Category: Scripture

Every so often somebody will ask me about which translation of the Bible do I recommend. Although there are exceptions to this, I usually recommend one of two translations. It depends on what they are going to be using the Bible for.

Read or Study?

There are two basic uses of the Bible. The first use is to read the Bible. The second use is to study the Bible. And there is, in my opinion, a best translation for each of these practices.

New International Version

For reading the Bible, I recommend the New International Version (2011). I think it is in modern English, it is fairly accurate, and it is easy for most people to read. It is currently the best-selling Bible translation.

New Revised Standard Version

For studying the Bible, I recommend the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (2021). That is because I think this is the most accurate and scholarly translation. But admittedly, the translation uses more difficult words and requires a larger vocabulary. Therefore, it requires a little more work.

So there you have it. If you’re looking to read the Bible, get the NIV. If you’re looking to study the Bible, get the NRSVue.

The Bible is a unique book. Its words are human, but its message is Divine. It is, in a sense, an incarnation.

Just as Jesus’ body was nothing special (Isa. 53:2). So too, the words of the Bible are nothing special. They are human words. And many stumble at this. They read it literally, not spiritually.

But as Jesus was both God and man, so too the Bible is both human and Divine. The message is not contained in the words, it’s conveyed by the words. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Do not read and interpret the Bible as you would any other book. Its message is spiritual. As Paul said, “we speak… in words… taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spirituals” (1 Cor. 2:13).

And because the Bible is a spiritual book, “But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14 NASB).