Bible Translations

OVERVIEW

When it comes to choosing the best Bible translation for your study of God's Word, there are a few things to keep in mind. You want to choose a translation that accurately presents the Word of God. We never want to twist Scripture, either intentionally or unintentionally. So we also want to be careful that we're choosing translations that have been diligently worked on by councils of scholars, whose hearts are to accurately present the Bible in a “translation” we can understand. 

When the Bible is translated from its original languages (a combination of biblical Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek) into another language, like English, there are two primary types of Bible “translations”: dynamic equivalence and literal (or formal) equivalence as well as a third, hybrid type often called optimal equivalence.

Dynamic equivalence (sometimes also called functional equivalence) means that the translation is primarily focused on providing an equivalent meaning of words or phrases from the original text. This type of translation is not word-for-word, but rather emphasizes the idea or intended meaning of the writer (who was writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit). This means that a dynamic equivalence translation is more like a paraphrase of the original text. 

Examples of dynamic equivalence translations are: 
New Living Translation (NLT)
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Good News Translation (GNT)


Literal (or formal) equivalence translations take a more rigid, word-for-word approach to translating the original languages of the text. 

When studying the Bible, my preferred translation style is a literal translation such as the English Standard Version (ESV) or the New King James Version (NKJV). I prefer this type off translation because while it takes longer for me to study through (often using study tools like commentaries, Bible dictionaries, lexicons and other resources), I don’t have to worry that the translated text I’m reading has been paraphrased incorrectly, by a well meaning modern translator. 

Examples of literal equivalence translations are: 
English Standard Version (ESV)
New King James Version (NKJV)
King James (KJV)
New American Standard (NASB)

A literal (or formal) translation does not have the same risk of paraphrasing God’s Word as it is not trying to fit the original text into a contemporary/modern tone. A dynamic equivalence text, while seemingly “easier to read” may lose some of the original meaning including references to important cultural customs or well known sayings (like Jewish idioms) that were commonly used at the time the original text was written. 

In addition to dynamic equivalence and literal equivalence, there is a third type of Bible translation that might best be described as a hybrid of the two primary types: optimal equivalence. In this third hybrid style, preference is given to word-for-word literal translation, but in situations where there is no equivalent word or phrase available then a paraphrase or dynamic equivalence is used. 

Examples of optimal translations are: 
New International Version (NIV)
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
New English Translation (NET)


Another style you may come across are books like The Message by Eugene Peterson. The Message is not a translation and it’s not really even a paraphrase of the Bible. While many readers find that it makes the text more accessible to our modern style of speech, it does not accurately reflect God’s Word in the original text and should not be used as a primary Bible for reading and study. 

This is also true of The Passion Translation, which although the title suggests, is NOT an accurate translation of God’s Word. 

It is always advisable when choosing a Bible translation to choose a version that has been translated by a group of scholarly translators, as opposed to a single person.

As you make a daily, disciplined, diligent study of God’s Word it’s a good idea to use multiple translations of the Bible. When you come across a verse or passage you are struggling with, try reading it in multiple translations. Reading the same verse translated in a variety of styled can help you to form a better understanding of the concept the Holy Spirit was conveying through the biblical writers. A good tool to use is BibleHub.com, which will allow you to type in a Bible address (book, chapter and verse) or even search by word for a verse or passage. Then the results will provide you with multiple translations on a single screen. 

Want to know more? Check out this helpful and quick article from GotQuestions.org: What is Dynamic Equivalence in Bible Translation?