I am using the ELCA Word of Faith initiative in my preaching during September and the first part of October here at RLC . The aim is to for us to reengage in learning the first language of faith which is the Bible. To do that we need a Bible we enjoy reading.

The Bible is the touchstone of our life in faith, and so for a Christian, the time you spend reading and studying the Scriptures is time spent in the presence of God. We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. This makes the Bible more than just another book. Through the Bible God tells the story of salvation and Jesus, our savior teaches and preaches. Just as God spoke to the saints in the past, through the Bible God still speaks to us today in a personal way.

Going to a Bible bookstore and buying a Bible seems like a fairly simple thing to do. But when you arrive you see shelf upon shelf of Bibles, all different, some with maps, some with study helps. Some Bibles come with commentary by your favorite Christian author or proclaiming to be especially for youth or to be the guide for a full Spirit filled life. You probably are going to be confused and overwhelmed. So how do you choose from all these options?

If you just want a coffee table book to look at, the answer is simple. I suggest the oversize King James bound in calf leather with color plates of the Holy Land and the life of Jesus. It is heavy, impressive and not good for much else so it will probably stay where you put it. But if you actually want to read the Bible then there are a number of different things that you need to think about. You need to buy a book that has easy to read type in a convenient size, a book with some white space in the margins so you can write in notes of your own. You need a translation that is readable and accurate so that the words that you read give you the authors intent and doesn't wander into the opinions of the translator. Having said all that I bet you are waiting for me to tell you what is the best Bible. Unfortunately there are some difficulties involved that make translating a text from one language to another a problem with no correct solution.
On the surface it seems like translating something from a different language would be easy. You take the word from the other language and just use the same word in English. In the case of the Biblical languages, Greek and Hebrew, the entire structure, even the way that the thoughts themselves are ordered, is completely different. For example here are a couple of verses from Mark that are translated directly. The words connected by dashes are single words in Greek that we have no direct translation for;

And after the to-be-given-over the John came the Jesus into the Galilee and preaching the good-news of-the God and saying that Has-been-fulfilled the appointed-time and has-drawn-near the kingdom of-the God; be-you-repenting and be-you-believing in the good-news. (Mark 1:14-15)

As you can see, many words have no equivalent in English. Familiar patterns of speech, or idioms, that were common in those days often mean something entirely different from what they say literally. A good example of this is the way we use the word "cool." Are we talking about the temperature or the way we feel about something? Translating requires a full working knowledge of not only both languages involved but a knowledge of the cultures as well.

For Christians that makes translating the Bible a never ending task. We are constantly gaining new knowledge of Biblical times and our culture is changing as well.

So how does the difficulty of translating relate to choosing a Bible? Well, it is not very likely that a single person will have all of the language skills needed, the Greek, Hebrew, and English, and all of the Historical and cultural background as well. Any one of those fields is the work of a lifetime. So in choosing a Bible, look for one that a committee of competent scholars worked together to translate. That usually means that all of the critical issues were studied by people who were good in that specific area of study and you don't get the opinion of one person alone.

Because of all the difficulties involved, translation is more of an art form than a science. There are two theories of translation, the first is to take each word and translate that into English as closely as possible. This direct or concordant method gives us a Bible that is as close to the original language as possible, but can produce a Bible that is stilted or difficult to read English. This is because the thought patterns are different in the original language. The other way to translate is to try to understand the thought expressed and then put it down in easy to understand English without being bound to the exact wording of the original. This is a thought for thought method. It produces an easy to understand, very readable book, but at times deeper meanings in the original language can be lost altogether.

As you can see both of these ways of translating lose something. Most modern translations are a compromise between these two extremes. A good example of this kind of compromise is the rule followed by the translators of the New Revised Standard Version; "As literal as possible, as free as necessary." The Bibles offered for sale represent the full spectrum between these two understandings.

Knowing what you want the Bible for is an important part of choosing a new Bible. Do you want a Bible for devotional reading where grasping the whole story in an understandable enjoyable manner is most important , or do you want a Bible for serious Bible study where you want to pay attention to the details and try to get the fullest meaning that you can get from an English translation. For study you definitely want a Bible that is close to the original language . A Bible that will reflect the difficulties of the original text so that you can struggle with them yourself. The questions that you come up with as you struggle with the text are often the questions God is trying to ask of you. This book should still be in modern English. The King James Bible though a word for word type of translation is translated into Elizabethan English and you need to be a Shakespearian scholar to translate that into Modern English.

If you want to read your Bible as part of your quiet time or to get a sense of the whole picture, you want a Bible that will not bog you down in the details. For this I would suggest a more thought for thought translation or dynamic equivalent. This is a Bible that is easier to read and tries to make some of the cultural differences understandable. For a young person, or a New Christian this is definitely the type of Bible that I would recommend. It is much more important that we read the Bible than just own a Bible that has all of the nitty gritty problems exposed. The readable English and clear thought patterns of this kind of a Bible make this kind of a translation an important addition to anyone's spiritual life.

My honest recommendation for anyone who is serious about their faith is to buy more than one Bible. Buy one of the word for word translations for serious Bible study. But buy one of the thought for thought translations for your personal devotions and try to read all the way through it. As it says in Second Timothy; All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17 NRSV)

The following chart lists some of the more popular translations. It is arranged in order with the more word for word translations at the top and the thought for thought, easy to read translations at the bottom. Remember that all of these Bibles have their good points and bad points. What is important is that you get a Bible that is easy for you to use that you like. No Bible will do you any good if you don't read it.

Bible Translations
(From most word for word to least)
Word for Word Thought for thought
(Concordant) (Dynamic Equivalent)
New King James New International version
New American Standard Good News .
New Revised Standard Contemporary English Version
The Living Bible

The translation that is used for the readings in our Church is the New Revised Standard. It represents one of the best balances between readability and direct translation that I have found. It is not however always the easiest to understand. Remember, the Bible that you like to read is the best Bible for you. What is most important is not the Bible that you choose to read but the time that you spend with God reading the Bible.

Pastor Jim Bliss
October 2009