On My Use of Bible Translations

One question that I am sometimes asked is, “Which Bible translation do you prefer?” Those who hear me preach or teach, or who read the variety of materials I post online, see that I use multiple translations. So which ones do I use the most, and which do I prefer?

In my sermon summaries I use the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), since this is the version I use when I preach at my church. This follows a long-standing practice of mine, which is to preach from the Bible translation that used by the church as the pew Bible. I do that so that if a visitor comes in, especially someone who may be unchurched, they will read the same thing I read from the pulpit. The HCSB is a decent translation, and is becoming widely used in Southern Baptist circles.

My preferred translation is the New International Version (NIV). I use the 1984 revision. There is a new revision (2011), but I haven’t really had a chance to evaluate it yet. I have found that some passages are significantly different from the 1984 version, and since I have memorized many passages in the NIV from the 1984 version I’ll stick with that for a while.

For study and sermon preparation, I compare five English translations, as well as looking at the original languages to the extent of my ability. I start with the HCSB and NIV, then add the New American Standard Bible (NASB), which is somewhat more literal; the World English Bible (WEB), which is based on the very literal American Standard Version (ASV) of 1901; and the New English Translation or NETBible, which provides extensive translation notes. Used together, these translations provide a very good cross-section that really gets at the meaning of the text.

Why not the KJV? I grew up with the KJV, and the beauty and formality of the language makes for wonderful reading. However, the English language has changed so much in four centuries that the language of the KJV is difficult for modern readers to understand. There are some good modern updates of the KJV, but I prefer translations built off an eclectic text, since in my studies I have concluded that these texts give us the best opportunity to recover the original text of the authors.

So you can expect to see several translations in the materials I write. Using multiple translations helps me understand Scripture better, and I highly recommend the practice to everyone who wants to seriously study the Bible in English.