was "informal". In the ancient times, the State used the formal for its’ official documents, poetry, and philosophy. The informal was used for everyday tasks like personal letters, communications, and things like that. The informal was the common idiom of everyday speech. The informal is the language used throughout the New Testament, the language of the common man. The Message has no pretense of elevated language or intellectualism. The Message tries to convey to the reader that God is relevant in 20th-century work a day lives.Contemporary English Version
Of all the Bibles listed here, this version is meant to read out loud. The words used fit well together when read out loud. The Contemporary English Version tries to represents the meanings of scripture in simplified modern English. This Bible will force you to think about your favorite passages in a different way. The Contemporary English Version is a literal translation, which strives to represents the concepts expressed in the original language. The serious student can compare some of the "difficult" passages of other translations to the text of the CEV. New insight is experienced in this manner. The CEV always tries to be a faithful representative of the original meaning. This is a good choice for those new to scripture and for those seeking to look at it with fresh eyes.World English Bible
The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible, based on the American Standard Version. There are many good English translations of the Holy Bible. But they have some drawbacks. Some of them are archaic (like the KJV and ASV of 1901). Some translation is covered by copyright restrictions that prevent unrestricted free posting on the internet or other media (like the NIV and NASB). There is NO OTHER complete translation of the Holy Bible in normal Modern English that can be freely copied without written permission from the publisher. The World English Bible is an update of the ASV 1901. This Bible converted approximately 1000 archaic words; This is not a one man work, but rather a group effort. The volunteers who have worked on this project attend various churches, including Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, non-denominational, and many more. This keeps sectarian bias into the work. Remember that Bible translation is a balancing act seeking to preserve the meaning of each thought or sentence. It attempts to preserve the meanings of individual words in their context.Young's Literal Translation
Young's Literal Translation based upon the belief that every word of the original is "God-breathed," That may be, but a strictly literal rendering is not always pleasant to the ear. However this work strives for the meaning to come out to the reader and making it pleasant to the ear is not the goalGod's Word Bible
If any translation claims that it has made an accurate dynamic-equivalence translation, then it is God's Word (GW).Dynamic equivalence is one approach to translation. Dynamic equivalence (also known as functional equivalence) attempts to convey the thought in an original language. The literalness, word order and the grammatical voice of the original may not survive. Formal equivalence attempts to render the text word-for-word in English. This approach represents emphasis on readability and literalness to the source text.
God's Word (GW) originally intended this version simply to be a revision of an earlier work. Because it ended up being a complete new translation, the new name became God’s Word. GW is very readable and accurate. Any translation at best is a very close approximation. At worst, it could change a passage's meaning. In some passages, GW seems to over simplify the meaning of the original This Bible is very readable. The stated goal of GW is to communicate in clear, natural English without compromising the accuracy of the Bible's saving, life-changing message.
English Standard Version
The ESV is another group effort instead of the work of one man. The ESV is remarkably similar to the RSV. This is because the translation approach and philosophy are the same. The ESV translators stated goal was to improve the RSV where necessary and not to produce a unique translation .This version produced approximately 75,000 changes to the text of the RSV. The changes ranged from the deletion of a comma to reworking of an entire paragraph.King James Version
Shortly after coming to power of in England in the middle of a religious war, King James I called together the country's leading churchmen and theologians at Hampton Court, "for the hearing, and for the determining, of things pretended to be amiss in the Church."This conference produced a new translation of the Holy Scriptures. King James I eagerly approved the idea in the hope that this new translation might help avert civil war by uniting the religious factions within his country. The uniform translation, since called the "King James Version," dramatically affected the course of development of the English-speaking world.
New American Bible
One of the many changes and reforms that came about as a result of the Second Vatican Council was the idea that Masses and the Liturgy to be conducted in the vernacular (the local language) rather than in Latin. Alongside this was the idea that emphasis placed on the reading and study of the Holy Scriptures. American Catholic scholars recognized the need for a new, more faithful translation of the Bible.Before this, Catholic Bibles had been based on the Latin Vulgate, written by St. Jerome. In the case of the New American Bible, the translators went back to the original Hebrew and Greek writings to be as accurate to the meanings of the authors.
Another feature of this Bible is that the Liturgy of the Church, the traditional Catholic book of daily prayers, was revised and re-written to be based on the NAB. Scriptural passages contained in the Liturgy will appear the same as they do in your own Bible, facilitating personal Bible study.
Bible in Basic English
This Bible is written in basic English. The format of Basic English is this: Basic English uses 850 words to express any idea that may be said in English. This work is a production of the Orthological Institute, and a Committee under the direction of Professor S. H. Hooke, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Studies in the University of London. Because of the limitations imposed by using basic english it is sometimes hard to keep the Basic parallel with the Hebrew and Greek. On the other hand there seem to be no errors and loose wording of any passages. This Bible is straightforward and simple.Darby Translations
The Darby translation is a reprint of the first edition of the complete 'New Translation' Bible published by Morrish in 1890. No change has been made in the wording of the text. The footnotes have been critically examined to make sure that the sense of the fuller notes in the 1890 edition has been conveyed. The stated purpose was to make a modern translation for the unlearned that have neither access to manuscript texts or training and knowledge of ancient languages of the Scriptures.Good News Translation
Good News Translation is accurate and easy to understand. This translation strives to make the meaning of the Bible plain. The Good News Translation can be obtained containing almost 600 simple line-drawings by illustrator Annie Vallatton. These drawing help highlight important passages. This version of the Bible is also known as the Good News Bible. Its style avoids the looseness of paraphrase as it translates the deep structures of the text in its original languages.
Revised Standard Version
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version, published in 1901, which was a revision of the King James Version, published in 1611.The Revised Standard Version Bible Committee is a continuing body, holding its meetings at regular intervals. It has become both ecumenical and international, with Protestant and Catholic members, who come from Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.
New Revised Standard Version
This Bible merits the attention of any serious bible student. This Bible can be obtained containing completely new set of introductions to each testament and to each biblical book, and a fresh set of annotations to the text. Some of the helps that are available are the annotations, which serve to identify chronology and location and explain wordplay. One weakness is that some of the notes on the gospels refer to noncanonical works that the average reader will not know and is not likely to have ready access to. If you select this Bible, make sure it is not your only Bible.Please note that this Bible is neither translated nor annotated on a middle school (or lower!) reading level.
New Living Translation
This is a version that was both accurate to the message, readable, and understandable. Everything in it is in modern English that anyone can understand. The message is still exactly the same as the King James Version, but it's translated into modern English that seems much more natural than any of the alternative versions. The bible should be accessible to readers. Jesus told stories in the way that was most easily understood by those he was teaching. He didn't teach them using words they couldn't understand. This is a nice tool in The Bible study tool chest.New King James Bible
This is a version of the Bible for people who have difficulty with the old King James, or for people just beginning to read the Bible. It strives to maintain the poetic beauty of the old King James.The New Jerusalem Bible
Scholars from L'Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem translated the Scriptures from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. This is a scholarly word. The accessible language and richly recounted stories, poetry, and letters make for easy study.
The language used is freer than the NRSV and is very graceful and eloquent in speech.
New Century Version
If you use this Bible you will be freed from over-reliance on commentaries and what others have said about the Word. Highly recommended.The American Standard Version
It has earned the reputation of being the Rock of Biblical Honesty. Although the English used in the ASV is somewhat archaic, it isn't nearly as hard to understand as some passages of the King James Version of nearly 3 centuries earlier.This translation of the Holy Bible is in the public domain, since its copyright has expired and is the predecessor to the New American Standard Bible.
Today's New International Version
The TNIV Bible is a text much like the NIV. However it clarifies and updates passages and words to provide a contemporary English translation for a new generation of Bible readers. Some of us are OK with the older English. However for the new and upcoming generation, older English can present barriers to understanding and fully engaging the Bible. Here the TNIV Bible strove for a word-for word rendering as much as possible. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) and the New King James Version (NKJV) are good examples of this approach. It is frequently possible to translate literally and still retain contemporary English idiom. It is usually not possible to translate literally and retain natural, idiomatic, clear English. A translation may be so literal that the result is a poorly constructed English sentence. The TNIV has a natural and smooth style without sacrificing accuracy. The second type of translation is referred to as dynamic equivalence. The translator attempts a thought-for thought rendering. The Good News Bible (GNB; also known as Today's English Version, TEV), the New Living Translation (NLT), God's Word, the New Century Version (NCV), and the Contemporary English Version (CEV) use this approach to translation. The intent here is to seek to find the best modern cultural equivalent that will have the same effect the original message had in its ancient cultures. The TNIV is a balanced, mediating version. This version falls between the literal and the paraphrase. The TNIV is not a dynamic equivalence translation. The TNIV is an idiomatically balanced translation.The Webster Bible
The KJV now in common use was first published in the year 1611. This one was published in 1833. The Webster Bible was intended to update the KJV. As you can imagine, the English used here is not exactly up to date. Today Webster's revision continues to be useful, for those who wish to use a Bible version that reproduces largely the familiar and traditional words of the King James Bible, with only the most difficult expressions modernized and corrected.Features to look for in a Bible
- Large print to make it easier for those with less than keen vision to read the Bible.
- A plan for reading through the Bible in one year.
- Maps of Palestine.
- Abbreviated concordances.
- Avoid the slim and compact volumes. The print is small and hard to read.
- Avoid paper back. The hardcover will last ten times as long, and are ten times more pleasant to use.
- Look for good looking font.
- Pay attention to adequate margins
