The Best Version of the Bible

I am often asked which Bible version I believe to be the best. As with most things having to do with Christianity, there is not a simple answer. Before recommending anything, I usually ask what purpose the reader has in mind. I believe devotional reading of the Bible and in-depth Bible study involve different approaches. The best study Bibles are sometimes awkward to read while a good devotional Bible may not provide the accuracy necessary for serious study.

When choosing a Bible for any purpose, the first thing to notice is what method of translation was used. There are four basic categories: word-for-word, meaning-for-meaning, thought-for-thought, and paraphrase. These categories fall into a scale of equivalence with the original languages from strictly equivalent to loosely related. The chart below shows where some of today’s popular versions fall on the equivalence scale. The versions on the far right would be the easiest to read and most like modern English. Those to the left may be more difficult to read, but they are closer to the original text and thus more suitable for in-depth study.

The strictest translations try to replace each word in the original text with a corresponding word in the target language. This can present problems since the target language may not have a word that matches the original precisely. A perfect demonstration of this is found in the Amplified Bible published by the Lockman Foundation. Their stated goal in Bible translation is four-fold: 1. These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. 2. They shall be grammatically correct. 3. They shall be understandable. 4. They shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place. The Amplified Bible provides a best-choice word (word-for-word) which is followed in many cases by a list of English synonyms that may also carry some of the original meaning. Lockman’s New American Standard Bible (NASB) is a good example of a best-choice word-for-word translation. Its major drawback is the translators’ attempt to keep the original grammatical structure wherever possible; this leads to awkward English syntax in some passages.

I believe God inspired the Scripture in a word-for-word format; by this I mean that the words written by the original authors were the exact words God wanted to be written. I do not believe God used a slavish robotic method; rather I think He orchestrated the lives and thinking of every Bible author so that the words they chose were the words God intended. That is my version of sovereign inspiration. For this reason, if I am going to study the Bible closely, I want to get as close to the original text as possible. Because I have studied the koine Greek in which the New Testament was written, I can go behind the translators and make my own decisions as to the meaning of the text. There are several good resources available today that make it possible for a serious Bible student to explore the Greek without having studied the language. The same is true for biblical Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament (of which I am not a scholar). Using this approach is my recommendation for the most rewarding in-depth study.

All that said, I have to admit that there is another “version” of the Bible that is superior to all others. I am referring to that personal version that every believer has available through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples, “The Spirit is the one who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” As I said in my last post, the life Jesus refers to is that special quality of life that comes only through union with Christ. His words take on special, life-giving meaning of infinite value when they are empowered by the Holy Spirit. If we read them without the light of the Spirit, they are of the flesh which “profits nothing.”

This tracks perfectly with what Paul told the Corinthians. He said that the natural man, the soulish man, the man counting on the flesh cannot grasp the things of God because they are spiritually discerned. This explains why some people can read the Bible for a lifetime and never be converted. It also reveals why so much that masquerades as church programming has no lasting value. This too is mentioned by Paul when he calls the actions of the carnal Corinthians wood, hay, and stubble as opposed to gold, silver, and precious stones. Only that which is done in the spirit has eternal value. This was put poetically by C.T Studd years ago: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past / Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

I am often asked what version I read. My first Bible was the American Standard Version, a 1911 translation that was almost as arcane as the KJV. I switched to the New American Standard When it came out in the 1960’s, which I read for years before discovering the New King James. Both were very suitable for study and devotional reading. When the ESV was introduced, I found it to be both accurate and easy to read. A few years ago, I began using a Bible study program on my computer called Logos produced by Faithlife. They sponsored a new digital translation called the Lexham English Bible which I have been using for study ever since. For the last several years, I have read through the Bible every year, choosing a different translation each year. I have found that a number of the newer versions are true to the original text and accessible to the average reader.

Bible study is an essential discipline of proper Christian living. Choosing the right Bible is a matter of personal preference given the parameters I mentioned above. The most important factor in Bible reading is not the version, it is the attitude. Any version can be quickened by the Holy Spirit; the ink and paper are only a vehicle for the Spirit words on the page. The Bible is a supernatural book. Reading the Bible without seeking the Holy Spirit’s help is a waste of precious time. Not reading the Bible at all is a waste of life.