The past century has produced a plenitude of Bible translations. Many of these translations market themselves as the “best” translation available. But which translation actually is the best?

First, one must determine the goal of the translation. As noted by the ancient Christian scholar and translator Jerome, translations can be word-for-word or sense-for-sense, but not both. This is because languages of idioms, syntax, words, and style that cannot be accurately translated from one language to another. Additionally, with  a distance of 2000 or more years between the biblical authors and ourselves, there are concepts completely unfamiliar to us that will not make sense when translated literally. Therefore, one must determine for herself whether a literal (word-for-word) translation best suits her needs. 

Regardless of whether the translation philosophy is literal or free, all translation involves interpretation. Translation involves taking not only words, but the concepts of those words into one’s mother tongue. There are places where the Greek or Hebrew are ambiguous. The translator is forced to decide on what English word best conveys the meaning of the author in a particular context. For instance, translations for Hebrews 2:10 translates the term archegos in several ways because the term could mean a variety of things. The ESV has “founder,” while the NASB has “author” and the NRSV has “pioneer.” All three are very different concepts in English. The first English term relates to building or establishing a structure or system, the second has to do with writing, and the third has to do with being a first explorer.

So, which is the “best” translation? All of them. Whatever translation helps you love God’s word and keeps you interested in it, that is the one you should read devotionally. Every translation has its weakness and none of them are objectively perfect. Nevertheless, there are some objectively terrible “translations,” such as the Passion translation that are not worth your time or money.

A final tip on translations: use multiple translations when studying the Bible. Whenever there is a disagreement among the translations, you likely need to do a word study or consult  commentaries on those particular words or phrases because they are difficult to convey in the English language. When studying, I recommend starting with literal translations (e.g., NASB, KJV) and supplementing them with more “free” translations or paraphrases (e.g., the Message, NLT). This way you can have the best of both worlds.