What Scripture is Really Scripture? (Part III)

In the final installment of this series, we want to talk briefly about all the modern translations available today. Do we need them? Why are there so many anyway? Our only source of the written message from God to man is the Bible. As Christians we must make every effort to know it and understand it. So, the question is which Bible is best?

Up until the 1960s there were just a few Bible translations out there to choose from. There was, of course the dominant King James Bible. There was also the Revised Standard Version, American Standard Version, and maybe one or two more. Overwhelmingly churches used the King James Bible for official worship.

Beginning in the 1960s and up until now dozens and dozens of new Bible translations have hit the bookstores. Just to name some of the more well known there are:

The Jerusalem Bible
New American Standard Bible
English Standard Bible
New International Bible
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Word of God Bible
Good News Bible
Amplified Bible
Contemporary Bible
New King James Bible
The Message Bible
The Living Bible

Picking a Bible is not easy today. It’s easier to pick a cereal off the grocery store shelves than to pick a Bible. It is really an overwhelming chore unless you really know what you want. It is tempting to chose one by using the time-tested “eeny meeny miny mo” method. However, I encourage you to make a more informed decision. There are many good articles on the Internet that will go into exhaustive detail about the many translations. Please, check them out before you chose a Bible.

Bibles come in what is called literal translations (word for word-formal equivalence) such as the King James, New American Standard, or the English Standard Version. Then there are the dynamic translations (thought for thought-functional equivalence) such as the New International or the Modern Language Bible. Which approach is best?

There is no perfect approach and no perfect Bible. There is not consensus on what the best Bible is. Only the original manuscripts that are now not in existence have the pure Word of God. Most of us do not know Hebrew or Greek so we are somewhat dependant on those who do and they at times disagree among themselves about what specific words mean or how they should be used.

As we seek a translation we must be aware that all translations show at least some bias based on the translator’s theology. Then again, there are only a very few translations that are really severely faulty and should be avoided. One such translation is the New World Translation distributed by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Hebrew and Greek Scholars did not translate it.

With all modern translations, with the few exceptions, we would still get a clear communication of God’s Word. This is obviously the most important thing.

If you want a literal translation, I personally believe the two best are the New American Standard and the English Standard. If you want a dynamic version I would opt for the New International Version or the New Living Translation.

I also really like the Christian Holman Standard because it attempts, successfully I believe, to combine the two approaches together. It is a very good read and very accurate.

The bottom line is that regardless of what particular Bible you choose to use, you should read it and learn it. I encourage you to make it a habit to read it daily. There are many good yearly schedules that you can obtain that will walk you through the entire Bible in just one year. You will be blessed. This is not my promise. It is God’s.:

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” (Joshua 1:8).