by By Alex Shianda
We need to own more than one Bible translation. There are many reasons why this is so.
It could be because you are a new believer and want to avoid a Bible with too much “English” (technical language).
You could have been asked to do a Bible reading in church or in a retreat or you plan to read the Bible out loud for your children.
You could want to read a passage from various angles (going deep on it).
You could be planning to read large chunks of the Bible (like participating in reading through the Bible in 90 days challenge).
For any of the above circumstances, look for a Bible whose translation philosophy is dynamic equivalence or thought for thought as they give priority to what the Bible text means. It will be written on the introduction pages of the Bible you are looking at.
You may just love hard things and want to see the beauty of complexity in the Bible (For this one look for a Bible that prides itself as a literal/formal equivalence/word-word translation).
What if you do not have time to read the introduction of all the potential Bibles you are considering to buy?
Then go to Bible.com and check 1 John 3:17 from different English translations. Pick the version you feel most natural to you or easiest to understand or the one you admire.
Alex Shianda is the author of ‘Celebrating Christ’.
