Do Bible Translations Matter?

I’ve talked to several people before who have just left their local Christian bookstore overwhelmed at seeing all the different Bible translation options. To be honest, I feel their pain. The last time I went into Mardel, there was an entire wall of the store dedicated to Bibles (and not a small wall either), and there were at least 10 different English translations represented. With so many options to choose from, where does someone (especially a new believer) even begin to decide which one they need? That’s a great question, and I’m glad you asked.

When it comes to English Bible translations there is a spectrum that they all fall into that will help people make their decision a bit easier. On either end of that scale, there are two different “translation philosophies” that can help one determine what style of translation they are getting when they select a certain Bible. Those two philosophies are called “Dynamic Equivalence” and “Formal Equivalence.” What this essentially means is that some translations are more “word for word” translations (Formal Equivalence) while others are more “thought for thought” (Dynamic Equivalence). Let me say this before I go any further: no one translation is better than any other. God has ordained that the Bible be translated into these different versions, and they are all His Holy Word. Therefore, as long as you are purchasing an actual, published English version of the Bible, you can have confidence that you are reading the real Word of God. Okay, just had to get that out of the way.

The first translation philosophy is called dynamic equivalence because it seeks to dynamically translate the original Biblical manuscripts into English on a “thought for thought” basis. What this means is that the translation team will look at a section of the Scripture from the original language and translate that entire section (phrase, sentence, paragraph, etc) into English by understanding what the author is saying. They aren’t changing words or thoughts, just translating them as a whole rather than individual words. Think of it like this: if I had the sentence, “I drink water” in English and wanted to translate it into another language, I could do it word by word, or as a whole thought. I could say, for example, Yo bebo agua and it translates nicely and smoothly either by taking the words individually or the thought as a whole. That is what translators are doing with this approach. They are taking a sentence and translating the entire phrase, thought, sentence, etc. all at once instead of taking each word individually. This is to make a translation more “readable” and “modern” in English. Generally, translations with this style use more updated and less “churchy” language in their translations, which makes them great for newer believers, people who don’t read on a high level, or younger people. Some translations that fall into this category are the New Living Translation (NLT), the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), and the New International Version (NIV), though the NIV is closer to the middle ground than a true dynamic equivalent in my opinion.  

Formal equivalent translations take a more “literal” approach to translating Scripture, often taking a “word for word” approach to their style. In these types of translations, translators will take the original manuscripts and simply translate each word as they read it. They then take each thought, sentence, etc. and rearrange the words in English to make the sentence make sense (because ancient languages often didn’t rely on word order to make sentences, but word case, but that’s a topic for another day). Many people feel like this is a more reliable way to translate the Bible because it takes the translator’s thoughts and feelings out of the translation process, but that’s not the case. Both are equally reliable and both styles can be trusted. However, I do like this style of translation, because it requires less “thought” by the person translating and it simply relies on their ability to translate words, not entire thoughts or phrases. In my opinion, it’s just that it’s an easier process, that’s all. These translations also end up generally requiring a higher reading and comprehension level because most times the translators will not remove the “churchy” language or the large words the original authors might have used when writing it. That’s not a reason to shy away from these translations, though, as they can help you become a better reader. Some translations that fall into this category that I would recommend would be the English Standard Version (ESV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), or the New King James (NKJV). All of these versions are solid translations that I use regularly in preparing for sermons and Bible studies. 

The reality is that all English Bible translations are God’s Word and they are all God-breathed and profitable, as 2 Timothy 3.16 says. No matter which style or translation you decide to go with, know that you can trust it as you read. God’s Word is so precious and Holy that He would not allow a “false” translation to exist. So don’t doubt whatever translation you’re reading, just reading it is the most important thing!