How To Study the Bible
Part 1
“Let’s Start at the Beginning”
Ashley H
Aaron Armstrong
Bible Gateway
A BIBLE
The first thing you’ll need in order to study the Bible is a Bible!
The upside and downside of this is that there are so many different Bibles for you to choose from, from different translations to different styles and features.
You can also access many translations of the Bible online for free. However, all Christians should own at least one real Bible that they use for personal study.
The first step in choosing a Bible is to choose a translation. The translation of your Bible matters far more than the color or style.
Here’s the thing: The Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Greek and has been translated into tons of different languages.
So when you read it in English, you naturally want it to be the best possible translation.
Fortunately, we English speakers have a huge variety of excellent translations to choose from.
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There are 3 main types of Bible translations.
They are:
Word-for-Word (Formal Equivalence)
Thought-for-Thought (Dynamic Equivalence)
Paraphrase (A retelling of something in your own words.)
Scholars regard Word-for-Word as most accurate translation method that leaves the least room for error. The Bible translators took painstaking care to translate each Greek and Hebrew word as faithfully and accurately as possible into another language.
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Thought-by-Thought translations are less concerned with providing an exact English word for each word of the original text as it is with communicating the basic message of that verse using modern terms and phrases.
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A Paraphrase is essentially a retelling of something in your own words. A paraphrase of the Bible is different from a translation in that a translation attempts (to varying degrees) to communicate “word-for-word” or as “thought-for-thought” as closely as possible.
A paraphrase takes the meaning of a verse or passage of Scripture and attempts to express the meaning in “plain language”—essentially the words the author of the paraphrase would use to say the same thing.
But thought for thought and paraphrase Bibles have been criticized because these translations can begin to interpret the Bible rather than only translating it.
Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses.
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Who are the translators?
The translators are Bible scholars that study the original languages for a long period of time in order to develop a high proficiency in the original language.
And these same scholars must be top experts in the target language (say English) as well.
Anybody who has learned a foreign language knows there are certain idioms in each language—such as English idioms like, “I see the light,” or “things are really up in the air.”
These idioms do not always translate accurately from one language to another, so translators must be very careful to make sure the meaning is accurately transmitted.
And the translators do a very good job of it!
We can tell they do because after hundreds of years of Bible translating, all the major translations are in agreement about the major meanings they are conveying in English.
They differ very slightly in the exact expression of the meanings, and the translators take great care to make sure the core meanings are preserved.
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Now, let’s look more closely at the 3 types of translations:
Word-for-Word Translations of the Bible
Word-for-Word (also called “Literal Translation”) is regarded as the most accurate. It leaves the least wiggle room for error or misunderstanding.
Many of the best-known Bible translations are word-for-word.
The NASB, King James Version (KJV), English Standard Version (ESV), and the New English Translation (NET) are all examples of Word-for-Word translations.
In your own Bible study it’s generally best to use a word-for-word translation.
How could you possibly go wrong reading a word-for-word text that translates the original language into your own language?
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With Thought-for-Thought Translations of the Bible the translator evaluates a series of words in the original language that comprise a thought, and then expresses that thought in the target language—like Spanish, or English, or German, etc.
As stated, Thought-for-thought translation is also known as Dynamic Equivalence.
It’s easier and smoother to read this kind of translation than the typical word-for-word translation.
Depending on the reading ability of the reader—a Bible translation based on Dynamic Equivalence could be a great choice.
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Paraphrase Translations of the Bible
To paraphrase (dictionary definition) means a restatement of a text or passage giving the meaning in another form, a rewording of it.
A paraphrase translation of the Bible seeks to make the Bible more understandable to the reader.
A paraphrase often uses a lot more words in an effort to more fully describe the meaning of the words coming from the original language.
A good comparison can be made by comparing a well-known passage like John 1:1 in the King James Version (word for word), the New Living Translation (thought for thought), and the Living Bible (retelling).
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” –KJV
“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.”—NLT
“Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God.”—LB
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How about John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”—KJV
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”—NLT
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”—LB
But the original Greek uses the word μονογενής (mon-og-en-ace’) meaning “unique, one and only, emphasizing His unique divine sonship.
So the word for word translation contains that extremely important word, while the thought-for-thought NLT and paraphrase LB don’t.
Let me show you now a little chart showing different translations and where they fall:
Bible Comparison Chart
All Bible translations can be found on the spectrum from “Word-for-Word” thru “Thought-for-Thought,” all the way to Paraphrase.
The left side is the more literal translations—formal equivalence—(word for word).
And the right side—the paraphrase (a retelling).
And in the middle of the chart you have dynamic equivalence or thought for thought.
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Here are the 5 most accurate Word-for-Word translations of the Bible:
1. New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The NASB holds the title of Most Accurate Translation due to its strict adherence to Literal (Word-for-Word) translation methods.
The NASB is rather wooden in the way it reads.
The translators wanted to stick to the literal Greek and Hebrew as closely as possible.
This gives the NASB the title for “most accurate English translation” at the expense of readability and sometimes comprehension.
2. English Standard Version (ESV)
The ESV is a revision of the Revised Standard Version (RSV).
It is also very close to the NASB. It was originally published in 2001.
It is written in very modern English, yet readers still find that it reminds them of the KJV.
The ESV remains pure and faithful to the language found in the original Greek and Hebrew texts.
3. New English Translation (NET)
The NET was first published in 2005, and it is a completely new version.
It was designed as a free online version of the Bible for worldwide ministry so that people who do not have access to the Bible could have a high-quality resource for Bible study.
The NET is an original translation, with over 60,000 translator’s notes that describe how the English translation relates to the original languages.
4. King James Version (KJV)
That venerable old standard—the King James Version (KJV) also shows up very high on the list of most accurate Bibles.
But what holds it back from being higher on the list is that the Shakespearean English is 400 years old, dating to the original publishing date of 1611.
Our language has changed greatly since the KJV was published 4 centuries ago so it doesn’t get to the top of the list when measured by today’s standards.
But this old English version is still just as beautiful as it always was, and very memorable.
Many of the Bible verses you remember best are still from the KJV.
So in spite of the outdated language—the KJV remains the most popular Bible in the English-speaking world.
It’s because of its amazing literary qualities, its memorability, and the fact that many of the Study Bible cross references originate with the KJV.
5. New King James Version (NKJV)
The NKJV—the New King James Version—is a beautifully updated version of the KJV.
It retains the beautiful structure and literary qualities of the KJV. But just enough of the antiquated words are changed into modern English words that the reader’s understanding is greatly improved.
So the NKJV is a treasure in its own right.
It’s the perfect blend of the beautiful KJV verses that stream almost like music to the ear—but with greatly improved readability.
Another thing the NKJV does well is it makes a good study Bible because almost all the verse references are the same as the original KJV.
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In closing, let me mention a couple of Bibles to avoid or at least take with a huge grain of salt:
The Message: This paraphrase strays greatly from the original languages and meanings. Every once in a great while I may quote from it, but only when I know its meaning is accurate. It is for sure not what you want for a study Bible.
The Passion Translation: Shouldn’t even be picked up. Is not a translation at all. Its chalk full of additions to the original text that are inserted to teach a particular unbiblical doctrine and was “translated” by one man—Brian Simmons—who claims he was visited by an angel named Passion who instructed him to write a new translation of the Bible.
Simmons went on to claim, “He promised me that, that He would give me help, that He would stand with me and give me secrets of the Hebrew language, secrets of the Bible that would be for this Last Days awakening.”
Enough said. LET’S PRAY