Summary of Observations on Current English Bibles:

1.   The King James Version (KJV) and the New King James Version (NKJV) – There can be no questioning the major role the KJV has played in the life of the English speaking church through the four centuries since its translation.  It remains a magnificent translation.  One of the KJV’s strengths is its broad base of acceptance.  It is well known and well respected.  The negatives against the KJV are in one sense more technical than real!  It’s text base is not sound and because of this it has included some questionable passages.  Second, the language of the KJV is archaic, with many expressions simply misleading.  For all of its beautiful English it is difficult to read.  It is a great translation, but there are better translations available today.  Whether the New KJV is one of the better translations is debatable!  It is easier to read, but its text base and method of dealing with variants with a majority text reading is questionable.  The great advantage of these translations is that neither of them is “heretical” or includes major doctrinal problems.  The one oddity may be 1 John 5:7,8, but then, the trinity is hardly a heretical doctrine!

2.   The American Standard Version (ASV) although an improvement over the KJV, especially in regard to its text base, is overly literal and because of this is seldom used today.  The New American Standard is less literal and much easier to read, and with its word for word translation method is a sound teaching Bible.  However, translations with better text basis are available, and handle the Hebrew and Hellenistic idiom better than wither the ASV or the NASV.  As is the case with the KJV, the ASV and NASV are sound and reliable translations in spite of their over literal method and failure to render idiom sensitively.

3.   The Revised Standard Version (RSV) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) are based on a firmer text foundation and method of dealing with textual variants.  The are both sensitive to Hebrew and Hellenistic idiom, and are more readable than their predecessors.  However, those with a limited vocabulary or low reading level prefer the more dynamic paraphrase translations such as the  NIV.  In most cases these tow translations are defended and preferred by the scholarly community.

4.   The New International Version (NIV) is possibly one of the most widely read Bibles by the younger or post boomer community.  It is an easy read, and its paraphrase dynamic equivalent method “interprets” the meaning of many of the Biblical expressions.  Although this in most cases is fine, in some cases can be misleading.  The text base of the NIV is strong.  Perhaps its greatest strength is its devotional approach to the text, making it good devotional reading.

5.   Modern translations other than the above are interesting, for example, The Message, but most adopt an extreme paraphrase approach to the text.  This makes nice devotional reading, but not a good teaching translation.

6.   Selecting a translation from the major translations available today, ranging from the KJV to the NRSV are primarily a matter of personal preference, reading ability, and purpose such as devotional reading, teaching, preaching, or personal study and research.  When carefully and fairly evaluated, non of the major translations is guilty of doctrinal infidelity.  God’s Word can be heard in all of them, and all lead to a sound relationship with God and Jesus Christ.  Salvation can safely be found in all of the great English translations.

7.   Few people today, other than those of the scholarly world, are concerned with the minute details of text bases and variants!  However, when comparing the translation of some difficult texts one should be aware of the fact that certain translations are not as well supported by manuscript and papyri evidence as are others, and some translations do not deal with textual variants as well as others.

8.   A good method for personal study is to compare three or four translations as one studies the text.

9.   Simply put, the best translation is the one you will read on a regular basis.