Catholics & Protestants, what is your favourite Protestant Bible?

[lak611]

Of Protestant bibles, I prefer the NKJV because I was raised with the KJV (before I converted to Catholicism) and I like that the NKJV has removed ye, thee, thou, etc. but has retained the beauty of the language.

I’ve noticed that I can easily follow along reading a NKJV even if the speaker is reading a KJV, and vice versa.

 

[jmcrae]

I like the King James because it’s the one I memorized when I was a kid.

Also, it seems as though all of the study helps, etc., were made for the King James Bible, so when I was Protestant it was just way easier to stick with that instead of moving to more modern translations.

 

[Jerry-Jet]

The thing I like best about the NASB of all the Protestant versions is that it doesn’t sacrifice what it thinks to be accuracy at the altar of style or readability.

 

[Marilena]

The question is for both Catholics and Protestants. What is your favourite Protestant Bible translation? Why do you like it?

lak, i’d like to personally thank you for posting this. it brought up a really good memory for me. that when i got that Gideon Bible form a baptist missionary couple i was renting off, i treasured that Bible and still do! had it not been for them, likely i would not have even considered picking up a Bible for a while longer after they gave it to me. thank you for posting this, it really brought up a good memory for me.

 

[lak611]

lak, i’d like to personally thank you for posting this. it brought up a really good memory for me. that when i got that Gideon Bible form a baptist missionary couple i was renting off, i treasured that Bible and still do! had it not been for them, likely i would not have even considered picking up a Bible for a while longer after they gave it to me. thank you for posting this, it really brought up a good memory for me.

You’re welcome. I have a story that’s somewhat similar to yours. I was a cradle Catholic who fell away from the Church as a young adult, didn’t go to any churches at all for 5 years, Catholic or Protestant. A Baptist gave me a KJV at a Christian music festival a friend took me to. I actually read it (had never read any Bibles before), and I understood why I had to return to the Catholic Church. Since then, I got lots of Bibles and attend a Catholic Bible study at my parish; but I have to credit the Baptists for bringing me back!

 

[DRIVING_BEAR]

for general readability i like the revised standard version.

for bible study i like the new king James version with strong numbers. this has the beauty of the king James with up to date pro nouns

 

[Traditional_Ang]

Yes I agree the KJV has beautiful language. However, language was never my strong point(I have a learning disability–not bad but…) so I need an easier one

ALLFORHIM:

You might want to take a look at something called THE MESSAGE. It’s very easy to read.

Bible Gateway will allow you to compare 5 versions at one time - I’ve got it set up to look up: biblegateway.com/passage
NIV
NASB
The Message
ESV
CEV

I have a pocket sized NIV, and I’ve found it to be very readable, and the cross ref’s and few footnotes are good. but, Even the NIV isn’t as readable as The Message.

Your Brother in Christ, Michael

 

[Traditional_Ang]

You forgot to add the Douy Rheims, and the Revised Catholic Edition

Manny:

These are Catholic editions, and I do love my RSV-CE, but the O.P. has asked us which of the Protestant Bibles are our favorites.

YBIC, Michael

 

[lak611]

Manny:

These are Catholic editions, and I do love my RSV-CE, but the O.P. has asked us which of the Protestant Bibles are our favorites.

YBIC, Michael

Michael, there is another thread going on at this time to pick our favourite Catholic Bibles.

 

[Lapsed]

What about the NLT, CEV, TEV, Amplified, MKJV…

So many others to choose from.

Yes, I know some of those are more paraphrase than translation, but they’re a lot more accurate than The Message which has already been mentioned.

Of course, there’s also the NRSV which involved Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Jewish scholars. Unfortunately, we are saddled with it for liturgical use in Canada. It might be considered fairly accurate, but I find it woefullly flat.

I have hard copies of all of these, as well as those listed in the poll. Then there’s all the translations available for e-Sword - including the Vulgate… (If anyone’s unfamiliar with e-Sword, it’s available free onlne with many translations, as well as a few that can be purchased. Excellent resource, though all the available commentaries are Protestant.)

Though the DR is my favourite translation, I chose the ESV from those listed as I find it close to the NASB for accuracy but the language more beautiful. I also refer to the Amplified frequently, but it’s definitely not a daily reading type translation.

In terms of editions, I really like the Archaeological Study Bible for the cultural and historical context it provides. It’s very unfortunate that Zondervan chose decidedly Protestant biased NIV (one of my least favourites) translation rather than the NASB to publish it with.

 

[Hastrman]

KJV, man. Yes it’s a terrible translation, and the cause of much mischief, but it’s a work of art, and the inspiration for all that’s great in subsequent English writing.

Swinburne wouldn’t be Swinburne and Chesterton wouldn’t be Chesterton (and Chesterton’s bad imitations of Swinburne that he did when he was a teenager wouldn’t be…you know) without the KJV.

 

[lak611]

What about the NLT, CEV, TEV, Amplified, MKJV…

I didn’t include NLT and TEV because they are more of a paraphrase than a translation.

Yes, I know some of those are more paraphrase than translation, but they’re a lot more accurate than The Message which has already been mentioned.

I also did not include The Message** because it is a paraphrase. Somebody else mentioned it.

Of course, there’s also the NRSV which involved Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Jewish scholars. Unfortunately, we are saddled with it for liturgical use in Canada. It might be considered fairly accurate, but I find it woefullly flat.

I did not include the NRSV or RSV because there are Catholic editions of both of those.

I have hard copies of all of these, as well as those listed in the poll. Then there’s all the translations available for e-Sword - including the Vulgate… (If anyone’s unfamiliar with e-Sword, it’s available free onlne with many translations, as well as a few that can be purchased. Excellent resource, though all the available commentaries are Protestant.)

I downloaded e-Sword since somebody suggested it on another thread. It does have a lot of different translations, including the Douay-Rheims Version.

In terms of editions, I really like the Archaeological Study Bible for the cultural and historical context it provides. It’s very unfortunate that Zondervan chose decidedly Protestant biased NIV (one of my least favourites) translation rather than the NASB to publish it with.

Maybe Zondervan will publish an NASB Archeological Study Bible** eventually. They do have several different translations of some of their other Bibles available. If there is enough demand, they might publish that Bible in other translations.

 

[lak611]

KJV, man. Yes it’s a terrible translation, and the cause of much mischief, but it’s a work of art, and the inspiration for all that’s great in subsequent English prose.

Swinburne wouldn’t be Swinburne and Chesterton wouldn’t be Chesterton (and Chesterton’s bad imitations of Swinburne that he did when he was a teenager wouldn’t be…you know) without the KJV.

You are correct. I did a paper on Chesterton in my British Literature course. I definitely see the influence.

 

[puzzleannie]

I think all English speakers should be familiar with the KJV as part of their education since its usage of the language is so foudnational to our culture.

 

[rciadan]

Which one do you have with the pronunciation guides? That is something that should be included in all Bibles. I can remember being a reader at Mass in high school. We never knew when we were going to read until we were told on that day, so I never had a chance to look up the readings ahead of time, and the Lectionary does not have pronunciation guides. Inevitably, I would have to read something with a long list of names I was not sure how to pronounce. My only comfort was that I don’t think anybody else knew the correct pronunciation either, so they wouldn’t know if I messed up!

I have found this feature in every KJV I have ever looked at. (It is not a separate feature. Every time a name appears, it is shown how to properly pronounce it as it appears.) What else is nice is that you can go to your local Christian thrift store and almost be guaranteed to find a KJV bible you can buy for probably no more than $1. I even have seen them for a quarter.

 

[ALLFORHIM]

ALLFORHIM:

You might want to take a look at something called THE MESSAGE. It’s very easy to read.

Bible Gateway will allow you to compare 5 versions at one time - I’ve got it set up to look up: biblegateway.com/passage
NIV
NASB
The Message
ESV
CEV

I have a pocket sized NIV, and I’ve found it to be very readable, and the cross ref’s and few footnotes are good. but, Even the NIV isn’t as readable as The Message.

Your Brother in Christ, Michael

Thank you. I will check it out. Althogh Ive heard the Message is a loose translation. Ill check it out–thanks again.

 

[Zooey]

Which one do you have with the pronunciation guides? That is something that should be included in all Bibles. I can remember being a reader at Mass in high school. We never knew when we were going to read until we were told on that day, so I never had a chance to look up the readings ahead of time, and the Lectionary does not have pronunciation guides. Inevitably, I would have to read something with a long list of names I was not sure how to pronounce. My only comfort was that I don’t think anybody else knew the correct pronunciation either, so they wouldn’t know if I messed up!

I have to share my system about pronouncing names: Pick your pronunciation & stick with it!!
I have always used this, & I know that there are mistakes, but the only time that anyone really notices, is when you stumble around, changing from one time to the next. If you stick to one way, people will assume that you are right. (Or, if they do wonder, they will think that you were just taught to say it that way, & blame your teacher…who is not there for them to shake their heads over…)

 

[toothdigger]

The question is for both Catholics and Protestants. What is your favourite Protestant Bible translation? Why do you like it?

I like the NIV translation; specifically the Life Application version because it helps me in living my Christianity…

 

[jmcrae]

I have to share my system about pronouncing names: Pick your pronunciation & stick with it!!
I have always used this, & I know that there are mistakes, but the only time that anyone really notices, is when you stumble around, changing from one time to the next. If you stick to one way, people will assume that you are right. (Or, if they do wonder, they will think that you were just taught to say it that way, & blame your teacher…who is not there for them to shake their heads over…)

And “Abednego” rhymes with “To bed we go,” so that you can say to your child, “Tonight we will read about Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, and after that, to bed we’ll go!!”

 

[opdsgt]

I started a thread on whether the ESV is appropriate for Catholic study. While there were varying opinions, I have been reading an ESV for a week now and I thoroughly enjoy it.

The translation team relied heavily on the original RSV (which is roundly lauded by Catholics), but it reads “easier” while still being pretty honest in the passages we as Catholic would scrutinize other Protestant translations (say, the NIV).

My .02 only, YMMV.

The ESV thread is here if anyone is interested.

Warm regards,

Jeff