What's the best Bible translation?

Four ways to translate the Bible

Every English Bible sits somewhere on a line between two goals. At one end, a translation tries to mirror the words and grammar of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek as closely as English allows. This is called formal equivalence, or word-for-word translation. At the other end, it tries to say what each sentence means in natural modern English. This is functional or dynamic equivalence, often called thought-for-thought. Beyond that lies paraphrase, which retells the text freely in today's idiom.

No translation is purely one or the other. Word-for-word versions still rearrange word order so the English makes sense, and thought-for-thought versions still work from the original languages. The useful question is how far each one leans, and the publisher usually says so in the preface. The table below uses each publisher's own description where one exists.

Best for close, word-for-word study

If you want to see the structure of the original, trace a repeated word through a book, or follow a commentary that discusses the Greek, choose a formal translation. The New American Standard Bible from the Lockman Foundation (complete in 1971, updated in 1995 and 2020) describes itself as following a formal equivalence philosophy. The Legacy Standard Bible (2021) is a direct update of the NASB 1995 that translates key words as consistently as possible, prints God's covenant name as Yahweh and renders the Greek word doulos as slave.

The English Standard Version, published by Crossway in 2001, calls itself essentially literal: as close to the original wording as clear English allows. The New King James Version (1982) keeps the King James tradition and its Greek text while updating the English. The King James Version itself (1611) remains a word-for-word translation, although its four-hundred-year-old English adds a second layer of work for modern readers.

The trade-off is readability. The more closely a version follows Hebrew and Greek sentence structure, the stiffer it can feel, so it often helps to pair a formal translation with a more readable one.

Best for everyday reading

For reading whole books, devotional time or a yearly reading plan, a balanced or thought-for-thought translation keeps you moving. The Christian Standard Bible (2017) calls its method optimal equivalence and places itself between form-focused and meaning-focused translations. The New International Version (1978, last updated in 2011) says it balances transparency to the original with clarity of meaning, and its publisher puts it at an eighth-grade reading level. The New Living Translation (1996), which began as a revision of The Living Bible but was made as a fresh translation from Hebrew and Greek, is classified by its publisher, Tyndale, as dynamic equivalence.

Bible Gateway's translation guide rates the NLT at about a sixth-grade reading level, the NIV and CSB at about seventh grade, the ESV at tenth and the KJV at twelfth. Grade levels depend on the formula used, so treat them as rough guides rather than exact scores.

Best for reading aloud and church use

The King James Version was made to be heard: its 1611 title page says it was appointed to be read in churches. Crossway lists public reading and preaching among the intended uses of the ESV, and the NRSV Updated Edition, commissioned by the National Council of Churches and released in 2021, is designed for worship as well as study and scholarship across many traditions.

Some churches settle the question for you. In the United States, the Catholic Lectionary used at Mass is based on the New American Bible and is the only English lectionary permitted there. If you read Scripture aloud in a congregation, the most helpful choice is usually the translation your church already uses, so listeners can follow along.

Best for new readers

If you are new to the Bible, start with a translation you can understand without a dictionary, such as the NLT, NIV or CSB, and begin with one of the Gospels, such as Mark or John. The Message, completed in 2002, can be a lively companion, but its own publisher says Eugene Peterson never considered it a study Bible and presents it as a second Bible to read alongside a standard translation.

If you like traditional wording but want a modern text you are free to copy and share, the World English Bible is a public-domain revision of the 1901 American Standard Version in present-day English. Because it carries no copyright, it can be printed and quoted without permission.

Best for children

Young readers do best with a translation written for them. The New International Reader's Version adapts the NIV to a third-grade reading level with shorter sentences and simpler words; the first full NIrV Bible appeared in 1996. The International Children's Bible is also presented by its publisher's parent company as written at a third-grade level and translated from the Hebrew and Greek. As children grow, many move on to the NIV, NLT or CSB, and later to a word-for-word translation for study.

How to choose in four steps

A simple test works better than any ranking. For many readers, owning two translations, one formal and one readable, is a sensible answer.

• Name your main use: study, daily reading, reading aloud, or a child's first Bible.
• Read one familiar passage, such as Psalm 23 or John 1, in three translations side by side on a free comparison site.
• Open the preface: it tells you which Hebrew and Greek texts were used and how literal the translators set out to be.
• Check what your church or study group uses, so you can follow along together.