Bible translation guide (and a freebie!)
{All the info in this article is available in a free Bible Translation Guide infographic, great for easy reference or teaching! Scroll to the bottom and grab it!}
There are over 55 English translations of the Bible listed in the online Bible page, Bible Gateway. That’s an overwhelming amount of choices! So how are we to know which one to choose?
A brief history:
The Bible is written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The first translations were done by Jews when they translated the Old Testament into Greek in the 2nd century BC. Then there were translations into Latin. Finally, John Wycliff is credited with the first full English translations in 1384. As is our nature, church folk fought over which version is the best and holiest. The point of translations, though, is to make the Bible accessible. To take any work of literature and put it into another language necessitates flexibility, an understanding of ancient culture and present context, and smarts. Lots of smarts.
Translation is technical. And an art.
For instance, the phrase long of nose is how the Hebrew language represents patience. It's an idiom communicating that it takes a long time for a person’s nose to get hot; therefore if a person is long of nose they are slow to anger.
A literal translation of this idiom would be nonsense to an English audience. It’s entirely appropriate for the translators to write “patient” when they get to that phrase. We count on our translations to give us the best sense of a verse.
The chart below demonstrates the variety of methods translators have approached the Bible. There is no true “word for word” version because that would be a word soup. But some versions stick as close to the exact wording as possible. As the versions move towards “phrase for phrase” the translators do a little work for the reader without providing straight commentary.
Are there any bad translations?
All the translations are reliable, so there aren’t any I would boycott or pitch a fit about. That said, I tend to avoid the Amplified Bible because it can give a “choose your own adventure” vibe by letting the reader feel that they can pick any of the words or similes in a parenthesis. The Message and Passion versions are excellent and uniquely beautiful, however, it gives me pause that in each of these only one translator did all the work (rather than the usual roundtable of inter-denominational and theologically-diverse linguists). My least favorite of all is the ESV, largely because the translators were all of the same theological bend – so there were no bias guardrails. (More on ESV bias presented by the brilliant Marg Mowczko)
Which translation is best?
The short answer – whatever translation you read. Seriously. If the one on your nightstand gets opened, then that’s the best one for you (even if it’s on one of my not-so-awesome lists above). If you’re shopping for a Bible, use the chart and look at the verse translations to make an educated choice. What’s your favorite? I like using the NLT for narrative and NASB for poetry. It’s fun to switch it up!
I summarized all this info into an easy-to-read downloadable guide (including the chart above and a few more!). Check it out and let me know what you think!
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