Alphabet Soup

AV, KJV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, ASB, NASB, TLB, NLT, ESV, HCSB, NET . . . on and on and on it goes. Abbreviations for the different translations, updates, paraphrases of the Bible seem to continue endlessly. Then, once someone has selected a translation, the choice in the type of bible to get seems so broad that it is nearly impossible to select the "right" bible for reading and study. In a not-so-scientific study, I did a search at www.christianbook.com, the web site for Christian Book Distributors and found 2969 choices in 38 different versions. By reducing the search to a single version (KJV) for adults, there are a mere 225 choices.

The question I am asked most often about bible versions is "Which version should I read?" The short answer, while sounding more like a put-off than an answer is "Whichever one you will read." To me, this is the primary issue. Before you can start to see the whole picture of the Bible, you need to read it. Not piecemeal; not in devotional books; but the Bible itself. From Genesis to Revelation (not necessarily in order, but the Bible itself). In order to do this, you need to read a version written in a language that you can understand. So, a modern English language translation, written the way you are accustomed to reading is the most logical.

Most people I know are interested in the most accurate translation they can get. So what does this mean? David Dewey, in his book A User's Guide to Bible Translations defines accuracy as communicating to today's readers the same meaning that the original author's text conveyed to his original readers.

In this regard, he makes two critical statements:

1. No translation, however good, will ever be 100 percent accurate.
2. Most modern versions are highly accurate and very trustworthy.

Having studied both Hebrew and Greek and translated portions of both the Old and New Testaments, I can attest that both these statements are true. Further, Dewey expresses a corollary to these two statements in identifying three reasons why older translations may not be the most accurate:

1. Better Hebrew and Greek manuscripts have come to light.
2. Our understanding of Bible languages is constantly improving.
3. The English language is constantly changing.

So, since modern English translations are fairly trustworthy, the decision should be more related to style and individual reading ability. Some bible translations are prepared for children, others for young adults, some for people for whom English is a second language, and some for those with an excellent grasp of the language. Many versions have been evaluated and given a score that roughly relates to the "reading grade level" of the text. For instance, a Flesch-Kincaid Test comparison of several versions has been conducted on selected passages of Scripture and an overall score was given. The table below, except for the bottom row "Average for Passage" is found in Dewey, p. 75. The grade level results of the Flesch-Kincaid Test on these passages were as follows:



From this data, a couple of trends may be observed. First, some passages are much simpler to read across the board. For instance, Psalm 40 averages 4.0 in all versions whereas Ephesians 1 averages 9.9. Second, an average reading grade level for a particular version, though not necessarily the same across all passages of Scripture, seems to fall within a specific range compared with other versions for any given passage. Ephesians 1 is a complex passage in the Greek, and therefore, it will be a difficult passage in a good English translation. It also appears to me that the modern English translations seem to cluster together between about 6.5 and 7.0. (Just for fun, I ran the Flesch-Kincaid Test as programmed into Microsoft Word against this document and received a school year/grade score of 10.8.) Dewey reports that most adults read comfortably at a grade level between 5.5 and 7.0 [p. 73].

In addition to reading level, the style of the writing may be just as important. Some versions are conversational others are very formal; some are written for personal study and others for worship; some versions attempt to be consistent with historically-biblical phrases and others seek to use better and more understandable language. Finally, some versions of the Bible are better for being read aloud.

Today, perhaps, more than at any other time in history, there is a concern for gender-inclusiveness. I think this trend stems more from the dumbing-down of our primary and secondary education than from a need to identify a more open approach to gender issues within translations. Certainly, there are many places within the Scriptures where the word "man" is intended to speak of both men and women, but there are other places where the text speaks strictly of men. In this forum, I'll debate neither the appropriateness of gender inclusiveness or whether some passages are restricted just to men or are inclusive of both sexes. I will note that there are places in the original languages that do not speak of men and women together that get translated as both. Also, gender-inclusive language in English can sometimes make for mixing singular pronouns with plural verbs or vice versa. This makes both personal study and liturgical reading difficult.

Additionally, there are 626 different study bibles listed at christianbook.com. Although selection of a specific study bible should not drive the translation you choose, some study bibles are copyrighted with the publishers of specific translations and therefore are not available in all translations. Study bibles vary widely in the type of information and the theological perspective they present; and therefore, should be the subject of an entirely new study.

If you're just starting out it doesn't matter much whether your translation is a precise "word for word" translation, a paraphrase, or something in between. If you're already in a Bible study group, you may want to choose the version that the leader uses, the one that is most common within the group, or perhaps one that is different than most of the group uses for the sake of comparison. If you've been reading and studying the Scriptures for years, you may want to move from what you've been reading toward something a little more literal, or maybe not. Without a basic understanding of the original languages, perhaps it is best to read from several versions and seek to understand how the various translations render a thought. If you are looking for a new Bible, go to a Christian book store and browse the versions available. Read some of the passages listed above. Seek the guidance of the bookseller's staff and spend some real time shopping. Or you may find a wide variety of versions online at sites like BibleGateway.com or SearchGodsWord.org. I assure you time spent up front evaluating different bibles will pay off in the end. Meanwhile, in regard to the best translation for you, a copy of Dewey's book may help you put all these pieces together.

Yet the bottom line remains, that "faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).