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So many Bibles, but which one to choose?
Question: "I need a Bible, but I’m not sure which one is best for me. This is the first Bible study I have ever done."
E-mail question, Wisconsin
ATP: There are so many good options out there in the Bible marketplace that if a person is new to the process it can be very confusing.
Let me begin with the issue of translations first.
The New International Version (NIV) and the New American Standard version (NAS) are probably the industry standards right now. They have overtaken the King James Verson in popularity because of their ease of reading by comparison.
The NIV is the most widely used of the new translations, but for my money the NASV is more accurate. I have both and use both.
The NAS combines readability with accuracy as well as anything out there, and is probably the most accurate translation available today. I use the NIV in public services most of the time, however, simply because a larger number of people use that version.
As for specific Bibles to purchase, I have usually recommended these two:
The Ryrie Study Bible or the Life Application Bible.
Either of these can be purchased in the NIV or the NASV. What makes them different and helpful from just a Bible alone, is the addition of study notes and background material. You’ll want to look them over to see which kind of notes are more helpful to you personally.
There is a third Bible to recommend that may well be better than either of these, in terms of notes--although I hasten to add that you can't go wrong with any of the three.
It is the NASB Study Bible by Zondervan.
My daughter is a junior at a Christian college and this is the one the college recommended for students to use. It is excellent and I may soon be purchasing one.
If a person is looking for Greek/Hebrew background helps, there is a great Bible available called, The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible. It was edited by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., and is published by AMG publishers.
You don't have to be familar with Greek or Hebrew to use the helps that are available. Bible verses have numbers beside certain words. Those numbers are the numbers of word definitions which can be found at the back of the Bible. This is an excellent tool and one I highly recommend that a person own.
In a Christianity 101 class I have taught, I usually begin the first session with a discussion of translations. Included in that discussion is a handout that I will paste in here below. It contains some thoughts on differing translations.
In some cases people criticize translations for not being "accurate" without understanding the style of translation the translators were attempting to produce. Hopefully the information below will be of help to you in understanding translations and why they were written as they are.
There are two sections in the handout: A list of translations under headings of the style of translation the translators intended their version to be; and then some additional comments about versions to consider for purchase.
CHRISTIANITY 101
TRANSLATION GUIDE TO SOME POPULAR ENGLISH BIBLES
STRICTLY LITERAL:
New American Standard Bible (NASV)
LITERAL:
New King James Version (KJV)
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
New American Bible (NAB)
LITERAL WITH FREEDOM TO BE IDIOMATIC:
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
THOUGHT-FOR-THOUGHT:
New International Version (NIV)
New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
Revised English Bible (REB)
DYNAMIC EQUIVALENT (MODERN SPEECH):
Today’s English Version
PARAPHRASTIC:
The Living Bible (TLB)
[Adapted from: Philip W. Comfort, The Complete Guide to Bible Versions, (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1991.]
Some Suggested Study Bible Versions
(This is just a short list of the many that are helpful)
What makes a Bible a study Bible, is simply the inclusion of notes, maps and other helps, by the author/publisher to help the reader study the Bible more effectively.
Study Bibles can often be purchased in differing translations. Thus a study Bible of the same name--the Ryrie Study Bible for example--can come in more than one translation of the Biblical text.
So when you purchase a study Bible, be sure it is in the translation that you are looking for.
Life Application Study Bible (NAS or NIV) (Tyndale/Zondervan publishers) Very popular Bible, with excellent study helps included.
Ryrie Study Bible (NAS or NIV)(Moody Press) Excellent Study Bible, filled with study helps and cross references.
The NIV Study Bible (Zondervan) Excellent study notes.
The NIV Teen Study Bible also from Zondervan is available for teens. It includes many interesting features that are helpful to teens and new believers. Worth looking at for your kids.
The NAS Study Bible (Zondervan) The same excellent study notes as the NIV Study Bible, but combined with the NAS translation
The Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible (NIV) (also: The Complete Word Study New Testament) both edited by Spiros Zodhiates, (AMG publishers) Extremely helpful Bibles for simple original language study. Does not contain as many extra notes as other study Bibles. Key feature is language help, not history, background information or explanatory notes.
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