Withering Fig: Five Keys to Picking a Bible Translation

Stephen at Withering Fig suggests five keys to picking a Bible translation.

He prefers more word-for-word translations, but he also makes the good point that a looser translation or paraphrase can help bring alive some parts of the Bible—especially the stories of the Gospels and parts of the Old Testament.

His five keys:

  1. Readability
  2. Word-for-word
  3. Who’s translating this thing?
  4. How is the text presented?
  5. Play the field (i.e., try different translations)

For himself, he writes:

I have been devoted to the ESV for over a year now, and its style feels like an extension of me. When I pick up the text it is instantly familiar, allowing me to listen to what God is trying to tell me.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 8th, 2007 at 9:46 am and is filed under General. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to “Withering Fig: Five Keys to Picking a Bible Translation”

  1. Picking the best Bible translation for you Says:
    February 17th, 2007 at 7:33 am

    “Which Bible version is the best?” That’sa question we hear from time to time from people wondering which of the dozens of Bibles at the Bible Gateway is the one they should read…