Which Bible translation should I read?

Scripture & How We Got ItIn theological review

The short answer

Read the accurate translation you will actually read daily and understand. For most readers that means a balanced version such as the Berean Standard Bible or the English Standard Version for study, with a more literal version such as the King James, New King James, or New American Standard Bible to compare, because each translation's own preface states the same shared aim in different words.

The fuller answer

Start with the aim every serious translation states in its own preface. The Berean Standard Bible presents itself as a clear, accurate rendering for everyday reading and study. The King James translators said they sought a faithful translation for the whole church. The English Standard Version describes an essentially literal approach. The New King James updates the King James language while keeping its textual base, and the New American Standard Bible stresses close literal accuracy. Price and format play a small honest part too, since a large print edition faithfully used serves a reader with weak eyes better than a fine edition left unopened at home.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1 (BSB)

John 1:1 shows the trade-off plainly. A literal rendering keeps the striking repetition that the Word was with God and the Word was God, in wording close to the Greek. A freer rendering may smooth the sentence so a new reader grasps it at once, at the cost of some of that exact shape. Neither aim is dishonest. The question is whether you need a study text, a first reading text, or both side by side. Churches help by preaching from a stated translation, so hearers can follow along, while still encouraging comparison at home when wording differs between versions on the shelf.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalm 119:105 (KJV)

A practical rule follows. Choose one main translation, read it whole books at a time, and compare one or two others when a verse is hard. Accuracy matters, and the best scholars and teams have made several trustworthy options available. A translation gathering dust helps no one, so clarity you understand beats prestige you avoid. Careful handling of the word, not loyalty to a single version, is the biblical mark.

Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 (BSB)

One last test may help the undecided reader. Read the same three chapters, perhaps Luke 15, Psalm 23 in its numbering as a whole psalm, and Romans 8 as a chapter, in two candidate translations, and note which one you understood without help and wanted to continue. Then commit to it for a year. Familiarity with one translation builds memory, cross reference skill, and affection for the text itself. Changing versions constantly is like changing maps mid journey. Depth in one good translation, checked occasionally against others, serves most Christians best.

Sources

Berean Standard Bible (BSB)
Prefaces of the BSB, KJV, ESV, NKJV and NASB translations

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Dig deeper

No answer here is a dead end. Follow the question on, test it in practice, or work the method yourself on the Dig deeper page.

Why do Bible translations differ?Bible translations differ because they are made from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek originals into a changing English language, and translators must choose, phrase by phrase, between staying close to the original wording and making the sense clear in natural English. Differences in wording are usually translation choices, not changes to the underlying text.How should a beginner start reading the Bible?Start with the Gospel of Luke, then read Acts for the story of the first church, then Genesis for the beginning of everything, then the Psalms for prayer, reading a chapter or two a day and asking what each passage says about God and about Jesus. That path gives a new reader the centre of the faith first, in plain order, without getting lost.Why are some verses missing in newer Bibles?Some verses are absent, bracketed, or footnoted in newer Bibles because those Bibles are translated from the oldest Greek manuscripts, such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, which do not contain certain phrases found in later manuscripts. Nothing is being hidden: modern editions print notes showing exactly where the manuscripts differ.How do we know the Bible is God's word?Because the Bible claims it, Jesus treated it that way, and the evidence we can test supports taking the claim seriously. Paul calls all Scripture God-breathed. Jesus said the Scripture cannot be broken, and argued his whole mission out of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Christians receive the Bible as God's word on the testimony of the God-man who rose from the dead.How We Got the Bible: Can we trust the text?No originals, many copies, and a thousand-year test: how the text was carried, and what the differences between copies actually are.