Best Bible version for study?

[an anarchist]

I am going to reread the Bible again. I’ve read it in King James Version a couple of times. I would like to do a different version this time, I heard that the New Revised Standard Version was good for study because it was accurate with translations. Not sure where I heard it from though.
What Bible version is your personal favorite? Which one do you think is the most accurate in terms of translation? Is there a specific version that is best for studying?

 

[ADigitalArtist]

If you asked 10 different Christians which Bible is most accurate you'll get 11 different answers. To be honest you might like a parallel Bible like this one. NIV, KJV, NASB, Amplified, Parallel Bible, Hardcover: Four Bible Versions Together for Study and Comparison https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310446880/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_5AN68DXC8V8NH6PVHHYX

That way if you come across a word or phrase you're not sure of you can compare and contrast.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

The Orthodox Study Bible and the RSV: 2nd Catholic Edition are my favorites.

 

[Kenny]

If you asked 10 different Christians which Bible is most accurate you'll get 11 different answers. To be honest you might like a parallel Bible like this one. NIV, KJV, NASB, Amplified, Parallel Bible, Hardcover: Four Bible Versions Together for Study and Comparison https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310446880/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_5AN68DXC8V8NH6PVHHYX

That way if you come across a word or phrase you're not sure of you can compare and contrast.

I have this one. I have also referenced The Mirror and The Voice bibles as well as others.

 

[dybmh]

I use Chabad.org for the OT and Biblehub.com for the NT. Biblehub is nice because it has a word for word interlinear translation. It's not perfect, but it's very good in my opinion. Both are free with little to no advertising.

 

[The Hammer]

I am going to reread the Bible again. I’ve read it in King James Version a couple of times. I would like to do a different version this time, I heard that the New Revised Standard Version was good for study because it was accurate with translations. Not sure where I heard it from though.
What Bible version is your personal favorite? Which one do you think is the most accurate in terms of translation? Is there a specific version that is best for studying?

The Satanic Bible

 

[VoidCat]

The Satanic Bible

Which one? I found out looking on Kindle that's there's tons of different versions not just LaVey's. There's even a Islamic satanic bible by
Iblis Azreal Cypherdus

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Which one? I found out looking on Kindle that's there's tons of different versions not just LaVey's. There's even a Islamic satanic bible by
Iblis Azreal Cypherdus

Just make up your own. Everyone else does. Howard Levey ("LaVey") sure did, when he wasn't plagiarizing.

 

[Trailblazer]

The Satanic Bible

 

[The Hammer]

It's a good study. I recommend giving it a read.

Even for Christians.

 

[Harel13]

Learn Hebrew and then use this IDF-grade Tanach:


It's great because it fits in your pocket and the translation of the Aramaic sections is pretty good (in terms of exactness). Also, Tanach in Hebrew is the best anyway.

 

[exchemist]

I am going to reread the Bible again. I’ve read it in King James Version a couple of times. I would like to do a different version this time, I heard that the New Revised Standard Version was good for study because it was accurate with translations. Not sure where I heard it from though.
What Bible version is your personal favorite? Which one do you think is the most accurate in terms of translation? Is there a specific version that is best for studying?

I use the New Jerusalem bible, as it is in modern English rather than the c.17th English of the Authorised Version which, while familiar from literary references, is sometimes obscure in meaning. But I also have the Authorised Version, mainly for the purpose of literary references - and for the extraordinary degree to which Protestants seem to use it, archaic language notwithstanding.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Reading it in a new version will give you different ideas, however just be aware that it will also become harder to look up scripture verses that you recall. This may or may not matter to you, but its hard to recall which transformation of a verse you remember. The spellings of words change between versions, as do the words chosen. They can be similar or completely different. If your search engine is set to KJV and you are searching for a verse that you remember from the NRSV then you will find yourself having to search twice. Its worth while though, because you can learn more from the different versions.

Rather than NRSV I'd look for the old RSV that was rejected by the ministry. It was a controversial translation, but rather than either one I recommend the first version of the NIV for its ease of reading and its set of study tools that rival the KJV study tools. There is an exhaustive concordance and a full lexicon available.

 

[Rival]

If you are looking for specifically Christian translations:

RSV
NRSV

But mind there are Catholic and non-Catholic editions of these books. For instance, my Catholic RSV says 'virgin' when the non-Catholic one has 'young woman' in that famous passage. You can also buy the NRSV with full Deuterocanon/Apocrypha, which, if you are studying for Christianity, I would strongly recommend.

 

[Rival]

Please do not use the NIV.

If you see it, laugh and walk away.

 

[exchemist]

Please do not use the NIV.

If you see it, laugh and walk away.

Yes I looked this up and found quite a number of criticisms:

Nevertheless, the NIV has been criticized by academics such as N. T. Wright, Bruce M. Metzger and Mark Given, among others, for inaccurate translations.[29][30][31][32][33]

In 2009, the New Testament scholar N. T. Wright wrote that the NIV obscured what Paul the Apostle was saying, making sure that Paul's words conformed to Protestant and Evangelical tradition. He claims, "if a church only, or mainly, relies on the NIV it will, quite simply, never understand what Paul was talking about," especially in Galatians and Romans.[29] In support of this claim, Wright mentions specifically several verses of Romans 3, which he suggests do not convey how "righteousness" refers to the covenant faithfulness of God or reflect his own thinking about the pistis Christou debate. All editions of the NIV have given "God's Faithfulness" as the heading for Romans 3:1–8. Wright's specific objections concerning verses later in the chapter no longer apply to the 2011 revision of the NIV, which moreover offers "the faithfulness of Jesus Christ" as an alternative translation to "faith in Jesus Christ" in Romans 3:22.

Mark Given, a professor of religious studies at Missouri State University, criticized the NIV for "several inaccurate and misleading translations" as many sentences and clauses are paraphrased, rather than translated from Hebrew and Greek.[30]

Michael Marlowe, a scholar in biblical languages, noted that the footnote provided in the NIV for 1 Corinthians 11:4–7 replaced multiple instances of "head covering" with "long hair" in order to "harmonize this passage with modern habits of dress".[34]

Others have also criticized the NIV. In Genesis 2:19 a translation such as the New Revised Standard Version uses "formed" in a plain past tense: "So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal ..." Some have questioned the NIV choice of pluperfect: "Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals ..." to try to make it appear that the animals had already been created.[31] Theologian John Sailhamer states "Not only is such a translation ... hardly possible ... but it misses the very point of the narrative, namely, that the animals were created in response to God's declaration that it was not good that the man should be alone."[33]

Biblical scholar Bruce M. Metzger criticized the NIV 1984 edition[32] for the addition of just into Jeremiah 7:22 so the verse becomes "For when I brought your forefathers/ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices." Metzger also criticized[32] the addition of yourinto Matthew 13:32, so it becomes "Though it (the mustard seed) is the smallest of all your seeds." The usage of your was removed in the 2011 revision.[35]

Non-literal translation is used to give interpretations, such as in Luke 11:4,[36] which the NIV translates as "for we also forgive everyone who sins against us" rather than "for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us",[37] or translating the Greek word "sarx" (flesh) as "sinful nature".[38]

From: New International Version - Wikipedia

 

[Brickjectivity]

Whenever someone reads the NIV, Rival gets punished by poltergeists. They push her down stairs and stuff.

 

[paradox]

for study the best you can have is Jerusalem bible:
What is the Jerusalem Bible (JB)? | GotQuestions.org

The reason why it is the best for study is because it has footnotes which explain in great detail texts as you read them.

 

[RabbiO]

for study the best you can have is Jerusalem bible....

The reason why it is the best for study is because it has footnotes which explain in great detail texts as you read them.

Are you under the impression that the Jerusalem Bible is the only translations that contains footnotes and other study material?

 

[Rival]

Whenever someone reads the NIV, Rival gets punished by poltergeists. They push her down stairs and stuff.

Yes.