Bible Versions: What is the Best Bible Translation? by David Malcolm Bennett
As part of my journey I also worked in the Bible Society Bookshop in Brisbane, Australia, for over twelve years. This exposed me to a host of different Bible translations and a wonderful variety of customers with all sorts of views on the subject.
The King James-Only Debate
Many people brought up on the KJV have been happy to let it go, as I did. That does not necessarily mean that any of them respect it less. The primarily reason for letting the KJV go is that language has changed so dramatically in the past four hundred years that in many places it is very hard to understand and, worse, easy to misunderstand. Many of us have therefore adopted more recent translations, written in modern English.
“Suddenly, the words seemed to leap from that page and I understood very well what they meant about sin, salvation and the Lord of that salvation. Suddenly, I found the Bible exciting and challenging.”
Different Methods of Translation
As necessary background to the various versions, we first need to examine the different methods of translation. There are two main approaches to translating the Bible: “formal equivalence” and “dynamic equivalence”, though these are not generally used exclusively. In its most extreme form the formal method translates very literally, attempting to translate each word accurately. The dynamic method does pay attention to the individual words but is more interested in the question what is this sentence or passage saying? It is more concerned with the translation of a whole portion, than it is about individual words. This means that the formal approach tends to give a generally literal, sometimes rather wooden, translation, while the dynamic method results in a less literal, though livelier version.
In reality no major English translation is totally formal or literal in its approach. Much of it would be unreadable if it was. Probably the New American Standard (NASB) is the most literal of the popular versions. Nor are any genuine translations totally dynamic. The Good News Bible (GNB) and the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are the best examples of the dynamic approach. Paraphrases such as the Living Bible and The Message are more extremely dynamic, and, frankly, are only to be used with great caution.
Translators generally use a mixture of the formal and dynamic methods. They note the specific words and try to understand them individually, but words appear in sentences, in contexts, and must be understood by the words, sentences and ideas that surround them. Sometimes a literal approach does not translate into good English, so a more dynamic approach is called for. Some translators lean towards one method, while others lean towards the other. Translators may favor the method that they consider best for a particular verse or passage.2
What is the Best Bible Translation?
Is there a “Best Bible Translation” in English? Well, yes, I am sure there is, but I suspect that the only one who knows its identity is God Himself. Fortunately, there are a number of quality English translations, for which we should be grateful. One of these may be best for one person, while a different version may be better for someone else.
Category: Biblical Studies, Pneuma Review, Spring 2013