The English Bible

The debate over which is the best version of the English Bible still rages (see The King James Only Controversy: Can you Trust the Modern Translations? by James R. White [Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1995]). My personal preferences, in order of priority, are:

    The English Standard Version—Published by Crossway Bibles (Wheaton, IL). This is the finest English translation I know of. It maintains the accuracy of the NASB (see below) and the fluid and readable style of the NIV. I encourage you to visit www.desiringgod.org, the website of John Piper, for an excellent endorsement of the ESV.

    The New American Standard Bible (NASB)—Published by the Lockman Foundation in 1971, this is a revision by evangelical scholars of the American Standard Version of 1901. It is the most literal of all English translations. Some people believe it reproduces too mechanically Greek word order and verb tenses.

    The New International Version (NIV)—This freer translation was produced by over 100 evangelical scholars. In my opinion, whereas it is good for devotional reading (and preaching) it is too much of a paraphrase to be helpful in exegetical study.

    The King James Version (KJV; also referred to as the Authorized Version or AV)—This version was released in 1611. It is prized because of its literary beauty, but is generally believed to be based on inferior Greek manuscripts. The New King James is much easier to read.

    Revised Standard Version (RSV)—According to Black, “the Revised Standard Version … sought to combine the accuracy of the English and American revised versions of 1881 and 1901, the literary quality of the KJV, and the style and idiom of contemporary English” (39). Although some fundamentalists have criticized it for allegedly diminishing the deity of Christ (cf. Mk. 15:39 [“a son of God” rather than “the Son of God”]; but see Titus 2:13), it is generally quite good.

    The New Living Bible (1996), The Living Bible (1971) and The Phillips Translation (1958) are both paraphrased rather than strictly translations.



Storms, Sam. 2016. Biblical Studies: How to Interpret the Bible. Edmond, OK: Sam Storms.