Bible Translations Poll and Discussion

[Hannah]

• Which English language translation do you use most frequently, and why?

• Do you have any other translations that you use occassionally or do you stick with one version only?

• Do you read the Bible in some other language - which one?

• Vote for your favourite Bible Translation...!

For some reason I find this incredibly fascinating having grown up in a country where all bibles look the same and really only one translation existed. When I lived in London I was blown away when I went in to a Christian bookshop and realised that buying a bible in English was not a matter of just grabbing the standard issue from the shelf and paying. Being a real geek I have read about this online and came across the slightly bewildering "KJV only" debate which seems to be a hot potato.

As for my own purchase, I finally bought an American bible called the New Living Translation - that had tons of interesting comments. This bible reads like a book of fiction, practically. It is no effort whatsoever reading it and I feel it really brings the bible to life for me.

[-SEEKING-]

The NIV and the NASB. Had to select other as you did not have that one available.

[Hannah]

Oh no, it is not possible to change after the poll has been submitted.
But I am sure the NIV is on there. And there was something called "American Standard". Isn't that the one you mean?

Maybe the moderator if you see this, can help fix up the poll a bit to include the more common American Bibles? I was not up to date on that..

[-SEEKING-]

Oh no, it is not possible to change after the poll has been submitted.
But I am sure the NIV is on there. And there was something called "American Standard". Isn't that the one you mean?

Maybe the moderator if you see this, can help fix up the poll a bit to include the more common American Bibles? I was not up to date on that..

Yes. The NIV is there. But not the NASB (New American Standard Bible). No worries.

[Hannah]

Aha - I had it down as American Standard Bible.
Is there a difference between this and the "New" version? I am guessing that this is a popular version in the US then, since it was the first one that was mentioned. My guess was that the NIV was the most popular Bible.
We shall see!

As for Audio bibles I had a look around and discovered that there is a plethora of options in American English, but really only one British English offering, something called the "Alexander Scourby" reading.

[-SEEKING-]

Aha - I had it down as American Standard Bible.
Is there a difference between this and the "New" version. I am guessing that this is a popular version then, since it was the first one that was mentioned. My guess was that the NIV was the most popular Bible.
We shall see!

The main differences, that I'm aware of, between the ASV and the NASB is that in ASV it's the thee's and thou's and NASB has a more contemporary you instead.

[Reynolds357]

The main differences, that I'm aware of, between the ASV and the NASB is that in ASV it's the thee's and thou's and NASB has a more contemporary you instead.

If I remember correctly, the major difference is in manuscripts used for their translation.

[TrustGzus]

If I remember correctly, the major difference is in manuscripts used for their translation.

There might be minor differences due to manuscripts. The NASB being more current has had more manuscripts available. The ASV was done in 1901. The NASB being most recently updated in 1995 uses the Nestle-Aland 26th edition for its text.

In both cases Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are used. But the NASB is much more influence by papyri that has been discovered.

I think the biggest differences is just in updating the English between the near century that passed between the two.

[TrustGzus]

I didn't vote. Don't know if I will. I read a different version every year. This year I'm reading the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Sometimes tongue-in-cheek called the Hard Core Southern Baptist.

[andrew_no_one]

I really enjoy reading the Bible. I'm so happy that God wrote it!

[ChristianCoffee]

I use 3 of them:

KJV: Love the poetic flow of the language.

NIV: for the most part, it gets "right to the point"

and a new one my wife got me for Christmas, called the Archaeological Study Bible. It is an NIV Bible, but it has historical notes of the times, as well as maps. Also came with a CD.

[jeffweeder]

NASB most of the time. I like to ref others, except the message.

[Indueseason]

I like the NIV or the NASB, but I also use the ASV and the AMPLIFIED

blessings to you

[Hannah]

I like the NIV or the NASB, but I also use the ASV and the AMPLIFIED

blessings to you

Thanks! But you are British, what are you doing with the "NASB" ? Everything is misspelled, lol!! ;-)
You couldn't help me fix up this poll, could you? It seems I added the wrong options?
The NASB and the Amplified should definitely be there...

[Watchman]

I use the NKJV the most, since I wore my last NIV out; however, I use nearly a dozen different translations when I'm studying a particular point. I'm particularly curious about the NLT.

W