A Word on Bible Translations
Currently, I’m doing some research on Bible translations. When I finish I’ll update this post.
English speaking people are spoiled for Bible translations. There are many different translations available. These cover a range of translation philosophies that form a spectrum from Word for Word translations, through Essentially Literal translations, through Dynamic Equivalence translations through to Paraphrases.
There is some debate both in the academic community and amongst the average Christian regarding the merits and deficiencies of the various translation philosophies, or indeed about particular versions.
For the last 25 years I’ve used the New International Version (NIV) as my Bible. Why? Well, lets be pragmatic. 1. I got given one. 2. It was easier to read than the New American Standard Version (NASV) I grew up with. 3. Just about everyone in the churches I’ve been in has used the NIV. Therefore any public reading, group Bible studies or preaching was easier to do from the NIV, because the majority of people would have the same version.
When I started using the NIV I didn’t have the experience or theological training (or the desire!) to really grapple with the philosophies of Bible translation and their outcomes in the actual versions. Nor did any of us have the internet!
I’ve always believed that using one translation was a hindrance to a good understanding of the Bible, because the original scriptures were written in another language. So I encourage you to look at multiple translations and look at what commentators have to say about particular verses. For the non-Greek and non-Hebrew readers – which includes me – this gives us the best chance of really understanding what the original Hebrew and Greek text says.
Hopefully the old saying “familiarity breeds contempt” doesn’t ever apply to Bible reading, however familiarity can cause us to lose sight of the impact of a particular passage. So, to try to open my eyes again to God’s Word, I’ve decided in 2010 to start using the English Standard Version (ESV). On the translation philosophy spectrum I’ve moved towards the more literal. For everyday study that’s a good option. There can still be great value in reading a translation at the other end of the spectrum – but I’d be a bit concerned about basing serious Bible study on a paraphrase.
Quotes on this Blog Site
As I blog I will be quoting verses regularly. Although I’ll be doing my own reading using the ESV, there may be copyright issues if I quote too many verses from it. The easiest way to avoid that is to quote from the New English Translation (NET Bible). The NET Bible® is freely available at www.bible.org
Hi, my name is Chris Cullen. I'm the Pastor at Kurrajong Baptist Church. During 2010 I'm encouraging you to read the whole Bible. This blog contains my reflections through this process. 
I’ve actually found the NASV to be easier to understand than the NIV. But since literacy isn’t something I’m particularity gifted at I need to use basically all the translations at once to have any hope of figuring out what it’s saying! For general reading I use the New Living because it’s easy to read and smooth flowing, that way I don’t get distracted and loose my concentration.
I think the important thing is to make sure everything you think you’ve learnt from one passage of scripture is backed up by at least two other separate passages of scripture. That’s one of the amazing things about the bible – you could tear out an entire chapter and still not loose any important doctrine, only it’s clarity might marginally decrease!
Hi Paul – good comments. I agree that the New Living is easy to read and smooth flowing. You are right, the important doctrines of the Bible are not based on just one verse, but on multiple verses.