Joyful Moments in Christ

Finding the best version of the Bible to read is a subjective matter, and there is no definitive answer. Some Bibles prioritize readability, others emphasize accuracy, and some believe that older versions are superior. If you are a blogger you may have the additional complication of the need to comply with Bible copyright laws. Fortunately, there is a Bible available for every individual regardless of their preferences and needs.

A Summary of 7 Bible Translations

Here is a comparison of 7 different Bible translations: the New International Version (NIV), the English Standard Version (ESV), the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), the Good News Translation (GNT), the New Living Translation (NLT), and the Message (MSG)

New International Version (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

John 3:16-18 (NIV)

The New International Version (NIV) of the Bible is the most popular English translation. The translators focused on staying true to the intent of the original language, trying to do literal translation in most cases, but adding in a little thought for thought translation to improve readability where needed. It is intended to be written at a 7th-8th grade reading level, making it a very appropriate choice for most adults.

While I generally prefer a pure literal translation, the NIV is often my choice for the Psalms or other passages that benefit from better readability.

English Standard Version (ESV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John 3:16-18 (ESV)

In the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible, the translators decided that they wanted a more literal translation of the Bible and sacrificed some readability to get this. You will notice that this version uses the words “but in order that the world might be saved through him,” where the NIV version uses the words “but to save the world through him.” By shortening the end of the sentence, the NIV is more readable, but the ESV is more true to the original. This results in a higher reading level and the ESV is estimated to be appropriate for 10th graders.

This is the Bible that I read most often. If you value the idea that the words you are reading are as close to the original Bible source as possible, this is a great translation. You will have to work a bit harder to understand the meaning, but again, this is a great choice for most adults.

Note: The good news is that I recently received permission to use the ESV on my website as long as each post uses less than 50 verses, no more than 50% of any given book of the Bible, and less than 25% of the total words! I am also allowed to use 1-3 verses on my non-commercial images that I publish on social media, as long as I label them with (ESV). I’m looking forward to using this wonderful version of the Bible on my blog!

World English Bible (WEB)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

John 3:16-18 (WEB)

The World English Bible (WEB) may not have achieved widespread recognition, yet, like the ESV, it places a strong emphasis on literal translation. Explore more about this translation on its Wikipedia article.

What distinguishes the WEB is that it addresses a common concern for authors—many modern English Bible translations are constrained by stringent copyright laws. This poses a particular challenge for people like me who desire to seamlessly integrate extensive biblical passages into their work. As a blogger, the World English Bible stands out as a great choice. Its absence of copyright restrictions empowers me to effortlessly incorporate scripture into my posts without fear of infringement, offering a smoother and more accessible experience for my readers.

A tip for fellow bloggers: Interestingly, many Bible publishers categorize a website as a “complete work.” Typically, most publishers allow quoting up to 500 verses on any given “work,” along with additional restrictions. Navigating copyright issues, it is good to be mindful of these limitations when integrating biblical content. Ensuring compliance with copyright regulations is important. For links to copyright permissions for various Bible translations, please scroll to the bottom of this page

New Living Translation (NLT)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever. For God did not send His Son into the world to say it is guilty. He sent His Son so the world might be saved from the punishment of sin by Him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.

John 3:16-18 (NLT)

While the ESV and WEB versions of the Bible could be considered a literal translation, and the NIV version of the Bible could be considered a literal translation with some deviation for readability, the New Living Translation (NLT) of the Bible is considered a thought for thought translation. The authors decided that the author’s intent of a passage was more important than the exact words. This gives the NLT version a higher readability score and is considered a 6th grade reading level.

You will notice that the phrase “whoever believes in him” is replaced with “whoever puts his trust in God’s Son.” While both are true and accurate, the NLT can be quite helpful in understanding what the words actually mean. There is some danger that the translators will get the intent wrong, but it is not nearly as dangerous as a paraphrase Bible.

I tend to prefer a more literal translation, but if you value readability and are struggling with the NIV, this is an excellent translation that stays true to the original text of the Bible from a thought for thought standpoint.

King James Version (KJV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:16-18 (KJV)

Some people really like the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible due to the fact that it has been used by Christians for hundreds of years, but this is also one of the major problems with the KJV. When this particular translation was first published in 1611, the English language was quite different from today. In this particular passage, we see words like begotten, believeth, and hath, but some verses have even harder words than these. If you are taking a college course in Middle English, this translation may be a great choice, but for the average adult, the language is at a 12th grade reading level and is likely to cause more problems than it is worth.

Additionally, there are quite a few errors in translation in the KJV. More modern translations had teams of people working on them and they made careful checks before publishing. The KJV process was not nearly as thorough, and there are more translation errors than most people consider acceptable. Further, some of these errors are due to the source that was used to translate. The authors used a mediocre Greek translation of the Bible as their main source, which means that many of the passages were first translated from another language to Greek, and then from Greek to English. Any errors in the first translation could be compounded in the second.

It is my advice that this version not be used as a primary Bible.

Good News Translation (GNT)

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior. Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God’s only Son.

John 3:16-18 (GNT )

The Good News Translation (GNT) of the Bible is written at a 4th-6th grade reading level and is appropriate for people who may struggle with complex vocabulary or sentence structure. Like the NLT, this is another thought for thought translation Bible. In this passage, we see that the phrase “to condemn the world” is replaced with “to be its judge.” The phrase “but to save the world through him” is replaced with “but to be its savior.” Both the word choice and the phrasing is much more readable.

This translation has some very good uses and I would highly recommend it for children or English language learners, but like the NLT, once this stage has passed, another version will likely be much better. As referenced in 1 Corinthians 3:2, milk is appropriate for babies, but eventually they need solid food; it is the same with reading the Bible.

While there are definitely times where this is a fantastic choice of Bible, as a child becomes an adult or as English skills improve, a different translation will be able to provide much more precision and subtlety. For example, in the GNT version, the word “happy” is often used in place of “blessed.” It is sort of the same, but blessed is a much better word with significantly richer meaning. Despite these concerns, I delighted in using this translation when reading the Bible to my children, and I often use it while teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. My students greatly appreciate that they can better understand what they are reading!

Additional Reading: English Language Learner Resources

The Message (MSG)

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

John 3:16-18 (MSG)

The Message translation is a “paraphrase” Bible and drives me a bit crazy. The author both translates and interprets the Bible, all while passing it off as God’s word. While there are plenty of very nice Christians who disagree with me, I feel that in the end, this translation goes a step too far and isn’t really God’s word, but the author’s interpretation of God’s word. There is value in his interpretation, but fundamentally, I don’t like the principle of calling it a Bible.

In the ESV version, the most literal translation in my list, Deuteronomy 4:2 says, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.” I take this to mean that adding your own interpretation to the words of the Bible, and then calling those words the word of God, is a direct violation of this command. It’s really too bad that the author didn’t call his work something other than a Bible translation.

You can have your own opinion, and maybe my conscience is weak, but I refuse to use this so-called Bible.

Reflection Questions

As you think about which Bible translation is best for you, consider the following questions:

• Do I value literal translation or thought by thought translation? Why?
• How strong is my English vocabulary?
• Do I enjoy struggling with difficult words or phrases?
• Consider reading your favorite chapter of the Bible in a few of the translations above. Which translation did you find the most enjoyable and edifying?

Respond

As you consider the theme of Bible translation, which Bible translation do you read and why? Take this survey to share your answers with us. You can view the results here.

Related Resources

Visit the Joyful Moments in Christ homepage for all posts, or scroll through other blog posts related to reading the Bible:

English Standard Version (ESV): Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

World English Bible (WEB): Scripture quotations marked (WEB) are taken from the World English Bible® public domain.

New International Version (NIV): Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Good News Translation (GNT): Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are taken from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

New Living Translation (NLT): Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

King James Version (KJV): Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Bible public domain.

The Message (MSG): Scripture quotations marked (MSG) are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.