Which Bible Translation Is Right for You?
If you walk into a Koorong store, you'll see shelves of Bibles in a whole range of translations: NIV, ESV, NLT, NKJV, KJV, CSB, and more. Which translation to choose can be an overwhelming problem. This guide will help you make that choice.
But to begin with, you can relax. Every English translation has its place and purpose. You can't make a wrong choice.
We asked Sam, a translation consultant with the Bible Society of Australia, to explain how translations actually work. "There's loads and loads of good English translations of the Bible," he says. The differences between them come down to two things — who it's written for, and the translation philosophy.
1. Every translation has a reader in mind
Every translation team is writing for a specific reader with a specific age, education, reading level and background. "Translations are for people," Sam says. That's why some translations read simply and plainly, while others use richer, more formal language. Neither is "better." They're just written for different readers.
So try a few translations and see which one seems smoother and clearer to you.
Try it yourself
The Lord is my shepherd
Psalm 23
Often Christians will have one main translation they use so they can remember verses from the Bible. It is difficult to memorise a verse if the translation changes every day!
But many Christians will also have other translations in their library which they refer to from time to time — either to observe differences when digging further into a part of the Bible, or to give a fresh look at the Bible. A different translation can help us to pay attention to what the Bible is saying rather than having our brain switch off because the words are familiar.
2. Translations are translations
None of these Bibles are the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek; they're all faithful attempts to bring that text into English. As Sam puts it, "translations are translations, not the original languages."
When translators go about their work, they have to decide on what is most important. Some lean towards showing you the shape and structure of the original language as closely as possible. This is called word-for-word, formal or literal translation.
Others lean towards communicating the meaning in contemporary language. This is called thought-for-thought or dynamic translation.
Both are legitimate ways of translating the same text.
There's no shame in changing translations as your season of life changes, or having different translations for different purposes. A study Bible in a more literal translation might serve you well for in-depth reading, while a clearer, more conversational translation might be exactly what helps a new believer, or a tired parent, open the Word each day.
The goal isn't the "most correct" translation. It's finding the Bible most suited to your purposes and circumstances.
Word-for-word
Word-for-word translations seek to bring as much of the original language and flow across into English as possible. The goal is to enable the reader to discern what the original author was doing, not just what they were meaning. The translators try not to be clunky in the way they do this and have produced beautiful texts as a result. The KJV Bible has shaped our English language for more than 400 years. And the ESV has an emphasis on literary beauty through its translation process.
In the single long sentence that opens Ephesians (1:3–14), Paul repeats the phrase "in Christ," or its equivalent "in him," close to a dozen times, tying every spiritual blessing he names back to its source. A formal translation like the ESV keeps that "in Him/Christ" phrase in place each time it appears, so the repetition stays visible on the page. A reader working through it can watch Paul use language the way he really did, rather than receiving a smoothed-out summary of what he meant. The NLT, a thought-for-thought translation, drops the "in Him/Christ" phrase in most of the occurrences. The NIV, which seeks to have a more balanced approach, keeps the "in Him/Christ" phrasing, highlighting the complexity of comparing translations — each translation committee has wrestled with their decisions with the goal of communicating the Word of God effectively.
In some cases, the strength of a word-for-word translation can also be its weakness. Because formal translations follow the grammar of the original language as closely as they can, they sometimes carry over sentence structures that are harder to read in English. The passage mentioned above (Ephesians 1:3–14) is, in the Greek, a single continuous sentence. A formal translation like the ESV breaks this single Greek sentence into five long English sentences. A thought-for-thought translation like the NLT breaks the same passage into 14 shorter sentences, making Paul's argument easier to read, even though it means departing further from his original sentence structure to do it.
Even so, word-for-word translations are widely praised for the sound of their language. The KJV has shaped the English language for more than 400 years. The ESV's own translators built an emphasis on literary beauty into their translation process. That reputation rests on word choice and rhythm as much as on faithfulness to the original's grammar. This is the delicate balance of translation work which can produce both a five-sentence marathon in Ephesians and a phrase as memorable as "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death."
Thought-for-thought
Thought-for-thought translations earn their place too. Biblical Hebrew and Greek are full of idioms and figures of speech that could be confusing if carried across word for word. For example, Paul tells the Colossians to "put on… bowels of mercies" (Colossians 3:12, KJV), a faithful rendering of the Greek that requires a modern reader to do the work of discovering how bowels were related to mercy in the ancient mind. A thought-for-thought translation like the NIV renders the same phrase as "clothe yourselves with compassion," delivering exactly what Paul meant without asking the reader to first decode an ancient idiom.
However, the strength of a thought-for-thought translation is also its weakness. Dynamic translations can make interpretive decisions without the reader knowing. As shown in the example above, in moving from a literal translation to a dynamic translation, the team of scholars involved need to shift some of the language into our modern concepts. This can cause us to miss the way in which God is building up ideas throughout the scripture.
For example, in the 1984 edition of the NIV, the word "flesh" in Romans was often translated as "sinful nature." This captures the idea Paul is getting at, but it hides the wordplay he's using around "flesh" versus "spirit" throughout chapters 7 and 8. The latest update of the NIV shifted back to using the word "flesh" in most of these instances to help improve the understanding of what Paul is doing in Romans.
Where the main translations sit on that spectrum
Every English Bible falls somewhere between two priorities: staying as close as possible to the wording of the original text, or putting the meaning into the plainest possible English. Here's roughly where the translations Koorong carries sit — or browse them the same way, with real verse comparisons, in our Bible Guide.
| Translation | Philosophy | Publisher (first published) |
|---|---|---|
| NASB | Formal, word-for-word | Lockman Foundation (1971) |
| KJV | Formal, word-for-word | 1611 |
| NKJV | Formal, word-for-word | Thomas Nelson (1982) |
| ESV | Formal, "essentially literal" | Crossway (2001) |
| NIV | Balances accuracy and readability | Biblica (1978) |
| CSB | "Optimal equivalence" | Lifeway (2017) |
| NRSVue | Formal, academic | National Council of Churches / SBL (2021) |
| NLT | Dynamic, thought-for-thought | Tyndale (1996) |
| Good News Bible | Dynamic, plain English | American Bible Society (1976) |
| CEV | Dynamic, plain English | American Bible Society (1995) |
| ICB | Dynamic, simplified | Thomas Nelson (1986) |
| NIrV | Dynamic, simplified | Biblica (1996) |
Closest to the original wording
The NASB stays nearer to the word order of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek than almost any other modern translation. The Lockman Foundation first completed it in 1971 and updated it again in 2020. Study Bibles and word-study tools tend to build on it, and its reading level is usually put at around age 16 to 17.
Completed in 1611, the KJV is still the most widely printed English Bible in history, generally rated at around age 17 to 18. Its own translators described their task not as a wholly new translation but an effort "to make a good one better," building on William Tyndale's earlier work. Four centuries of hymns, liturgy and public reading carry its phrasing, which is why so many people already know parts of it by heart.
Thomas Nelson released the NKJV in 1982 as a revision of the KJV, keeping the same underlying Greek text and much of the same rhythm while replacing words like "thee" and "thou" with contemporary English. Its preface describes the aim as seeking to "preserve all of the information in the text" while updating the language around it. Its reading level lands anywhere from age 12 to 15.
"Ideally suited for in-depth study of the Bible" is how Crossway's own preface describes the ESV, published in 2001 as part of the same lineage that runs through the 1971 RSV back to the KJV. Reading-level estimates put it somewhere between age 13 and 16, and it's become a common choice for preaching and Scripture memorisation as well as study.
A blend of original wording and everyday language
The NIV is a very common modern English Bible, with a reading level sitting around age 12 to 14. Biblica's translation committee still meets to keep it current, and its preface states the goal plainly: a translation "suitable for public and private reading, evangelism, teaching, preaching" alike. Close enough to the original for study. Plain enough to read start to finish.
More than 100 scholars across 17 denominations translated the CSB for Lifeway, published in 2017. Its stated philosophy is that "you don't have to choose between faithfulness to the original text and clarity," so it keeps the original wording wherever that already reads clearly and shifts to plainer English only where a literal rendering would blur the meaning. It comes in at roughly age 12 to 13.
The National Council of Churches and the Society of Biblical Literature produced the NRSVue in 2021, drawing on manuscript discoveries including the Dead Sea Scrolls. It has a reading level generally around age 15 to 17.
Modern spoken language
Tyndale describes its goal for the NLT as staying "faithful to the words of the ancient manuscripts and their intended meaning," working from the original languages into the natural English people speak day to day. It reads smoothly aloud, which is part of why it turns up so often in family and devotional reading, and its reading level is typically put at around age 11 to 12.
The Good News Bible and the CEV, both from the American Bible Society, aim for wording that can be understood the first time it's read or heard. Reading levels for both generally sit around age 9 to 12, and each has had a long life in schools, hospitals and outreach settings.
And for children or readers still learning English, the ICB and NIrV are built for a reading level of around age 8 to 9: the ICB translated directly from the original languages, the NIrV a simplified edition of the NIV.
Reading in community
The best place to learn about the Bible is in a church community. If you are shopping for a Bible, it is worth finding out which translation your church uses so that you can follow along more easily in your own Bible as the pastor preaches and teaches.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best Bible translation?
There isn't one "best" translation. As we've said above, every English translation has its place and purpose, and you can't make a wrong choice. Translations are made for different readers and different purposes, and every mainstream, evangelical translation is a serious, careful piece of scholarship. The goal isn't the "most correct" translation. It's finding the Bible most suited to your purposes and circumstances.
What's the difference between a word-for-word and a thought-for-thought translation?
It comes down to what translators decide is most important. Some lean towards showing you the shape and structure of the original language as closely as possible. This is called word-for-word, formal or literal translation, and the ESV and NASB are good examples. Others lean towards communicating the meaning in contemporary language. This is called thought-for-thought or dynamic translation, and the NLT is a good example. The NIV sits in between, seeking to balance accuracy and readability. Both are legitimate ways of translating the same text.
Why do different translations sometimes use different words for the same verse?
Because translators have to decide what's most important, and thought-for-thought translations can make interpretive decisions without the reader knowing. For example, in the 1984 edition of the NIV, the word "flesh" in Romans was often translated as "sinful nature." This captures the idea Paul is getting at, but it hides the wordplay he's using around "flesh" versus "spirit" throughout chapters 7 and 8. The latest update of the NIV (2011) shifted back to using the word "flesh" in most of these instances, to help readers see what Paul is actually doing in the text. It's a good example of how moving from a literal translation to a dynamic one means shifting language into modern concepts, which can sometimes cause us to miss the way an idea is built up throughout Scripture.
What makes one Bible translation easier to read than another?
It mostly comes down to vocabulary and sentence structure. Formal translations like the NASB and KJV are generally pitched at a senior high school reading level, roughly age 16 to 18, while thought-for-thought translations like the NLT sit much lower, around age 11 to 12. But "easier" is personal. Some people find a familiar, traditional cadence, like the KJV's, which has shaped the English language for more than 400 years, easier to follow than a modern one, simply because it's what they grew up hearing. The best way to know what's easier for you is to try a few and see which one seems smoother and clearer.
What's the difference between the NIV, ESV, NLT, and NKJV?
These are four of the most popular translations, and each sits in a different spot on the spectrum described above. The ESV is formal and "essentially literal," commonly used for study, preaching and memorisation. The NLT is dynamic and thought-for-thought, suited to devotional and family reading. The NIV seeks to balance accuracy and readability for general reading and church use. The NKJV keeps the KJV's cadence while updating its vocabulary into contemporary English.
Should I own more than one Bible translation?
Many serious Bible readers do. As mentioned above, Christians often have one main translation they use so they can remember verses, since it's difficult to memorise a verse if the translation changes every day. But it's also common to keep other translations in your library to refer to from time to time, either to observe differences when digging further into a part of the Bible, or to give a fresh look at a familiar passage. A different translation can help you pay attention to what the Bible is saying, rather than letting your brain switch off because the words are so familiar.
Popular choices
We find that the New International Version (NIV), the New Living Translation (NLT), the English Standard Version (ESV), and the New King James Version (NKJV) are the most popular Bible translations. You may wish to start with one of these if you aren't sure which translation is for you.
Ready to find your Bible? Visit our Bible Guide to compare translations side by side and shop by format, purpose, or reading level.
