WHAT BIBLE TRANSLATION DO YOU RECOMMEND?
“Today I decided to discontinue studying with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. My decision was based on reading information from your website and talking to my niece who was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. She shared with me her childhood experience of growing up in the Watchtower “truth” and then told me why she chose not to become baptized in this religion. I have been studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses for 10 years, mainly because I thought they were the only source where I could learn “the truth” about what the Bible says. Now I know they are teaching lies, but I don’t know where to start to re-learn the Bible. What Bible translation should I study from? Yes, I will pray about this too, but I would like to know what translation you are using in your ministry. Thank you for providing your resources to all who seek to accept Jesus Christ as the truth into their lives.”
OUR RESPONSE:
Dear Friend,
We are happy to hear how God has opened your eyes to the deception you were getting involved in. Yes, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have a way of twisting what the Bible teaches. It is good you will continue your faith in Christ and reading the Bible. Just reading Scripture, without the Watchtower literature, will reveal much about the way false religions twist Biblical truth.
As far as choosing a Bible translation, there are several that we use in our ministry. They are as follows:
- The King James Version (KJV) is an old English version, but a good translation. We like it because it is a standard in many churches, but its disadvantages include the fact that its old English text is difficult to understand and the Greek text it is based upon is not as accurate as the more modern translations we have today that utilize the more ancient Greek manuscripts unearthed in the 19th Century.
- The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is best word-for-word, literal translation you can find today. It has a very good Greek manuscript it is based upon. The same is true for the other translations we list below.
- The English Standard Version (ESV) is a very good literal translation comparable to the New American Standard Bible, but it has a newer English text so it is even easier to understand than the New American Standard Bible.
- The New International Version (NIV) is by far the simplest, and easiest translation to understand. It is more thought-for-thought in it’s translation style, than it is literal, so it gives the senses of the Greek text more so than the literal translations do, so it is less confusion in its rendering of Biblical phrases that can be difficult for the modern English mind to grasp.
Of the translations listed above, our favorite translations are the NIV and NASB that together give the clearest understanding of the Biblical text. We hope this helps you in your study of God’s amazing Word.
