A question I am asked quite frequently is what version of the Bible is the one I should use? My answer is what are you looking for in a Bible?

Remember that the Bible was written in three languages, none of which was English! Therefore, translation is needed. There are basically three approaches to translating the Bible:

Word-for-Word: As much as possible, translators take each "word" from the original Greek or Hebrew text and find the closest English word to put in its place.

Thought-for-Thought: Translators take the "meaning" of the original language and rewrite it in modern language so it is easy to read and understand.

Paraphrase: This type of Bible is typical put together by a single person, instead of a team as is the case with the previous two types of translation. They reword the text and put it into contemporary language so that it is very easy to read and understand.

If you are a person who plans are really studying the Bible in a very calculated approach, then you will prefer a Word-for-Word translation. This type of Bible, because of its desire to be as close to the original as possible, may at times read a little choppy.

If your desire is to get a solid translation that is easy to read, then you need to pick up a Thought-for-Thought Bible.

A paraphrase is good for devotional reading. However, I do not recommend them as the primary Bible you will use. They make great complementary text for one of the previous two types of translations.
 


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