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I'm sure this question has been asked a million times but I would like to ask it personally because I for the first time (at the age of 24) am reading the Bible

As a kid I read the children's version and my father and mother would quote from the Bible to me daily and I would live by their words.

For a while after I graduated I didn't participate in any going to Church or Reading the Bible (Obviously, this is my first time reading it) but I always maintained my faith in God.

Now my question is what version of the Bible is best and why?

I came to this forum because I've tried other forums and asking my parents - a lot of places say "The Douay Rheims Version" my father believes the "American Standard Version" is best and my mother believes the "King James Version" - based on the excerpts I've read from these I'm leaning towards reading the KJV next (Currently reading the NRSV)

As far as my progress right now I am on the Book of Psalms and only have been reading for a month and I love reading the Bible everyday.

The story of Samson and Josiah are also two of my favorites as well.

It is wonderful that you have begun to follow Christ in trusting your life to him and even enjoying studying the Scriptures. May the Lord keep you and bless you in your readings of His Word.

I would highly recommend the New Living Translation as one that is quite readable and helpful (particularly as someone who is just beginning, but I use it very regularly as someone familiar with the original languages of the Bible -- Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek). Several other helpful versions would be the NIV (New International Version), NET (New English Translation; which is found HERE on our host website) and the ESV (English Standard Version). The NET is actually more readable IMO, though you will find the ESV to have more of the feel of the KJV/ASV but without the more dated English. The NIV basically holds the largest percentage of the market on Bibles purchased. It is not quite as simple as the NLT, but more so than the ESV. The NET has very helpful notes that accompany every verse to help explain things which may seem difficult. If you were to purchase the Study Bible of either the NLT or ESV you would find wonderfully helpful introductions to each book of the Bible and extensive notes to help as well.

You mentioned the Douay-Rheims version, but it is very dated and belongs to the Roman Catholic tradition. The KJV and ASV are also both very dated and one needs more help than they realize in understanding the English of each of them.

One of the reasons to go with one of these newer translations is basically because (1) they are based on better manuscript evidence for the basis of their translations, (2) they offer an English text which is up-to-date with current English and therefore easier to read (and we are more likely to read what is easier at some level), and (3) they are written with a more up-to-date understanding of the languages, cultures, history, etc. of the Biblical context.

I hope you will find this helpful and continue in the path the Lord has you on.

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You may want to go to biblegateway.com and try a number of Bibles and see which one suits your taste. Personally I use the NASB for my study but for my adult Sunday school class I use the NIV, for the Sunday night Bible study I use the HCSB and when I speak in church I use the NKJV.

You may want to consider the grade level of the reading. I do not know your reading level but some translations are easier reading than others. For example, I did the Dale & Chals reading test, I was a public school teacher, the reading level of the KJV, using at least 20 random verses, ranged from 12.3 grade level to 12.7 grade level; therefore anyone with a reading level below 12th grade would have trouble with the KJV; I have not tested any other translation at this time.

You may want to take a look at "The Message" translated by Eugene Peterson; it is on biblegateway.com.

Submitted by GaryM

It's a good idea to read through the Bible regularly, say once a year. While some translations are better than others, there is no one translation that is the best (...or it would be very debatable). Each has its strong points and its weaknesses, and these areas vary across accuracy and readability. So you might want to try a different translation each year.

Personally I favor literal versions and don't mind the older english: I grew up with KJV. I regularly read/study a J N Darby translation (which I got for its full translator notes). You may want to start with something in today's language such as the NET Bible, ESV, NIV, New King James, etc. I would avoid very loose translations like The Message as they tend to muddle the meanings of some verses.

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Hello, Ike, and welcome to the forum!

Most Bible scholars recommend using several different translations for study, including one version that employs a more formal equivalence translation philosophy, one made using a more dynamic equivalence translation philosophy, and one that falls somewhere in between. Using different kinds of translations is valuable because they often bring out different shades of meaning in the original languages of Scripture that cannot be easily expressed in a single English translation.

Formal equivalence translations (commonly referred to as more "literal" translations) include older versions such as the KJV and ASV, as well as more modern English translations like the NASB and ESV. All of the more dynamic equivalence translation are more recent versions and use modern English. Examples there would be the NLT and the CEV. Going in this direction to the extreme, you would find paraphrases such as The Message. Versions that try to strike more of a balance between the formal and dynamic equivalence translation philosophies would include those such as the NIV, NET, and HCSB.

As I said, most scholars suggest using at least one version from each of the three general categories above. IMO, it's helpful to settle on one translation for scripture memorization. For that you will probably want a translation style that is memorable (e.g. KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV, ESV, NET). My personal choice here is the ESV. For devotional reading, I prefer the less "literal" translations (e.g. NET, NIV, NLT), and I find it helpful to periodically change translations for devotional reading (but not for memorization).

The NET Bible is a good translation and is particularly valuable for the translator's notes which explain many of the issues the translation team faced and why they resolved them as they did. No other version of the Bible has anything that even comes close to this resource and I find it particularly helpful for study. I find the NET Notes so helpful that if I were forced to choose only one Bible, I would choose the NET. One great thing about the NET is the NET Bible Study Environment where you can use the NET Bible with all of its notes online and you have the additional benefit of many other resources linked to it.

Like Rick (Antipater), I have come to appreciate the NLT as one of my three primary versions of the Bible, the other two being the NET and the ESV. But I don't limit myself to those; they are simply the versions I use the most.

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Go to e-sword.com, its free plus you can download tons of different versions. the KJV and the KJV with strongs numbers is very important.

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All scripture KJV unless otherwise stated.

I ought to have mentioned Michael Marlowe's Bible Research website, where you can read his comments on numerous English versions of the Bible and lots of additional information about the Bible. I've found it a very informative resource.

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Along with the pros, here are some of the cons to take into consideration, which can and will affect your study.

The ESV carries over some of the problems seen in the NRSV, on which it is based. Also some of the translation is slanted in favour of the theology of the publishers:

Quote
The ESV’s use of “wife” as a translation of γυνή in 1 Corinthians 11 is very questionable. This passage is about the status and behavior suitable to womankind, not just of wives. And there is no indication here that Paul viewed headcoverings as a symbol of the married state. But Wayne Grudem (who played a major role in the production of the ESV) has already used the ESV rendering to support his idea that “Today we obey the head covering commands for women in 1 Corinthians 11 by encouraging married women to wear whatever symbolizes being married in their own cultures ... married women today should not hide their wedding rings.” 6 The ESV rendering looks like an attempt to provide support for Grudem’s notion about the appropriate modern application in advance. (See Grudem’s discussion of the passage here, and a refutation of it here.)

English Standard Version
Reviewed by: Michael Marlowe

http://www.bible-researcher.com/esv.html

The ESV Study Bible suffers even more from this “slant””

Quote
Good, open-handed review. As a Calvinist, I will concede that the ESV Study Bible is made for Calvinists or those leaning towards it, which is sad since I’d have liked more a broadly evangelical one. It also makes all the naysayers right – which tends to be never cool.
That said, I like it a lot BUT the NLT still has an edge on it for me, seeing as I’m into Biblical studies a lot more than systematic theology which seems to be the focus of this Bible.

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The NET is form equivalent, and some people have a problem with it, but I don't:

Quote
The preface dwells upon the case of Isaiah 7:14, and so we will take up that issue here. This verse is quoted in the Gospel according to Matthew (1:26), in which it is explained that Isaiah's prophecy concerning the child named Immanuel is fulfilled in the virgin birth of Christ. In his quotation, Matthew uses the Greek word παρθενος (parthenos), which in the Hellenistic era usually had the meaning "virgin." This rendering was already given in the Septuagint, and so Matthew is not introducing it as something new; but there can be no doubt that he uses this word deliberately, because the virginity of Mary is an important aspect of his account of Christ's birth. However, the NET Bible has "young woman" instead of "virgin" as a translation for עלמה (almah) in this verse. Its preface claims that the עלמה in Isaiah 7:14 cannot refer to Mary, and that the word does not even mean "virgin." We are given a rather opaque argument that tries to explain Matthew's use of Isaiah 7:14 while condemning "virgin" as a translation of the Hebrew word.

NETBible
Reviewed by : Michael Marlowe

http://www.bible-researcher.com/net.html

And,,,

Quote
8 It can be noted that the NET Bible translation of Isaiah 7:14, although accurate, no longer communicates the remez of the text. In my opinion, this is an unfortunate loss.

Hints, Allegories, and Mysteries: The New Testament Quotes the Old
Study By: Donald E. Curtis

http://bible.org/article/hints-allegori ... quotes-old

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Sam

All Scripture references from the NASB unless otherwise indicated.

Footwasher, you bring up some good points but I think all of us acknowledge that translations have a bias, some more than others but one must consider the faithfulness of the translator to the text that he or she is translating from to English. Unless one is familiar with the original languages one must depend on an English translation. I have had 2 years of Greek, some Hebrew and Latin and I say this that, although my knowledge is rudimentary at best, I believe that there are many translations that truly represent the texts from which they are translated. I use the NASB for study, the NIV for the adult Sunday school class I teach and use the HCSB for the Sunday night Bible study that I lead. I remember my hermeneutics professor succinctly stated find a translation you can read and learn it.

The real main point is to learn the Word and to obey it no matter what translation you use.

Well said, Gary. It goes without saying that every Bible translation necessarily has its weaknesses. Thus it is wise to use multiple translations. In this way one can compare the different ways that a particular text is rendered. And doing that can serve as a springboard for more in-depth study of the text. This doesn't mean a person cannot or should not have one Bible version as his/her primary translation. I think it helps to be aware of biases in particular translations -- and they all have them because human beings do the translation work and all humans have biases; but, except for the deliberately heretical New World Translation, they can all be used profitably. If the ESV shows a Calvinistic theological bent, for example, one can still profitably use it without subscribing to Calvinist theology, as I do.

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"Now my question is what version of the Bible is best and why?"

Like in anything, "what is the best" will have many different responses.
I guess that's why God created each one of us differently, varied styles, tastes and views.
Read a Bible translation you feel comfortable with.
As a brand new believer some years ago, I tried reading the KJV, and had a hard time. Than someone gave me a Gideons N/T (Berkeley version), I found it easy to read and read the whole N/T in less than a week. Later, I was able to read the KJV cover to cover.

For myself, I try to read a different version every time I complete reading through the Bible.
For instance, currently I am using the NKJV. Previously I used the NASB.

I noticed that when you switch to another translation, you come across an identical passage, and see something you didn't see in the previous translation.
The Holy Spirit will show you something new.

A smart dog will bury the best bone deep, than to fool other dogs, he will cover it with some dirt, than put a less favorable bone on top of it and cover it up.
As a new Christian, God will show you some things that you can understand. Later, as you dig deeper into the Word, He will reveal more truth where you are at in your walk. So keep digging and meditating in the Scriptures, the best is yet to come!

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"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Lk 21:28

I suppose I gave the equivalent of the nutritionist's viewpoint when asked which is the best diet!

If you can't get your daily requirements of what constitutes a good diet, mac and cheese will get you by!

One thing's sure, you need to eat to grow your spiritual body.

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Sam

All Scripture references from the NASB unless otherwise indicated.

The best and why concerning Bible versions is a loaded question. It is very subjective and I am sure everyone on this form has a different view of which version is best and why. Therefore, I will give you my opinion.

Best as a literal translation: New American Standard Bible
Best as a dynamic translation: New Living Translation
Most popular seems to be, at least in our church, the New International Version and the New King James Version.

Please all of you on the forum don't shoot me down. I use numerous translations and I have enjoyed all of your responses and posts.

IMO, the New American Standard is good for study and teaching, but I think it reads rather awkwardly compared to other versions of the Bible. The language just doesn't flow well (my opinion).

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I do agree the NASB though literal is quite "wooden" in its reading. When I read large passages I find that I use the HCSB, NIV and NKJV. However, I have a high regard for the NLT and ESV.