Which Bible is for me?
There is a huge range of translations “out there” and it can be hard to know which one is suitable. In some ways, it all depends on what it is being used for. Liturgy may require a different version to the one used for study, for example. In any case, there are two “styles” of translation and it matters which is used. The easiest experimental approach is to take a mixture of both typical and difficult versions and just compare them. The variations are more evident in poetry (e.g. the Psalms) and in abstract argument (e.g. the Letters of St Paul).

Typical: e.g. Psalm 23 or Mark 1:14-15.
Difficult: e.g. Rom 3:21-26 or Gal 2:15-21.

Formal equivalence and/or dynamic equivalence: click here.
For an excellent overview on how bibles differ: click here.

Historical versions
Wycliffe’s Bible (WB, c. 1382-1395)
Luther Bible (LB, 1520+)
Tyndale Bible (TB, 1526+)
The Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB, 1609-1610)
The King James Bible (KJ, 1611)

Contemporary versions
1. Jerusalem Bible
Jerusalem Bible (JB, 1966)
New Jerusalem Bible (NJB, 1985)
Revised New Jerusalem Bible (RNJB, 2019)


2. Revisions of the King James Bible
American Standard Version (ASV, 1901)
Revised Standard Version (RSV, 1946, 1952)
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV, 1989)

3. UK and Ireland interdenominational
New English Bible (NEB, 1961, 1970)
Revised English Bible (REB, 1989)

4. New American Bible
New American Bible (NAB, 1970)
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE, 2011)

5. Various other versions
Christian Community Bible (CCB, 1988)
Good News Bible (GNB, 1966-1976)
New English Translation (NET, 2005)
Jewish Publication Society Bible (JPSB, 1985)
New International Version (NIV, 1984/201)
Jewish Annotated New Testament (JANT, 2011, 2017)

Study Bibles
HarperCollins Study Bible (HCSB, 1997ff)
This is an outstanding edition. The best of the study bibles.

Jewish Study Bible (NJPS, 2003)
Oxford Annotated Study Bible (OAB, 2010)
Catholic Study Bible (CSB, 2016)
Orthodox Study Bible (OSB, 2008)

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Translations...