Bible Translation Comparisons

I've had a few good discussions with people over the last year or so about the pros and cons of various Bible translations. Some people are passionately sold on only a single translation, while others feel that just about anything that has "Bible" written on it's cover is sufficient. One guy I know is a "King James Only" believer, rejecting all other renditions of the Bible. Somebody else I know uses at least eight different translations to pick and choose their favorite way of wording a particular verse in order to best prove their point.  As with most things, I don't think either extreme is helpful. My personal opinion is that any Bible translation can be useful for spiritual growth when a person reads it in the context from which it was written, so have a good Bible. God could communicate with us through a cereal box if He so desires, let alone through a modern paraphrase of the Bible (Just so we're clear, I don't think you should trade in your Bible for a box of Corn Flakes. My point is, it's insulting to the power of God when we say that He is unable to speak to us if our Bible uses "Whither" instead of "Where").

So, I decided to write this little article discussing some of the features of a few of the major versions floating around today.

First, let's start with the big head honcho, the New International Version (NIV). Over the past couple decades, the NIV has become the most used English translation of the Bible. It's easy to read, straightforward, and very accurate. The NIV is the product of the Committee on Bible Translation, a team of 15 PhD's who specialize in ancient languages. So you can be fairly confident that what the NIV says is incredibly close to what the original Hebrew of Greek was talking about. The big drawback that I've found with the NIV is that it tries to appeal to too many people. It wants to be proper and polite, careful not to offend anybody. This might sound good, but there are some passages (especially in the Old Testament) that are meant to be offensive. When God speaks harshly to Israel, it should come across as harsh. Likewise, when He speaks gently and lovingly, it should come across as such. The NIV tends to blur this distinction, which can sometimes change the tone, and thus the interpretation, of a particular passage. Overall, it's a great translation for reading and studying. For new believers or children who need something straightforward and easy to understand, the NIV is terrific.


Shop for a NIV Bible


Next up, the English Standard Version (ESV). If you take the pros and cons of the NIV and reverse them, you'll essentially end up with the ESV. It is incredibly accurate, calling itself an "essentially literal Bible translation". This means that the translators worked word-for-word and didn't change or excessively reword passages to make them sound nicer. This makes it terrific for in depth study because you can see the meaning an intent of the original languages. However the tradeoff for such accuracy is in its readability. Because it is a word-for-word translation, sometimes the sentence structure is awkward and you may have to backup and read a passage a couple times. Something else to note is that the ESV is a much more blunt translation, in the sense that it doesn't rephrase things to make it sound more polite. You can really feel the raw emotion of the original writers when you read the honest (and sometimes shocking) language used in the dialog.


Shop for an ESV Bible


The final translation I'll look at isn't really a translation, but a paraphrase. The Message is an ultra-modern rendition of the Bible written by Eugene Peterson. It has almost no word-for-word accuracy to the original language. This is because it wasn't translated from the original languages. Instead, it was translated from existing English translations into a casually spoken English version. The Message actually is more a collection of slang and cliches that fit together to tell the story of God. It really is a fun Bible to read and would be ideal for children or new believers who just want to see what the Bible is all about. It's the most straightforward and to-the-point of any Bible version I've read yet. It gives the Bible the feel of an adventure novel. Another great thing about The Message is that has somehow managed to translate the ancient culture into modern application. One of the most difficult things about applying scripture is to ask "how does this relate to today?" In some cases, The Message does all that work for you because of its modern phrasing! However, all this easy reading does have its downside. The Message is not great for in-depth study. Since it doesn't translate back to the original languages very well, it would be dangerous to base any substantial theological arguments from it. It's also sometimes difficult to extract the deeper treasures of scripture from The Message because of it's modern language. For example, in the Lord's prayer, instead of "Give us this day our daily bread" (ESV), The Message says "Keep us alive with three square meals." While on the surface, these two verses seem similar in meaning, the deeper implications of the ESV rendition is completely lost in The Message version. Despite all this, however, The Message does still have a place for the more mature believer and Bible student. I use it often as a commentary to use alongside another translations. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes the ESV can be a little confusing. So I will sometimes read a passage in The Message first to get the general surface-level idea, and then dig deeper with the ESV or NIV.


Get The Message Bible


I hope this helps in your search to find which translation best suits your needs. Just remember always (regardless of which translation you use) to put scripture in the proper cultural context from which it was written. God bless, and I hope that you find the mystery of scripture to be as enriching as it has for me.