A number of years ago, a cartoon had the unlikely subject of a group of fleas sitting in what appeared to be a large pillared lecture hall, listening to an impassioned speech from a flea behind a podium. On the podium was a sign reading “There is no dog!” – and it became clear that the “pillars” of the lecture hall were, in fact, the hairs of a dog seen at the same magnified size as the fleas!
So the subjects of the cartoon were obviously “Afleists” who did not believe that dog existed, but the context was not one in any way suggesting that human atheists who don’t believe God exists were to be equated with fleas – it was simply looking wryly at the idea of how it is possible to be very unaware of things around us.
The cartoon might remind us of the apostle Paul’s words to the learned philosophers of Athens regarding the creation of all things by God: “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:27-28).
Like those earnest fleas debating the dog’s existence among the very hairs of the dog, we humans sometimes “don’t see the forest for the trees” when it comes to seeing the nature of the ultimate reality in which we live. But religious people can be no less susceptible to this problem than atheists or agnostics. We may not ignore the clear imprint of the Creator in the physical creation, but the problem of not seeing the forest for the trees can apply to us in a different way, nonetheless.
We read in the Gospel of Mark the story of how shortly after performing great miracles in which Jesus fed the multitudes: “The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ‘Be careful,’ Jesus warned them. ‘Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.’ They discussed this with one another and said, ‘It is because we have no bread’” (Mark 8:14-16).
When Jesus realized the disciples’ lack of vision in this situation, he chastised them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see …” (Mark 8:17).
In this situation, the disciples missed the meaning of Christ’s message by looking too closely at their own circumstances, the details of their own situation. Sometimes we can make the same mistake: we miss the message because we take it too personally.
It is often said that when studying the Bible we should always ask “How does this verse apply to me?” That is indeed a useful principle of personal study, but we should also be careful not to let our study of the Bible become self-absorbed to the point that we miss the bigger picture that is sometimes there. It is always good to remember that we are not the subject of the Bible, and that God is. The Bible is not just the revelation from God, it is primarily the revelation about God. Our study should also ask the question “What does this verse show about God?” If we study only to see what applies to us and to others, we can miss the message that is of forest-size proportions by concentrating only on what applies to some of the trees.
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General courses are available on the Old and New Testament, as well as a more focused course on the Old Testament Wisdom Books – with more courses being planned. Significantly, all course materials – including e-textbooks – are provided for free and there are no charges of any kind. If desired, an optional final exam can be taken online and a personalized certificate of completion is provided for all passing grades. Here are two sample comments from students:
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You need only compare a color TV with a black and white TV, or an old black and white movie with a more recent color film, to know how much color can add to our visual experience. Now the same can be said of Bibles!
Although “red letter” Bibles – where the words of Jesus are printed in red type – have been made for some time and may be somewhat helpful, they are a bit like black and white TV’s with only one extra color. In the past year or two, however, the world of Bible publishing has been revolutionized by the offering of color-coded Bibles – Bibles in which the text is printed with colored highlighting – in the same way that our Bibles look if we use colored pencils or markers to highlight different scripture topics.
The great advantage of a printed Bible that already has color-coded text, of course, is that the color coding is complete throughout the whole Bible. It saves the reader countless hours of carefully marking up verses – time that can often be better spent reading and reflecting on the word – not to mention the fact that printed colors invariably look better than hand marked ones!
Color-coded Bibles have many other advantages: they help us better understand the organization and key subjects of the biblical text, and they can be especially useful for topical study – reading all the texts highlighted in a single color that marks the theme we are studying. On a passage-by-passage basis this can be important – we often see that there was more to what we read than we had previously thought. Seeing the color-differentiated blocks of text can be a wonderful advantage. It provides a built-in analysis of each passage and helps us to follow the message that is being developed in a given biblical book.
About the only drawback of printed color-coded Bibles (and it is a minor one) is that we must use the color categories that the publisher has chosen. Perhaps we would have chosen different categories or themes. On the other hand, modern color-coded Bibles are produced with up to a dozen or so well-thought-out themes. Additionally, using a slightly different color-coding system than we are used to or might have chosen ourselves can often stimulate us to see things in ways we would not otherwise have done.
A number of color-marked Bibles are now available, but the difference in quality between them can be surprising. The most important aspect of these Bibles, of course, is how well they differentiate key subjects. Some color-coded versions of the Scriptures utilize only a few different colors and are not very helpful as they have to cram too many types of text into each color. Others fail because they do not choose subjects that are truly helpful for study.
The best color-coded versions we have found are the “Rainbow Study Bibles” produced by Holman Bibles. These Bibles are available in the excellent Christian Standard Bible* and also the King James Version and the New International Version at this time. The Rainbow Bibles utilize twelve colors, which allows for an effective differentiation of most types of text, and the subject categories covered by each color are clear and logical. The twelve colors represent: God, discipleship, love, faith, sin, evil, salvation, family, outreach, commandments, history, and prophecy.
As an added bonus, these study Bibles include maps, notes, over 100,000 cross-references, a concordance, a harmony of the Gospels, a reading plan, and other helps. The original translator’s notes are also included under the last verse on each page. They primarily consist of alternate Hebrew and Greek renderings. Refreshingly, the additional material in these Bibles focuses on background information rather than theological speculation.
Finally, the Rainbow Study Bibles are available in both printed and electronic forms, so they allow study of the Scriptures on either the page or the screen, according to preference and need. Overall, we rate them among the best Bibles for personal study available at this time – especially because color really does add to the experience of effective Bible study.
*Download our free E-Book Which Bible Should I Use? How to Choose the Best Translation for Your Needs, here
A new, revised, and expanded edition of one of our more popular downloads – Spotlight on the Psalms: A Closer Look at One of the Bible’s Best-Loved Books – by R. Herbert, is now available for free download.
Psalms is the Old Testament book most often quoted in the New Testament and most frequently read today. The new second edition of Spotlight on the Psalms includes more biblical, cultural, and even archaeological background information to enrich this practical commentary that can help you to better understand the psalms and better apply their messages in your own life.
Download a free copy of this new edition in the format of your choice, from our sister-site, here.
It’s often said that the best Bible is the one you will read. But given that basic truth, some Bible translations are better than others. Some translations make studying easier and more enjoyable, some are easier to memorize, and some are more accurate and profitable to study – getting as close as possible to what the biblical writers wrote and helping us to better understand their message.
That’s where our new, free, e-book comes in. Which Bible Should I Use? is designed and written to help you choose and use the best translation for your needs – and that could be one you have not heard of before. On the other hand, perhaps the best Bible for you is the one you are using now. But even if it is, this book may be worth your time by helping you to assess the version you are using, to know more about its strengths and limitations, and to get the most from it. You may also discover other translations in this book that complement the Bible you are now using – for even greater understanding and engagement with the Scriptures!
Take your Bible study up a notch – download this new book directly (without registration or having to give an email address) in formats for computer, e-book reader, or smartphone – here.
If we don’t read the original languages in which the books of the Bible were written – Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek – we need a translation, and even scholars who can read those languages often don’t read all of them, so ultimately everyone needs or can profit from a good translation.
But there are literally dozens of Bible translations or “versions” available in English – how can you choose the “best” one for your purposes? This article briefly considers some of the most widely used and recommended English translations and gives a number of pointers to help you select a good one for your own needs.
1. No Perfect Translation. First, we need to realize that there is no such thing as a “perfect” translation, although some are certainly much less imperfect than others. We often need to choose a translation based on our specific needs – perhaps an easy reading version for daily study or perhaps a more precise, though not as easy to read version to check scriptures regarding doctrine or important details. Ideally, we might find a single translation that works well for both needs, but often it is a good idea to have two translations (see point 2) if possible, and we should check several translations to decide important questions.
2. Words vs. Thoughts. Next, it’s important to understand that translation can be done in two ways – what we might call a “word-for-word” (technically called the “formal equivalence“) approach, versus a “meaning for meaning” or “phrase for phrase” (“dynamic equivalence”) approach. While an exact word for word translation might seem desirable, we can’t always do that without actually clouding the meaning. For example, the Hebrew Bible uses the expression “God’s nostrils enlarged” and even the King James Version, a “word-for-word” translation, had to use a meaning for meaning approach for this expression which means “God became angry.” On the other hand, while this approach works for translating idioms, if we just translate for “meaning” all the time, we run the risk of the translator’s understanding of the meaning entering into the picture, so that what is translated is not really in the text at all. The New International Version, for example, translates Ephesians 6:6 to say that slaves should “Obey [their masters] not only to win their favor…” But the word “only” is not in the original Greek, and this addition changes the meaning considerably. More extreme “meaning” based versions such as the Living Bible or The Message Bible are really paraphrases – often using different words entirely to try to convey the meaning. While they are easy reading, these are not usually recommended for serious study.
3. Balancing Act. One way we can balance accuracy with readability is to use two translations – a word-for-word version such as the English Standard Version, and a more dynamic version such as the New International Version. While this approach might work well in theory, in practice it is often tedious and time consuming to have to switch back and forth between versions when we just want to read. However, some recent English versions try to balance between formal and dynamic equivalence in their translation. The results are not always perfect, but some of these versions are very good. The Christian Standard Bible is one example, liked by many as it does a good job of carefully translating the meaning of a verse in a readable manner. The Berean Study Bible and New English Translation are also excellent versions of this type.
4.Safety in Numbers. It’s usually best to not choose a translation done by a single person or by a religious denomination as a primary study Bible, as the results are almost always going to be affected by the beliefs of the individual or group. Many translations by single individuals, while they may be very readable, are paraphrases which convey only the general meaning of a verse and simply cannot be trusted for accurate understanding. While it is often said that committees can never agree on anything important, the most trustworthy translations are nevertheless produced by large committees of biblical scholars who balance each other and try to arrive at the best understanding of the original meaning of the text. Most of the major translations mentioned in this article were produced by a large team of scholars – several of the teams being in excess of 100 members. Committee translations include the English Standard Version, Christian Standard Bible, New International Version and others.
5. Newer May be Better. The venerable King James Version, although much loved and still a wonderful version to read, is often hampered as a study Bible by its age. Sometimes it is because the English language has changed a lot since 1611 when the KJV was made. The word translated “conversation” in the KJV, for example, means “conduct” and unless we realize that we can misunderstand what is being said. Also, many ancient manuscripts of the Bible, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, have been found since 1611 which help clarify some difficult verses. As a result, the New King James Version, which maintains much of the beautiful language of the old KJV, updates the English where needed and includes manuscript evidence now available. On the other hand, some newer versions use gender inclusive language substitution (e.g., “person” for “man” or “they” for “he”). Sometimes this is helpful, but sometimes it changes the intended meaning and is misleading.
6. Older May be Good. The King James Version with its “thee” and “thou” forms is often very precise. “Thee,” “thou,” ”thy,” and “thine” refer to one person. “Ye” and “you” mean more than one person, so when a modern translation dispenses with the older forms of address we can lose meaning. For example, in the NKJV, Exodus 16:28 states: “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?’ “ which sounds like God is talking to Moses, whereas the old KJV “… How long refuse ye to keep my commandments…?’ ” shows God was actually talking about the Israelites in general. Modern translations must be careful with the lack of precision which is part of modern English.
7. Notes May or May Not Help. Many people like study bibles with lots of articles, notes, etc.; but there is little point in taking great care to choose an accurate translation then bringing in notes with information that may be dated, confusing or inaccurate. It’s certainly not a good idea to choose a Bible on the basis of its notes alone, and sometimes safer to just get a good version without a lot of additional material, especially if the notes are of a doctrinal nature. Important questions can be researched far more thoroughly in multiple commentaries and other more extensive works. Notes which show other translation possibilities are certainly useful, as are cross references to related scriptures, maps, and some other helps, but the quality of the translation itself should always be the main concern.
Putting It All Together. To reiterate what was said at the outset, no translation is perfect. Individual needs and circumstances must guide the selection of the “best” translation for each person and for particular uses, but the points given above should help in making choices. An excellent option, if possible, is to have a good word for word translation such as the English Standard Version or New King James Version and a version such as the New International Version or Christian Standard Bible closer to the thought for thought side of the spectrum. When the wording of a section of scripture needs to be studied in detail, however, it is still a good idea to consult a number of translations using resources such as the BibleHub.com or BibleGateway.com websites. You can use these sites to compare versions to find one that works well for you, and you can freely download several of the Bible versions discussed in this article, and others, from the FreeChristianEBooks.org website.
This chart shows the relative positions of some of the English versions discussed in this article across the spectrum of translation – from very literal to not literal at all. Generally speaking, while extreme thought for thought versions may be easy to read, a Bible on the word for word side of the spectrum, or in the center of the range, is recommended for serious study.
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