# What Bible Translation(s) Do You Use? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2013, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562 "2013-08-07T05:02:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/1 "2013-08-07T05:02:35Z")
I’ve been using ESV (through the _Reformation Study Bible_) for a year now. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/2 "2013-08-07T05:25:37Z")
I grew up on KJV. Nothing else sounds “right” to me. In the interest of disclosure, I’m an atheist and don’t actively read any of them anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/3 "2013-08-07T05:27:23Z")
I’m waiting for the movie ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/4 "2013-08-07T05:28:16Z")
King James Bible because it is one of the most beautiful uses of the English language ever created ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/5 "2013-08-07T08:55:34Z")
King James Version is beautiful poetry. New International Version is easier to understand, but not pretty to read. Revised Standard Version is a reasonable compromise. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/6 "2013-08-07T09:40:07Z")
I use the New Revised Standard version. When studying OT books, I use, for the sake of comparison, the Tanakh publish by the Jewish Publication Society. But I still think in KJV when reading the second chapter of Luke. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/7 "2013-08-07T11:28:35Z")
I use the Hebrew for Old Testament, so edition doesn’t really matter much. For English translation, I prefer the Jewish Publication Society (JPS), but I like Fox’s attempt at a more literal translation. (E.g., ancient Hebrew often doubles a word for emphasis. KJV tends to use “verily” rather than repeat the adjective, where Fox uses “mighty, yes, mighty” to be more true to the original.) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/8 "2013-08-07T11:55:09Z")
I start with the New American Standard Bible (1995). I usually compare it with the New Revised Standard Version, the New International Version and the New Jerusalem Bible. If I’m doing Bible study, I use the Nestle-Aland 27th Edition of the Greek NT, and the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew OT. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/9 "2013-08-07T12:54:05Z")
The King James is used in my church’s services and I read from it quite often. I’d go as far as calling it my favorite. For reading through and for any more scholarly study I’ve been using the New Revised Standard (Oxford Annotated edition). I own and dip into a number of other translations, but those are the main two for me. With Bible websites and apps it’s become easy to compare a passage in seven or eight versions very quickly. I love technology! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/10 "2013-08-07T13:02:40Z")
Other than the family Bible my mother kept in her bedroom, I think the only one I have in the house is the Oxford annotated. I couldn’t tell you offhand which revision that is. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/11 "2013-08-07T13:05:55Z")
I grew up with the King James version and it seems fine for my mundane purposes. I’m not a biblical scholar, but I’m aware that some theological questions might need consultation with a Hebrew version or another translation. Anytime someone says, “The Bible says…”, we need to consider which bible we are talking about before getting in too deep. So I don’t treat the KJV as gospel. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/12 "2013-08-07T13:10:04Z")
Missed the edit window. I should have looked at the immediately prior post: the Oxford is NRS. I find it useful as a center-weighted, neutral take on many of the disputed passages, which is often my interest. I for many years wanted a multi-version electronic Bible with the deep linguistic references and such, and by the time they became as comprehensive and useful as I wanted, I no longer had any compelling need or interest. That’s progress fer ya. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/13 "2013-08-07T13:51:29Z")
The New American Standard. I like the way it handles translation ambiguities. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/14 "2013-08-07T14:03:24Z")
[LOLCat](http://lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Main_Page) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/15 "2013-08-07T14:05:35Z")
I still use the New American Bible that was my high school freshman theology “textbook” back in 1975. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/16 "2013-08-07T14:08:19Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > [LOLCat](http://lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Main_Page) I may never stop laughing again. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/17 "2013-08-07T14:37:48Z")
I have a few versions at home, but I prefer the NIV and the NRSV. The NRSV is also used at my church (though that’s not why I originally picked it - I think I picked it due to it being an Oxford Annotated Version). I also do like what N.T. Wright has done in his Kingdom Translation. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/18 "2013-08-07T16:15:31Z")
The RSV. KJV is exquisitely written, but the dialect interferes with comprehension. (Plus we know a lot more about Hebrew and Greek than we did then.) And “new” translations like NIV and so on seem to be dumbing down the language for the sake of readability. I don’t need a translation written at the sixth-grade level of comprehension, especially the poetic passages. Much of it is familiarity, of course - I grew up on the RSV. But back when I read Koine Greek, it was (in my limited experience) the best word-for-word-or-close-to-it translation I found. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/19 "2013-08-07T16:21:39Z")
[This chart](http://www.apbrown2.net/web/TranslationComparisonChart.htm) shows most of the major translations, and how they stand as literal (word-for-word) vs. paraphrastic (thought-for-thought)/ ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562/20 "2013-08-07T17:09:42Z")
I use the Good News Translation (the one with the little stick people) and the KJV. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bible-translation-s-do-you-use/665562.md?page=2)