What is your favorite Bible translation?

[Z-2]

Hi !

English is not my first language, so, I use a bulgarian Bible translation Veren, but also, I begin to read NKJV

What is your favorite translation, and why?

 

[Pressroll]

I went to Bible College and I landed on the ESV as being my preferred translation. A lot of effort went into making it as accurate as possible.

 

[Dave himself]

I like The Message it's modern and it's easier to when you are trying to explain to people who don't read the Bible

 

[Graydog]

I have a few that I go to , NKJV, ESV, NASB (1977) , KJV and The NIV.
I prefer the NKJV and that is the one that I use everyday
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. NKJV

Ephesians 6:17
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; NKJV

 

[Z-2]

I have a few that I go to , NKJV, ESV, NASB (1977) , KJV and The NIV.
I prefer the NKJV and that is the one that I use everyday
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. NKJV

Ephesians 6:17
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; NKJV

I am reading NKJV via bible app on phone, since hard copies are not in sell here in my country

 

[Mitzie]

The quotations from the KJV Bible have been absorbed into English speaking languages as figures of speech quoted by even non Christians without realizing it. The KJV translation has a 'ring' about it, since the original translators tested the text by reading it out loud before the text was finalized. However portions of the Jacobean text can be a challenge to reading portions of it today. It's still my number one translation, especially for reading out loud, but the NASV and J B Phillips translation for the new testament letters can be of tremendous help IMHO

The first study bible was the KJV Companion Bible by E W Bullinger whose notes are very very informative I also keep handy when I don't understand a passage

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

For years now it has been the ESV. To my ears it just connects. The publisher is here in town and one of the fellows (Kent Hughes) on the translation oversight committee headed an influential church in town.

Somewhat related, but years ago I was having coffee with a fellow in town. He gestured toward a guy sitting alone at the counter having breakfast and asked me, "Do you know who that guy is?" I told him I didn't and with a smirk on his face he said, "That guy wrote the Bible." He went on to explain it was Ken Taylor who wrote The Living Bible and started Tyndale House Publishers.

If you live in Wheaton, Illinois the question is seldom, "Do you go to church?" Instead, it is often, "Where do you worship?" And that... is the rest of the story. (My best Paul Harvey.)

 

[borwish]

I have a shelf of them and the one I grab the most is probably the old American Standard and not it's revisions.

The divine name of the Almighty (the Tetragrammaton) is consistently rendered Jehovah in the ASV Old Testament, rather than LORD as it appears in the King James Bible. The KJB contains the name only 4 times. The NKJB removes those four times. How can you come to know God if you don't know his name?

Psalms 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.

 

[JWCowboy]

Kittel's Biblia Hebraica

 

[ackvil]

I started with the NIV but about five years ago switched to the ESV. I prefer the ESV because of its accuracy.

I attend a Men's Bible Study on Saturday and most of the guys there use the NIV. However, the leader of our group always brings in The Message to get another perspective.

 

[Graydog]

I started with the NIV but about five years ago switched to the ESV. I prefer the ESV because of its accuracy.

I attend a Men's Bible Study on Saturday and most of the guys there use the NIV. However, the leader of our group always brings in The Message to get another perspective.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

— 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

 

[maxman]

KJV for me but now I'm interested in this ESV. Going to look into that further.

 

[mikelz777]

My go-to is a NKJV study Bible but I also like my NIV study Bible.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

The quotations from the KJV Bible have been absorbed into English speaking languages as figures of speech quoted by even non Christians without realizing it. The KJV translation has a 'ring' about it, since the original translators tested the text by reading it out loud before the text was finalized. However portions of the Jacobean text can be a challenge to reading portions of it today. It's still my number one translation, especially for reading out loud, but the NASV and J B Phillips translation for the new testament letters can be of tremendous help IMHO

The first study bible was the KJV Companion Bible by E W Bullinger whose notes are very very informative I also keep handy when I don't understand a passage

I’m not a christian - I’m British and there are not many christians in Britain or northern Europe any more - but the King James version is surely the authoritative edition where I am from, even though it contained some questionable translation choices and interpretations. It is also interesting when you compare it with the German bibles that my wife grew up with, which are very different in some places and present fundamentally different meanings. For example German bibles don’t have witches or dragons in them.

Nevertheless, the King James version has gravitas, probably due to associations we make with the language of Shakespeare, and it has a certain style that I find to be wholly lost in modern language versions. I really don’t like to read any modern language versions.

 

[Rusty Blade]

Started with the NKJV 33 years ago. Then added the NIV to my shelf along with many Bible Commentaries and Study Guides.

 

[Messygoon]

Fun question.

For Bible study, I switch between the New International Version (NIV), the English Standard Version (ESV), and occasionally reference Alvy Ford’s masterpiece The Bible in Verse, where each chapter is summarized in 4 poetic lines. For example:

In the beginning God says, let there be: ​

Dry land and firmament, sunlight and sea, ​

Livestock and herbage to cover the land; ​

Then, in the image of God, He makes man. - Genesis 1​

​

But my favorite is the King James Version (KJV). It is the translation of Handel’s Messiah, my favorite piece of music. It is the translation of my youth, and to this day, its memorized passages seem to come to mind at just the right times.

 

[Eben Stone]

This is an interesting topic. About 7 years ago, I started studying the differences between a few select translations, casually, on and off, and taking notes. I ended up with notes on 22 different translations.

I started awarding points to translations that had easy to understand wording and deducting points for difficult to understand wording. The results when I added up the points were very surprising. Two of my prior favorite translations such as Amplified and ESV had a few questionable verses.

According to my own points system, the new CSB "Christian Standard Bible" translation is very good. This is a newer revision from the older HCSB "Holman Christian Standard Bible".

My notes are a work in progress. But if you want an idea of what I use for comparison, here are a few noteworthy verses:

In Ruth 3:9 she is asking Boaz to take her as a wife. If that's not crystal clear in your favorite translation there are better choices. Some translations use ancient Jewish marriage proposal metaphors of "covering with a garment." I think modern translations should use modern language metaphors.

In Job 21:30 he is complaining to his friends that evil people seem to go unpunished. Some versions seem to use some very awkward language and the meaning is unclear.

Does Mark 9:29 mention "and fasting"? Some versions only include this in a footnote. Some versions omit this entirely.

Does John 16:16 mention "I go to the father"? Some versions only include this in a footnote. Some versions omit this entirely.

Does Acts 8:37 mention "believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God"? Some versions only mention this in a footnote. Some versions omit this entirely.

Does 1 John 5:7-8 mention the concept of the trinity? Some versions seem like they are intentionally using language that avoids describing the trinity. Some versions only include the trinity in a footnote. Some versions omit this entirely.

Everyone has different ideas of what is important in a bible translation. I don't mean to rock the boat, but I didn't realize how important the differences are until I took a deep dive.

 

[Rusty Blade]

Biblical scholars have an interesting job. I have read the introduction to my NIV study bible and it is quite remarkable how many scholars were involved in putting the NIV version together. I am thankful for all their efforts.

 

[Doc Dan]

I use the NASB first and foremost. Previously, its reading level was a bit more than the average person was comfortable with, but there is a newer version. I'm still checking out the 2020 update. I like the NASB because it is the best literal translation available and is the pinnacle of the English Bible. Anyone who can actually read Greek and Hebrew knows what I am talking about. The NKJV is a solid secondary translation. The ESV is good where it is good and it is so-so in some places. This was recently approved for use by the Catholic Church. For folks whose first language is not English, or whose reading level is not as high, I like the NLT. It is an actual translation instead of a paraphrase, but is simple to read.

The NIV used to be okay, but the updates since 2011 have purposely mistranslated verses to be politically correct. There are some other translations that have given in to the whims of culture or disproven theories of biblical composition that I never recommend and that is why I use the four above.

 

[Lightcs1776]

Great question. I don't know if my preferred translations are in your language, so that will certainly make a difference. For very a very solid translation, not a paraphrase, I prefer the New American Standard Bible (NASB). The people who wrote this translation worked hard to take the original language and translate it to current languages. For readability and keeping to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Common Greek, the English Standard Version (ESV) is very good. The New King James Version (NKJV) is also very readable and holds to the original language. If you are interested in reading these in English, BibleGateway.com: A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages. - https://www.biblegateway.com has them online. They also have a list of Bulgarian bibles, but I am not familiar with them and do not know how well they hold to the original language.

Edit: I should add, to fully answer your question, the reason for my choices is due to how well they hold to the original language. The bible is fully reliable and without error in the original form. Translators can either keep it true to the original, which was traditionally the case, but some of the newer ones, as mentioned in other comments, have strayed from this. Also, while I don't have any issue with a good paraphrase, it should help supplement one's understanding of God and who Jesus is and not the the primary source.