What Bible Should I Buy?
I just answered a question on Yahoo Questions and thought that it might be helpful to some readers. The questions is, What Bible should I buy? It might help to clarify that the person who asked the question is not a Christian but is very interested in learning what the Bible teaches and what Christians believe. Here’s my response:
There are many good translations of the Bible in English as well as in other languages such as French. There are different approaches to translating the Bible:
(1) Translating it as LITERALLY as possible so that the translation is very close to the original Hebrew (and Aramaic) and Greek texts. The New American Standard Bible is a good example. For a couple of years I have been using the English Standard Version with is also very literal and highly recommended. It is very readable but very faithful to the original languages. The English Standard Version Study Bible is a wonderful study Bible with excellent explanations underneath the text. I got my copy about two weeks ago and am very pleased with it. The King James Version is a literal translation, but the English language has changed significantly since it was first done (1611) and revised (1789), and we have earlier (older) manuscripts than what were available when it was translated, so the text that is available to us today is very reliable.
(2) On the other end of the spectrum is the PARAPHRASE. This approach does not try to follow the original text word for word but rather explains it in different words. It is more of an interpretation than a translation of the text. Examples would be the Good News Bible, the Living Bible, and The Message.
(3) Between the two (literal and paraphrase) is what is called the DYNAMIC EQUIVALENT approach. This way of translating tries to find an equivalent way of saying the same thing. For example, rather than translating a Hebrew proverb word for word, this translation may give a contemporary proverb. In John 4:35, instead of saying that the fields are “white” unto harvest, it will say that the harvest fields are “ripe” instead of white. In many cases, this is very helpful. A good example of this approach is the New International Version. The New Living Translation attempts to be both literal and dynamically equivalent, depending on the nature of the passage that is being translated.
All of these types of translation can be helpful, but for more serious Bible study, literal translations are recommended.
The New World Translation (NWT) is NOT at all recommended. It is a distorted translation that was done to support the false doctrines of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Here are a few quotes about it from leading scholars:
- Dr. Julius Mantey, author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, calls the New World Translation “a shocking mistranslation”.
- Dr. Bruce M. Metzger, late professor of New Testament at Princeton University, calls the New World Translation “a frightful mistranslation”, “erroneous”, “pernicious”, and “reprehensible”.
- Dr. William Barclay asserted that “the deliberate distortion of truth by this sect is seen in their New Testament translation… It is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest.”
- Dr. Robert Countess (doctoral dissertation on the Greek of the NWT) concluded that it “has been sharply unsuccessful in keeping doctrinal considerations from influencing the actual translation… It must be viewed as a radically biased piece of work. At some points it is actually dishonest. At others it is neither modern nor scholarly.”
- British scholar Dr. H. H. Rowley: “From beginning to end this volume is a shining example of how the Bible should not be translated.” It is “an insult to the Word of God”.
If you are interested in studying the Word of God, and I congratulate you for your interest, but be sure to use a translation that is widely recognized by the Church. Any version that I have mentioned above with the exception of the New World Translation would be helpful. May God bless you!
Sources:
Concerning the New World Translation, my source was The 10 Most Important Things You Can Say to a Jehovah’s Witness by Ron Rhodes; Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2001. You may also consult Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth, chapter 2: “The Basic Tool–A Good Translation”; Grand Rapid: Zondervan, 1982.
