# Recommend me the Bible **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770 "2009-09-20T00:38:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/1 "2009-09-20T00:38:42Z")
Specifically, a translation of it. I feel I should read it at some point, and now seems a good a time as any. But I’ve heard that there are significant gulfs in quality between translation, so I was wondering which one is the best, in your opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/2 "2009-09-20T00:44:29Z")
Well, I would not read it all the way through, ped. First, I’d read the New International Version. I just like it. The footnotes are part of the translation and specify complications in translation. Second, reading the whole thing? How familiar are you with it? You might want to choose key books to read and skip some things. Either that, or get a book to help you understand some of the duller Old Testament books. ---
**Author:** ![ragerdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@ragerdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ragerdude)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/3 "2009-09-20T00:49:29Z")
One very important question is how you are going to use it, and what your background is. Every translation involves a delicate trade-off of (1) readability, (2) accuracy, and (3) literary quality. Very frequently, a place in the text exists where only one or two of those goals can be reached simultaneously. Overall, the best balance for most purposes seems to be the NET Bible (New English Translation). They have addressed the above issues by placing a more readable, idiomatic English equivalent in the main text, and providing a more literal equivalent of the original language in a footnote. This way, you get both. The entire text can be read online and/or downloaded from [http://net.bible.org/home.php](http://net.bible.org/home.php). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/4 "2009-09-20T00:56:04Z")
King James Version – the answer to “What if the Bible were written by Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson, et al.?” High literary quality, lousy readability unless you like Jacobean English, some errors of translation (owing to advances in Bible scholarship in 300 years) New King James and 21st Century King James Versions are modernizations, not horrible but not great either. New International Version – a bit pedestrian, slightly slanted to an evangelical Protestant viewpoint New Jerusalem Bible – high literary and readability quality (Tolkien worked on part of the translation), copious notes for clarity, my personal favorite A Catholic translation, but not pushily so New Revised Standard Version – moderately easy reading, uninspiring phrasing, in common use in mainstream Protestantism Good News Bible – very easy reading, accuracy is sometimes a bit sucky as a result. The ideal version for “I want a casual light read, so how about the Bible?” The Living Bible – a fundamentalist paraphrase translation – run away fast New American Bible – authorized Catholic translation, and more than a little heavy-handed in its Catholic approach to the texts Easy reading bthough New English Bible – an effort to do a 20th centuiry translation with the literary merit of the KJV. I am not overly impressed with it but some people are. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/5 "2009-09-20T01:14:24Z")
Read the King James version for the beauty and poetry of the language. the rest are all a toss up to me. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/6 "2009-09-20T01:15:49Z")
If you’re reading it purely as a work of literature, and are comfortable with Shakespeare’s language, then you want the King James. If you’re reading it for the meaning, then I’d recommend either the NIV, or the NJB, depending on whether you want the Catholic books-- A few books, such as Sirach, Maccabes, and a large chunk of Daniel, are not recognized by most Protestant sects, but are by the Catholics. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/7 "2009-09-20T01:41:34Z")
My opinion is quite biased as I’m strongly in favor of the New Revised Standard Version. I love the New Oxford version. [Link](http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Apocrypha-Augmented-College-Standard/dp/0195288831/ref=pd_sim_b_5) Most libraries will have a copy. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/8 "2009-09-20T01:43:43Z")
Oxford Annotated is the version commonly used in colleges, and is a good translation with a lot of good notes. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/9 "2009-09-20T01:46:49Z")
I read the “Reader’s Digest” version of the Bible. Now as edition’s go it’s hardly authoritative , but if your goal is to read the Bible. I recommend this highly. Then you can go back after you’re done reading it and re-read the sections you like in a “proper” Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/10 "2009-09-20T01:50:55Z")
Just a note- the first 6 or 7 books of the Old Testament are not boring at all in my opinion. Even the parts of Leviticus that are “boring” aren’t boring because they’re so wtf. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/11 "2009-09-20T04:46:59Z")
All though this may be considered slightly off topic- I’d recommend the fictional (but HIGHLY amusing) novel: “Lamb” by Christopher Moore. His take on Jesus’ life story was def. one of the most hilarious takes I’d ever read. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/12 "2009-09-20T05:32:00Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > My opinion is quite biased as I’m strongly in favor of the New Revised Standard Version. I love the New Oxford version. [Link](http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Apocrypha-Augmented-College-Standard/dp/0195288831/ref=pd_sim_b_5) > > Most libraries will have a copy. I will agree with this. its ..wordier, in other words, says it in more words, making it somewhat easier to get the meaning. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/13 "2009-09-20T08:36:47Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > My opinion is quite biased as I’m strongly in favor of the New Revised Standard Version. I love the New Oxford version. Is this the best version in terms of closeness to the original text and explanations of differences in interpretation, as well as explanations of non obvious terms and translations? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/14 "2009-09-20T11:55:13Z")
New King James is my favorite for the basics. New International sometimes get more interpretive than translative. I prefer Revised Standard to New Revised Standard. Of modern Catholic translations, I recommend New Jerusalem over New American. I have about 40+ different translations so I can get carried away on this REAL easily. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/15 "2009-09-20T17:46:28Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Is this the best version in terms of closeness to the original text and explanations of differences in interpretation, as well as explanations of non obvious terms and translations? The New Oxford Annotated does that. It will give you synonyms for ambiguous terms and explain the context of phrases that are puzzling to modern audiences (like “my sister, my bride” in the Song of Solomon) or can be interpreted in different ways by different cultures, etc. It’s also got extensive cross-references, good explanatory essays, an opening essay that discusses the history of of biblical translation and scholarship, lots of maps, introductory passages to each book to give you a sense of the historical context in which it was written, tons and tons of footnotes – it’s very extensive. **Diogenes** is correct about its use in academic settings. It’s a very “transparent” translation, in that it tells you through footnotes how it has arrived at its translation as it’s presenting the text. That said, it’s certainly not the most literary or poetic of versions. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/16 "2009-09-20T18:38:14Z")
Just to clarify, the Oxford bibles (I think they’re up to the Oxford Annotated 3rd Edition, which superseded the New Oxford Annotated.) are annotated editions of the New Revised Standard Version. So the actual text and original footnotes are all the same as in any NRSV Bible. The Oxford just adds additional footnotes and essays. The NRSV is _the_ translation for mainstream Protestant scholarship, and the Oxford editions are the standard for college and grad school coursework. ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/17 "2009-09-21T23:37:47Z")
I went through just about all the translations looking for one I liked, and my favorite was the English Standard Version (ESV). To me it struck the best balance between readability and faithfulness to the original (well, as far as I can tell, anyway). If you’re looking solely for one or the other you will probably want to check out translations that others have recommended. Of course for beauty and general cultural-literacy-building you can’t match King James, but readability is not really its strong suit… ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/18 "2009-09-22T00:22:28Z")
> [@raspberry\_hunter](#): > > I went through just about all the translations looking for one I liked, and my favorite was the English Standard Version (ESV). To me it struck the best balance between readability and faithfulness to the original (well, as far as I can tell, anyway). If you’re looking solely for one or the other you will probably want to check out translations that others have recommended. > > Of course for beauty and general cultural-literacy-building you can’t match King James, but readability is not really its strong suit… ESV is for the most part the RSV with a few places re-translated to fit a more Evangelical consensus, such as Isaiah 7:14. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/19 "2009-09-22T03:14:05Z")
If you’d like to see a Jewish translation, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s “Living Torah” is very easy to read. The translation is very modern, almost casual. The footnotes are mostly along the lines of, “ **Word** (_Hebrew Word)_ can also be read as Something Else (Rashi, Ibn Ezra), Similar Word (Rambam), or Completely Different Idea (Rabbi Perosn of Place).” It also often changes biblical colloquialisms into modern colloquialisms, but the footnotes will mention that “show of power” is literally “hand of God”. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770/20 "2009-09-22T03:57:17Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Second, reading the whole thing? How familiar are you with it? You might want to choose key books to read and skip some things. Either that, or get a book to help you understand some of the duller Old Testament books. At least, don’t think you have to read all the books in order. Just in case you didn’t know, the Bible is a collection of works, an anthology, a library-in-one-volume. Each book of the Bible is probably best read as a whole (with a maybe a few exceptions, like Psalms), but for the sake of variety or getting to the “good stuff” sooner, you may want to sample books from different parts of the Bible rather than read them in the order they appear. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-the-bible/510770.md?page=2)