There is a bewildering array of Bibles available. Many conservative
Christians are passionately attached to the King James Version. The
New International Version is the most popular version. The New
Revised Standard Version is popular among mainline and
liberal Christians.
There are lots of others on sale.
If you are interested in learning more about any of these translations,
we recommend that you follow a hyperlink to the Amazon.com online
bookstore. There, you can read detailed reviews and order a copy if you
wish. Please note that if you use one of these hyperlinks to eventually
buy something from Amazon.com, then our agency will receive a small
commission on the sale. If you find this idea revolting, you might prefer
to go directly to Amazon.com and
bypass the hyperlinks below.
There are many differences among the Bible versions:
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. Others, like the New Living
Translation, paraphrase the original text; they are attempts to
preserve the original meaning without necessarily translating each
word of the original. Finally, there are some versions in which the
translators attempt to compromise between the word-for-word approach
and the meaning-preservation approach.
Most Bibles have been translated by experts from a single or narrow
range of denominations. Their theological beliefs inevitably affect
the translation.
Some translations print the words that the Gospel writers believe
that Jesus said in red, for easy reading.
Translations are available with special features. Some have:
Large print to make it easier for those with less than keen
vision to read the Bible.
An update to the New International Version. About 7%
of the text is changed. *
Transparent English Version
General
Not yet released
Word
A translation that tries to allow the reader to "peer
through" the English translation and to "see, hear and even feel the
dynamics of the original text" 1
* The publishers advertise this as a "gender accurate" version. Critics
call it a "gender neutral" version, and have criticized it as being
politically correct. "Sons of God" has become "children of God." "A man"
became "a person." "Brothers" has become "brothers and sisters." The
translation is also less anti-semitic: "The Jews" has become "The Jews
there." Only the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) will be published in
2002-APR. The complete Bible, containing the Hebrew Scriptures (Old
Testament) as well, will be published in 2005.
Ellison Research conducted a random survey of over 500 clergy from
Protestant churches, asking what "one version or translation of
the Bible they personally rely on most for their work." 2 This
is not necessarily the version from which they read at services; it is not
necessarily the "official" version of their denomination.
Results were:
Version
% of pastors
New International Version (NIV)
34%
King James Version (KJV)
24%
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
10%
New King James Version (NKJV)
10%
New American Standard (NAS)
9%
Margin of error: ±4.3 percentage points
The remaining 13% of pastors preferred other versions, such as the
Amplified Bible, Contemporary English Version (CEV), God's Word Bibles, the Living Bible, The
Message, New American Bible (NAB), New American Standard (NASB), The New Century
Version (NCV), New Jerusalem Bible, The New Living Translation, and
Today's English Version. But none
of these was the favorite of more than 2% of the pastors sampled.
There were major differences among pastors whose denomination are affiliated
with the two main umbrella groups: the National Council of Churches and the
National Association of Evangelicals. Other pastors described their church as
Evangelical, mainline Protestant, Pentecostal or Charismatic:
Group
NIV
KJV
NRSV
NKJV
NAS
National Council of Churches: Methodists,
Presbyterian, Evangelical Lutherans...
20%
11%
40%
6%
5%
National Association of Evangelicals:
Assemblies of God, Church of the Nazarene, Baptist General Conf...
For serious Bible study, you might consider purchasing a multiple translation
or parallel Bible.
These have many versions, side-by-side, on each page. Another option is an
interlinear Bible. It typically has the KJV translation of a verse in bold, followed
by the same verse in one or more other translations. Some are:
John Kohlenberger, Ed., "The precise parallel New
Testament: Greek & 7 translations," Greek, KJV,
Rheims, Ampl. Bible, NIV, NRSV, NAB, NASB, Oxford University
Press, (1995). Read reviews or
order this book
Parallel Bibles:
"Comparative Study Bible: A parallel Bible presenting
the NIV, NASB, Ampl. Bible & KJV," Zondervan, (1999).
Read reviews or
order this book
"KJV / Amplified parallel hardcover," Zondervan
Publishing, (1995). Read reviews or
order this book. Includes abridged concordances.
Crosswalk.com has a parallel Bible available online that allows you to
search for a key word, or obtain any given verse, in your choice of two
translations. See:
http://bible.crosswalk.com/