Which Bible Version is Best?

by Travis L Quertermous

From The Reminder, June 12, 2011

2011 is the 400th anniversary of the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. It is so named because it was commissioned by King James I of England and was first printed in 1611. Without a doubt, the KJV is the most influential English translation of God’s word that has ever been produced. For over 300 years, the KJV was basically the only English version of the Bible available to people, but today we have a virtual alphabet soup of translations to pick from. A question I am often asked is which one is the best one?

Translation is an extremely complex process. The Bible was originally inspired of God in three languages: the OT in Hebrew and Aramaic and the NT in Greek. In choosing a reliable English version one needs to look for basically two things. First and most important is accuracy of translation. The second factor after accuracy in choosing a Bible is readability. I always recommend the New King James Version when asked about this matter. It is what I preach and teach from. I believe it is an ideal combination of accuracy and readability. The old KJV is still a very good Bible as are the American Standard Version, New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version. But because no version is perfect, one should keep a variety of translations to compare and contrast. This will often pinpoint mistakes in translation.

Looser versions like the New International Version and paraphrases like “The Message,” no matter how popular they may be, simply take too many liberties with the Bible and should be avoided. Be sure you choose an accurate version of the Bible, then read and obey it so that heaven might be your eternal home one day.