The Holy Bible: A Buyer’s Guide

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Walk through the religion section of any major bookstore, and you’ll see an amazing array of Bibles. The broad selection of translations (also called versions)—and the seemingly endless ways in which they are packaged—is without historical precedent. But for many people, it is also bewildering, if not frustrating. Rather than the “blessing” it could and probably should be, it may be off-putting. When faced with a host of adjectives like “new” and “revised,” thoughtful buyers might well ask, What was wrong with the “old” or “traditional” or, dare I say it, the “original”?

And it doesn’t stop there. How can a buyer tell when a Bible is a different translation (or version) or the same old text in a new coat? Some publishers put out several translations. Oxford, for example, prints copies of the New Revised Standard Version, the Jewish Publication Society Tanakh, the New American Bible, the New King James Version, the old King James Version and more. And several publishers put out the same translations: Eight different publishers have been given broad licenses to publish the New Revised Standard Version, for example. And sometimes publishers put out one translation under numerous different titles. Zondervan’s Devotional Bible for Dad, Revolution: The Bible for Teen Guys, and True Images: The Bible for Teen Girls all contain the same translation (the New International Version—the most popular translation today) with distinctive covers on the outside and different annotations, devotional aids and interpretive materials on the inside.

Some Bibles are aimed at specific religious groups, but this is not always clear from the title. How is a Bible buyer to know that the New American Bible is prepared by and for Roman Catholics, while the similarly named New American Standard Bible is aimed at conservative Protestants?

On the following pages, I try to answer such 38questions in as straightforward, objective and succinct a manner as I can. With this goal in mind, I have chosen 21 versions or families of versions (my small tribute to BR’s 21st year of existence). After providing some basic publication data for the edition I used, I offer a quotation from each version’s own introduction that highlights its distinctive features or accomplishments. I then cite the same verses, Genesis 1:1–2, for each version and offer my own comments.

My Bible guide is far from the first such effort, nor will it be the last. I hope to distinguish my analysis from others by allowing each version to speak on its own behalf.

I have grouped the translations in three broad categories: literal; nonliteral with extended vocabulary; and nonliteral with limited vocabulary or colloquial language. The literal versions come closest to providing a word-for-word translation in terms of the grammar, vocabulary and style of the original; nonliteral versions with extended vocabulary attempt to provide a Bible that remains close to the original but makes use of more up-to-date vocabulary and style; the other nonliteral versions restrict the scope of their vocabulary and the complexity of their grammar. Each of these approaches has its own appeal and drawbacks; for example, a literal version brings modern readers closest to the ancient text, but often at the expense of intelligibility; the less literal a version is the easier it is for today’s readers to comprehend, but readers can easily lose the feeling that they are dealing with an ancient text.

Not every reader will agree with my approach. Rest assured, I am under no illusions: My words, unlike Sacred Writ, are not inscribed in stone. In this admission I am in excellent company: The translators of the King James Version made much the same point in their introduction!

Literal Translations

King James Version (KJV)

Edition: first published in 1611

Introduction: “Truly (good Christian Reader) we never thought from the beginning, that we should need to make a new Translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one … but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against; that hath been our endeavor, that our mark.”

Genesis 1:1–2: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Edition: Holy Bible: The New King James Version, Containing the Old and New Testaments (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982)

Introduction: “In harmony with the purpose of the King James scholars, the translators and editors of the present work have not pursued a goal of innovation … [This translation] seeks to preserve all of the information in the text, while presenting it in good literary form.

“The translators have sought to maintain that lyrical quality which is so highly regarded in the Authorized Version … Where obsolescence and other reading difficulties exist, present-day vocabulary, punctuation, and grammar have been carefully integrated.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)

Edition: The Holy Bible: The 21st Century King James Version, Containing The Old Testament and The New Testament (Gary, SD: 21st Century King James Bible Publishers/Deuel Enterprises, 1994)

Introduction: “The KJ21 is unique among modern Bibles in that it is closer in language to the original King James Version than any other Bible copyrighted in the twentieth century … Certain words which are not used in general conversation today, such as thee, thy, thou, hath, art, cometh, etc. have been retained in the KJ21, because they are readily understood and have remained an eloquent and beautiful part of our traditional language of worship and prayer … We have steadfastly resisted any attempt to subject the Word of God to the vagaries of any current state of knowledge, culture, or political whim.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

My remarks: In my opinion, a copy of the King James Version belongs in every household. And this holds true not only for Protestants, but also for Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, Jews, adherents of other religions, and believers in none. The KJV is not just an English classic; it is the English classic, and everyone should have easy access to its elegant diction and cadence. With its frequent “and … and … and” structure (as in “And God saw the light … and God called the light Day”) and such expressions as “It came to pass,” the KJV replicates in English many of the characteristic features of biblical Hebrew, thereby qualifying it as a literal translation.

But the KJV translators entertained no illusions that their work was timeless or immutable. Both the NKJV and the KJ21 provide today’s readers with a relatively light reworking of the 17th-century King James Version.

The KJ21, with its retention of pronouns like “thee” and verbal forms such as “cometh” and “art,” retains a good deal of the KJV’s flavor; at the same time, it modernizes much of the older vocabulary. Thus, to name only a few, “Holy Ghost” becomes “Holy Spirit,” “carriage” is replaced by “baggage,” and “gins” by “traps.”

The NKJV is a lovingly realized updating of the KJV that will appeal to those who find many of the KJV’s archaic features (such as the use of “thee” and “thy”) off-putting, but nonetheless draw strength from its overall style and structure. It is surely easier for modern readers to comprehend than its almost 400-year-old predecessor.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Edition: New American Standard Bible: Updated Edition (Anaheim, CA: Foundation Publications, 1996)

Introduction: “The attempt has been made to render the grammar and terminology in contemporary English. When it was felt that word-for-word literalness was unacceptable to the modern reader, a change was made in the direction of a more current English idiom.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

My remarks: By the late 19th century, it had become apparent that the King James Version was in need of substantive and substantial revision. In 1870, the Church of England commissioned 50 British and American clerics and scholars to revise and correct the text. Their improved translation was published in the 1880s as the English Revised Version. An American edition, containing the preferences of the American scholars involved in the project, appeared in 1901. It was called the American Standard Version. The NASB is an update of this American Standard Version, and is thus firmly rooted in the KJV family. As such, it tends toward the literal representation of the Hebrew and Greek originals in vocabulary and grammar that conform to American usage. The most recent revision (in 1995) has added a bit more grace and fluidity to its style, while in no way detracting from its usefulness as a trustworthy guide to the ancient text.

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Edition: The Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments, Revised Standard Version (National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, 1952)

Introduction: “A major reason for revision of the King James Version is the change since 1611 in English usage. Many forms of expression have become archaic, while still generally intelligible. Other words are obsolete and no longer understood by the common reader. The greatest problem, however, is presented by the English words which are still in constant use but now convey a different meaning from that which they had in 1611 and in the King James Version. [Eg., in the KJV “prevent” means “precede” and “convince” means “convict.”] … The Revised Standard Version Bible seeks to preserve all that is best in the English Bible.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Edition: New Revised Standard Version Bible (National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, 1989)

Introduction: “The Committee has followed the maxim, ‘As literal as possible, as free as necessary.’ As a result, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) remains essentially a literal translation … In references to men and women, masculine-oriented language should be eliminated as far as this can be done without altering passages that reflect the historical situation of ancient patriarchal culture … We have resisted the temptation to introduce terms and phrases that merely reflect the current moods.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

My remarks: Almost every college student taking a Bible class has made use of the RSV or the NRSV, which are likely to remain the “gold standard” of the academic world for some time. This status is in large part derived from the fact that the RSV translation committee, and in its wake the NRSV translation committee, was the first (and still the only) major project to actively involve Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox Christian and Jewish scholars, thereby implementing a truly ecumenical, multireligious dialogue that, for example, produced the first Old Testament text with “young woman” rather than “virgin” at Isaiah 7:14.

The publication of the NRSV has not led to the “abandonment” of the RSV, as many had anticipated. Some prefer the “gender-specific” renderings of the earlier RSV translation, while other readers favor its overall tendency to provide more literal representations than does its “successor.”

English Standard Version (ESV)

Edition: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Containing the Old and New Testaments (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles/Good News Publishers, 2001)

Introduction: “Each word and phrase in the ESV has been carefully weighed against the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek to ensure the fullest accuracy and clarity and to avoid under-translating or overlooking any nuance of the original text …

“The ESV is an ‘essentially literal’ translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer … In each case the objective has been transparency to the original text, allowing the reader to understand the original on its own terms rather than on the terms of our present-day culture.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

My remarks: The translators of the ESV readily acknowledge their debt to the KJV and other earlier versions. It could be said that the ESV stands in the KJV tradition without being part of the family. Thus, for example, the KJV’s (and the Hebrew original’s) reliance on “and … and … and” is largely retained, while an effort is made to distinguish in English varying styles among Old and New Testament writers. In this way, its English style and vocabulary may be considered appropriately “biblical” and constitute a very sensible and sensitive balance between concern for the ancient originals and for modern readers.

The New American Bible (NAB)

Edition: The New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms (Nashville: Catholic Bible Press/Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991)

Introduction: “[The purpose of this work is] to translate the sacred scriptures from the original languages or from the oldest extant form of the text, and to present the sense of the biblical text in as correct a form as possible.

“The collaboration of scholars who are not Catholic fulfills the directive of the Second Vatican Council, not only that ‘correct translations be made into different languages especially from the original texts of the sacred books,’ but that, ‘with the approval of the church authority, these translations be produced in cooperation with separated brothers’ so that ‘all Christians may be able to use them.’”

Genesis 1: In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.

My remarks: The NAB, along with the Jerusalem Bible (see below), were among the first fruits of the Roman Catholic Church’s encouragement of scholarship and teaching of the Bible from its original languages (rather than through the Latin Vulgate). It is thus of enormous interest to North American Catholics and to anyone interested in Catholic biblical teaching and understanding. The NAB New Testament has been thoroughly revised, and the Old Testament is undergoing revision. For the most part, this revision brings the translation closer to a literal representation of the biblical text.

The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)

Edition: The New Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday, 1985)

Introduction: “The biblical text of the first [English] edition [of The Jerusalem Bible of 1966] was occasionally criticized for following the French translation [The Bible de Jérusalem, which first appeared in 1956] more closely than the originals. In this edition the translation has been made directly from the Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic … An attempt has been made to avoid translating a single term of expression of the original by a variety of renderings … When it has been necessary to make a choice, fidelity to the text has been given preference over a literary quality which the original did not possess.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.

My remarks: In its earlier English formulation, the Jerusalem Bible relied heavily, perhaps too heavily, on the first authorized French translation of the original text of the Old and New Testaments. The NJB has remedied any unfortunate consequences of such over-reliance. Its decision to use a single English rendering for each Hebrew or Greek term is unusual for modern versions, which tend to favor lexical variety over consistency. The result here is a dignified presentation of Sacred Writ that is clearly at home in both church and study group.

ArtScroll Tanach

Edition: The Stone Edition, Tanach—The Torah, Prophets, Writings: The Twenty-Four Books of the Bible Newly Translated and Annotated, The ArtScroll Series (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1996)

Introduction: “This volume is in response to countless requests from many sectors of the Jewish community for a one-volume Tanach [Hebrew Bible] that is accurate, graceful, clear, and, most of all, faithful to traditional Torah commentary.

“The first goal of translation must be accuracy; no effort was spared in the successful quest of that goal … The translation balances the lofty beauty of the Hebrew with the need to provide a literate and comprehensible English rendering. Where a choice had to be made, we preferred fidelity to the text over inaccurate simplicity.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning of God’s creating the heavens and the earth—when the earth was astonishingly empty, with darkness upon the surface of the deep, and the Divine Presence hovered upon the surface of the water—

My remarks: The production values of this edition are extraordinarily high. The translators are steeped in Jewish exegetical traditions and make frequent use of them in both text and notes. The Hebrew and English texts are found on facing pages, thus facilitating comparison and thoughtful reading. Where the Hebrew text is difficult or ambiguous, the text reflects this. Thus, this is a version worthy of serious study not only by Jews, but by anyone interested in the Bible within the Jewish tradition.

The Schocken Bible

Edition: The Schocken Bible, vol. 1, The Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (New York: Schocken Books, 1995)

Introduction: “The purpose of this work is to draw the reader into the world of the Hebrew Bible through the power of its language … I [translator Everett Fox] have sought primarily to echo the style of the original, believing that the Bible is best approached, at least at the beginning, on its own terms. I have presented the text in English dress but with a Hebraic voice.

“The reader will encounter a text which challenges him or her to rethink what these ancient books are and what they mean, and will hopefully be encouraged to become an active listener rather than a passive receiver.”

Genesis 1: At the beginning of God’s creating of the heavens and the earth, when the earth was wild and waste, darkness over the face of the Ocean, rushing-spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters—

My remarks: There is nothing else like the Schocken Bible in English. Its translator, Everett Fox, deliberately set out to push the English language, and his readers, to its (and their) farthest boundaries—and perhaps even beyond. Thus, readers of this Bible are confronted with an English that is not quite English, with a vocabulary and 41style that compel one to stop and think and envision (or re-envision) the Bible on its own terms and, so far as it is possible in English, in its own language. Readers willing to be transported back in time and space through this version will be richly and uniquely rewarded; it is worth the effort.

Non-Literal Translations (with Extended Vocabulary)

New International Version (NIV)

Edition: The Holy Bible: New International Version, Containing The Old Testament and the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984)

Introduction: “The New International Version is a completely new translation of the Holy Bible made by over a hundred scholars working directly from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts.

“Certain goals for the NIV: that it would be an accurate translation and one that would have clarity and literary quality and so prove suitable for public and private reading, teaching, preaching, memorization, and liturgical use … [The translators] have striven for more than a word-for-word translation … Concern for clear and natural English—that the New International Version should be idiomatic but not idiosyncratic, contemporary but not dated—motivated the translators and consultants.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)

Edition: The Holy Bible: New International Reader’s Version (Colorado Springs: International Bible Society, 1998)

Introduction: “God has always spoken so people would know what he meant. When God first gave the Bible to his people, he used their languages. They could understand what they read. God wants us to understand the Bible today too.

“The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) is a new Bible based on the New International Version (NIV). We made the NIrV even easier to read and understand. We used words of the NIV when we could. Sometimes we used shorter words. We explained words that might be hard to understand. We made the sentences shorter.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth didn’t have any shape. And it was empty. Darkness was over the surface of the ocean. At that time, the ocean covered the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Today’s New International Version (TNIV)

Edition: The Holy Bible: Today’s New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005)

Introduction: “Among the more programmatic changes [from the NIV] are the removal of nearly all vocative ‘O’s [as in ‘O Sovereign Lord,’ in Genesis 15:2] and the elimination of most instances of the generic use of masculine nouns and pronouns … The Committee has again been reminded that every human effort is flawed—including this revision of the NIV.”

My remarks: At least one out of every three Bibles sold today is an NIV, and major bookstores feature many more editions of the NIV than of any other modern translation of the Bible. And, I am sure, most customers who buy them are well satisfied. Produced by a solid translation committee with conservative theological beliefs and wide experience in academia and preaching, the NIV has been attractively packaged and marketed to a number of niche groups (moms, teens, sportsmen and soldiers [their cover is camouflage]) without in any way detracting from the readable and reliable text that is at its core.

The NIrV was produced with the recognition that the NIV is not easily understood by all. Of all the Bible’s surveyed here, the NIrV uses the most words (45) to translate Genesis 1:1–2. It also uses the most sentences, six (seven versions make do with one). It follows that the NIrV also has the shortest sentences (an average of 7.5 words per sentence).

The most recent NIV, appearing just a few months ago, is the TNIV, marked by increased sensitivity to changes in the English language and in the way we view each other. So, for example, Psalm 1:1 now reads “blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked” rather than “blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.”

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Edition: Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version (New York: American Bible Society, 1995)

Introduction: “The Contemporary English Version differs from all other English Bibles in that it takes into consideration the needs of the hearer, as well as those of the reader, who may not be familiar with traditional biblical language.

“The CEV has been described as a ‘user-friendly’ and a ‘mission-driven’ translation that can be read aloud without stumbling, heard without misunderstanding, and listened to with enjoyment and appreciation, because the language is contemporary and the style is lucid and lyrical … The translators of the Contemporary English Version have diligently sought to capture the spirit of the King James Version.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God / created the heavens / and the earth. / The earth was barren / with no form of life; / it was under a roaring ocean / covered with darkness. / But the Spirit of God / was moving over the water.

My remarks: For the sake of full disclosure, I should point out that I served as a consultant for a number of the CEV’s Old Testament books. For that reason, I am very familiar with its text. I find its well-conceived directness and forceful diction to be among its most appealing traits. Those lacking background in “biblical English” will find the CEV a far less daunting approach to the Bible than more literal renderings. It also functions well in oral contexts. Its text of the New Testament has been singled out for its efforts to eradicate any possible anti-Jewish sentiments.

New English Bible (NEB)

Edition: C.H. Dodd, ed., The New English Bible: With the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford Univ. Press and Cambridge Univ. Press, 1971)

Introduction: “The Joint Committee provided for the actual work of translation from the original tongues by appointing three panels. Their members were scholars drawn from various British universities. The Committee also appointed a fourth panel, of trusted literary advisers, to whom all the work of the translating panels was to be submitted for scrutiny.

“There are passages where, in the present state of our knowledge, no one could say with certainty which of two (or even more) possible meanings is intended. In such cases, after careful discussion, alternative meanings have been recorded in footnotes.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning of creation, when God made heaven and earth, the earth was without form and void, with darkness over the face of the abyss, and a mighty wind that swept over the surface of the waters.

The Revised English Bible (REB)

Edition: The Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford Univ. Press. and Cambridge Univ. Press, 1989)

Introduction: “The Revised English Bible [is] a translation standing firmly in the tradition established by the NEB. This substantial revision expressed the mind and conviction of biblical scholars and translators of the 1980s … Care has been taken to ensure that the style of English used is fluent and of appropriate dignity for liturgical use, while maintaining intelligibility for worshippers of a wide range of ages and backgrounds. The revisers have sought to avoid complex or technical terms where possible, and provide sentence structure and word order which will facilitate congregational reading but will not misrepresent the meaning of the original texts.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was a vast waste, darkness covered the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.

My remarks: The NEB was the first large-scale British translation since the KJV. It sought to combine a majestic, elevated English style with the results of contemporary scholarship. Its success was limited, partly because of the perception (not totally undeserved) that it was primarily a product for scholars. Subsequently, the REB brought in a new generation of translators and a more expansive view of its intended audience and their needs. The translators have admirably succeeded by producing a version that has wide appeal in the pulpit and study group as well as in the classroom. Its style is noticeably, and unapologetically, British, but this should not occasion any concern for English-speakers outside the British Isles. For some, in fact, the resulting text has an added dignity and weight.

The Jewish Publication Society (JPS)

Edition: Tanakh: A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures According to the Traditional Hebrew Text (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1999)

Introduction: “The translation of Tanakh, produced by the Jewish Publication Society, was made directly from the traditional Hebrew text into the idiom of modern English.

“It represents the collaboration of academic scholars with rabbis from the three largest branches of organized Jewish religious life in America.

“The translators avoided obsolete words and phrases and, whenever possible, rendered Hebrew idioms by means of their normal English equivalents.”

Genesis 1: When God began to create heaven and earth—the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—

My remarks: The Jewish Publication Society (JPS) produced its first English version in 1917. This translation followed closely the Revised Version of 1885, itself a revision of the KJV; its most distinctive departures from the earlier version lay in its substitution of traditional Jewish renderings for Christological language such as “Spirit” (with a capital “s”) and “virgin” at Isaiah 7:14. In the mid-1950s, JPS initiated a new translation project that, while retaining distinctively Jewish exegesis and understandings, decisively departed from KJV style in the direction of more up-to-date English. The first publication of this new project, also known as the New Jewish Version or new JPS Version, was in the mid-1960s.

The 1999 edition of the JPS Tanakh is the first to have English and Hebrew texts on facing pages. This is especially desirable for a Jewish translation, which is intended to take its place alongside the Hebrew original rather than serving in its stead. The Tanakh reflects the richness of the Jewish exegetical traditions and the fact that there are a number of biblical passages whose meaning is ambiguous or uncertain. All of this is expressed in a decidedly modern-sounding and looking translation that is easily accessible to Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike.

Again, for the sake of full disclosure, I should mention that I have often spoken to and with the Jewish Publication Society about the possibility of a new version under their auspices.

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Edition: Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Bible (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003)

Introduction: “The goals of this translation are: to equip serious Bible students with an accurate translation; to affirm the authority of Scripture as God’s Word and to champion its absolute truth; to serve many people who speak or read English as a primary or secondary language with a translation they can easily use and understand; to reflect recent changes in English by using modern punctuation, formatting, and vocabulary, while avoiding slang, regionalisms, or changes made specifically for the sake of political or social agendas.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

My remarks: The recently completed HCSB is among the newest English-language versions available. It is being heavily promoted by its publisher and has been garnering an ever-increasing number of readers. Those looking for an accessible, reliable and dignified text that reflects both conservative theology and concern for the reader will not be disappointed. It is an excellent example of what its translators term “optimal equivalence,” whereby the form of the ancient languages is retained in modern garb unless considerations of intelligibility necessitate reformulation.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Edition: Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996)

Introduction: “As a thought-for-thought translation, the New Living Translation seeks to be both exegetically accurate and idiomatically powerful.

“The translators have made a conscious effort to provide a text that can be easily understood by the average reader of modern English … We have also sought to translate terms shrouded in history or culture in ways that can be immediately understood by the contemporary reader … Metaphorical language is often difficult for contemporary readers to understand, so at times we have chosen to translate or illuminate the metaphor.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface.

My remarks: The New Living Translation and the Living Bible (see below) are both produced by Tyndale House Publishers, founded by Kenneth N. Taylor in 1962, and thus these two versions do share a generally conservative theological outlook. In most other respects, however, they are substantially different. The NLT is the product of a large committee of scholars, rather than one individual, and it is decidedly not a paraphrase (as is the case with the Living Bible). Unlike some of the other versions in this category of my listing, the NLT updates much of the ancient terminology and seeks to explain metaphors that might puzzle contemporary readers. This provides the NLT with an immediacy that many today will appreciate.

Non-Literal Translations (with Limited Language)

The Living Bible (LB)

Edition: The Living Bible, Paraphrased: A Thought-for-Thought Translation (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publisher, 1971)

Introduction: “A word should be said here about paraphrases. To paraphrase is to say something in different words than the author used. This book is a paraphrase of the Old and New Testaments. Its purpose is to say as exactly as possible what the writers of the Scriptures meant, and to say it simply, expanding where necessary for a clear understanding by the modern reader.

“If this paraphrase makes the Bible easier to understand and follow, deepening the Christian lives of its readers and making it easier for them to follow their Lord, then the book has achieved its goals.”

Genesis 1: When God began creating the heavens and the earth, the earth was at first a shapeless, chaotic mass, with the Spirit of God brooding over the dark vapors.

My remarks: Although it no longer sells as well as it once did, the Living Bible was an extremely popular text for a considerable period of time.

Like several of the Bibles in this category (“nonliteral with limited or colloquial language”), the LB is a paraphrase. Of all the translations surveyed, the LB provides the shortest (28-word) version of Genesis 1:1–2.

While some consider paraphrasing a negative (because paraphrases tend to reflect too sharply the interpretive stance of those who produce them), the LB’s translator Kenneth Taylor and his associates proudly proclaimed the LB to be an exemplar of this genre (or subgenre). The LB’s pages are filled with Taylor’s evangelical theology, which he clearly believes is an authentic part of the biblical message for today’s Christians. Whether or not all readers agree, there is no doubt that Taylor fashioned many memorable and even startling phrases that are bound to excite his audience—and perhaps exasperate others. Thus, for example, the “sons of God,” found in Genesis, become the “evil beings from the spirit world,” and the expression “from the Old Testament as well as from the New” anachronistically appears in Matthew 13:52.

New Century Version (NCV)

Edition: The Holy Bible: New Century Version (Fort Worth: Thomas Nelson Bibles, 1991)

Introduction: “The New Century Version translates the Scriptures in familiar, everyday words of our times.

“The New Century Version aids understanding by putting concepts into natural terms … Modern measurements and geographical locations have been used as much as possible.

“Rhetorical questions have been stated according to their implied answers … Figures of speech have been translated according to their meanings … Idiomatic expressions of the biblical languages are translated to communicate the same meaning to today’s reader that would have been understood by the original audience.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the sky and the earth. The earth was empty and had no form. Darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit was moving over the water.

My remarks: The New Century Version has taken its place as an easy-to-understand text that consistently puts things in natural terms that are immediately and easily understood by the vast majority of English speakers and readers. Relatively short sentences are the rule, and nontechnical vocabulary and phrasing predominate. NCV readers benefit from having the ancient word and its world brought into their own, so they can easily identify with the biblical characters and their circumstances.

God’s Word (GW)

Edition: God’s Word (Holiday, FL: Green Key Books, 1995)

Introduction: “God’s Word fills a need that has remained unmet by English Bibles: to communicate clearly to contemporary Americans without compromising the Bible’s messages … God’s Word looks and reads like contemporary American literature. It uses natural grammar, follows standard punctuation and capitalization rules, and is printed in a single column … God’s Word favors concise, clear sentences … God’s Word achieves a warmer style by using contractions where appropriate. Many Bible translations contain theological terms that have little, if any, meaning for most non-theologically trained readers. God’s Word avoids using these terms and substitutes words that carry the same meaning in common English.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God created heaven and earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep water. The Spirit of God was hovering over the water.

My remarks: With a single column of text on each page, simplified language, and the sincerely expressed desire to be understood and understandable, God’s Word admirably succeeds in its desire to look and read like a good deal of other contemporary American writing. Its short sentences and nontechnical terms give it an immediate impact that many of today’s readers will value. Its deliberate efforts to be warm will not detract from, but actually 44enhance, many readers’ experience of Sacred Writ in this accessible and attractive format. Examples of these attempts can be found at Psalm 1:1, where “blessed is the person” appears (traditionally, “blessed is the man”), and Luke 9:3, where Jesus’ instructions to the apostles—“Don’t take anything along on the trip. Don’t take a walking stick, traveling bag, any food, money, or a change of clothes”—does indeed sound more up-to-date than the language found in more formal versions.

Good News Bible (GNB)

Edition: Good News Bible: Good News Translation (New York: American Bible Society, 1976)

Introduction: “The Good News Translation seeks to state clearly and accurately the meaning of the original texts in words and forms that are widely accepted by people who use English as a means of communication. This translation does not follow the traditional vocabulary and style found in the historic English Bible versions.

“Every effort has been made to use language that is natural, clear, simple and unambiguous. Consequently there has been no attempt to reproduce in English the parts of speech, sentence structure, word order, and grammatical devices of the original languages.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning, when God created the universe, the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water.

My remarks: The Good News Bible (also called Today’s English Version) is among the most widely circulated English-language editions. It has been extensively promoted by the American Bible Society as especially appropriate for people without a great deal of formal education or previous experience with the Bible. Its success among these audiences should not obscure the fact that even well-educated and biblically literate individuals can profit from their experience of reading the GNB.

New Life Version (NLV)

Edition: Holy Bible: New Life Version with Topical Study Outlines, Christian Literature (Canby, OR: Christian Literature International, 1969)

Introduction: “The idea of a very readable and yet accurate version of the Scriptures came to us in an igloo in the frozen Canadian Arctic many years ago [where the translators were working with ‘primitive Eskimos’]. The secret of its readability is in the limited vocabulary. In most cases, each word uses only one meaning. Difficult Biblical words found in other versions were broken down into simple, meaningful phrases.

“Those of us who worked on this limited vocabulary New Life Version were constantly watching to keep it understandable without sacrificing accuracy. There was no thought to change God’s Holy Word to today’s street language.”

Genesis 1: In the beginning God made from nothing the heavens and the earth. The earth was an empty waste and darkness was over the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was moving over the top of the waters.

My remarks: The New Life Version has the same general goal as several other translations in this category. The real-life experiences of those responsible for it are undoubtedly part of its success in achieving those goals. It is important to keep in mind, as these translators have, that many first-time Bible readers are put off by technical language, long sentences and complex patterns of thought, even when these may accurately reflect the ancient original. Such individuals will find great comfort in the NLV. For these readers, the translators make use of “boat” rather than “ark” in the Noah story (although they retain the expression “gopher wood”); and the “ark of the covenant” becomes “the special box of the agreement.”

The Message

Edition: The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002)

Introduction: “The Message is a contemporary rendering of the Bible from the original languages, crafted to present its tone, rhythm, events, and ideas in everyday language. The Message grew from the soil of forty years of pastoral work.

“The Message is a reading Bible. It is not intended to replace the excellent study Bibles that are available. My [translator Eugene Peterson’s] intent is simply to get people reading it who don’t know that the Bible is readable at all, at least by them, and to get people who long lost interest in the Bible to read it again.”

Genesis 1: First this: God created the Heavens and the Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

My remarks: The message of the Message as expressed by Eugene Peterson, the man responsible for it, could not be clearer: Everyday language, the language of the street and of the community, is the most effective way to get the Bible to large numbers of otherwise estranged individuals. It is worthwhile, as Peterson sees it, to use paraphrase or just about whatever else it takes to accomplish this laudable goal. He certainly succeeds in attracting attention; no one can read this text and remain unmoved. As a first step, but hopefully not the last one, on the road toward familiarizing the public with the Bible, the Message deserves a wide audience.

Cotton Patch Gospel

Edition: Clarence Jordan’s Cotton Patch Gospel (1968–1973; repr. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2004)

Introduction: “Translations have left us stranded in some faraway land in the long-distant past. We need to have it come in our tongue and our time. We need to be participants in the faith not merely spectators.”

My remarks: In the mid-20th century, Clarence Jordan began translating—or perhaps adapting is the better word—individual New Testament books into the language of the American South. Jordan’s desire was to take Scriptures out of “the classroom and stained glass sanctuary and put them out under God’s skies where people are toiling and crying.” There is apparently a market, presumably of some size, for Jordan’s work, since the entire Cotton Patch Gospel (containing much of the New Testament) has now been attractively reprinted. But those familiar with more traditional renderings of Scripture may be puzzled, even disturbed, by the substantial and substantive “liberties” Jordan has taken. For biblical names, he typically substituted names from the American South, and he changed all sorts of biblical references. See, for example, 2 Timothy 4:19: “Say hello to Prissy and Adrian and to the Butterfinger family. Hank stayed on in Atlanta. I left Troy sick in Meridian,” where the NIV has: “Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.”