Dr. Thomas Keene, Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean at RTS Washington D.C. and New York City, offers wise and practical guidance on choosing a Bible translation. He encourages believers to consider the life of the local church, noting that using the same translation as your congregation strengthens conversations, worship, and study. While all major English translations are reliable, becoming familiar with the one your church uses is a great asset for faithful reading and growth.
The following is a transcript of the video above.
What Bible translation should I use?
One of the questions I frequently get when someone learns that I understand the original languages is, “What’s the best translation?” And I’ve grown fond of giving a very disappointing answer to that question. The best translation is probably the one your church uses. You have to think about why we’re using translations in the first place. What are the normal circumstances within which you’re going to be using your Bible? And in addition to personal study, you’re going to have conversations with your pastor, the congregants, your family, your friends, and your counselor. You know, these are the kinds of ordinary conversations where you might be talking about the Bible. And the best translation to use in those conversations is usually the one that most people in your orbit are already using, which is probably the translation that your church uses now. It’s perfectly fine to have one for personal study or a translation that you grew up with that you really like. All of the mainline English translations are really, really, really good. And I usually say for study, try to avoid something that’s incredibly paraphrastic or something that’s written by just one person. For various reasons, they tend to be a bit idiosyncratic.
Ordinarily, it’s good to be content and used to the translation your church uses. Get familiar with its strengths, its weaknesses, and why it makes the kind of decisions that it makes, so you can be self-aware as you’re reading it. But being familiar with a particular translation, usually the one most people around you are using, is a great asset and a great tool for your conversation and personal study. If you want to get beyond it, the best thing to do is to learn Greek and Hebrew.
