A Note About English Bible Versions

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations in this blog are taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (Irvine: The Lockman Foundation / Three Sixteen Publishing, 2022).

Passages marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2016).

Always make sure that you are using a good, literal, word-for-word translation for your own Bible reading and study.  If we believe in verbal, plenary inspiration, there should be no other acceptable method of translation for us.  We want to know the exact words that the original authors wrote, and so a translation must convey that to us, as closely as possible.  I would highly recommend the LSB and the ESV, but in addition there is the New American Standard Bible (1995 Edition) (NASB95), the King James Version (KJV), and the New King James Version (NKJV).

I would advise you to avoid translations such as the New International Version (NIV) and the New Living Translation (NLT), as these are less concerned with translating the exact words of the original Hebrew and Greek, and instead seek to translate the “meaning” of the text.  Obviously, this brings interpretation and presuppositions into the translation process to a far higher degree, and produces what is in some cases more of the translator’s commentary on the text than an actual translation.

Absolutely avoid all paraphrases, such as The Message (MSG).  Whatever may be claimed, these are not translations at all, but complete corruptions of the text.