Fifteen of the more prominent non-Catholic English Bible versions are briefly criticized and summarized below. While other versions can be found, these are the ones I tend to find when I go into bookstores. The versions are ordered alphabetically.
Common English Bible (CEB)
The CEB is a relatively new (2011) translation targeted at readers with a middle school-level reading competency, produced by a committee formed from the publishing houses of several liberal Protestant denominations. The translation effort included the Apocrypha.
This translation suffers from the literary vulgarities and reductionism common to other “simple language” efforts, as well as from the brittle silliness of political correctness. Descriptive and evocative traditional language is squelched in favor of banal terminology, for example: “temple vessels” becomes vulgarized into the industrial-sounding “temple equipment”; “persecute” is reduced to the tepid “harass”; and “son of man” becomes rendered as the all-too-plastic and depersonalized “human”. Even when invoked within its messianic setting in the New Testament, with Jesus using the expression to refer to himself, “the Son of Man” is cartoonishly replaced by “the Human One”.
Too much important meaning is lost in these “simplified” translations. When you top off that widespread defect with the overbearing genuflections of the CEB’s “PC” pieties, the result is a tortured translation of dubious value. The CEB might be useful for skimming over the surface elements of the story in simplified language, but it needs to be checked against better translations for gaining any understanding of the text itself, which is after all really the point of engaging the Bible.
Available in print, with or without Apocrypha, in numerous editions. The online Bible sites also have editions of the CEB, with or without the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha is included in the CEB editions of at least some of the electronic Bible Study platforms. A waste of money, IMHO.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
The CEV is a limited vocabulary, “common language” translation published by the American Bible Society in 1995, aimed at readers with a very low level of English language skills. It includes modest explanatory notes. The CEV eliminates words like covenant, salvation, justification, and other fundamental Biblical ideas. Amazingly, the term ‘grace’ is used only to refer poetically to the beauty of a woman, but never to God’s grace (charis), for which is substituted flimsy terms like “God’s kindness”. Somehow, the CEV New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs have been approved by the US Catholic Bishops for personal use. I find this translation difficult to recommend for any purpose.
CEV editions containing the Apocrypha are available, and sometimes bear the label “Catholic”. The CEV is often packaged as youth or children’s Bibles, and is widely available both in print (mostly in cheap editions) and electronically. CEV editions for electronic Bible Study programs lack the Apocrypha books.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The ESV is a very popular, 21st century, “essentially literal” formal equivalence translation in the King James lineage, undertaken as a revision of the 1971 Revised Standard Version (RSV) by American evangelicals dissatisfied with the liberalizing tendencies of the NRSV, which had been a late-20th century ecumenical attempt at revising the RSV. Remaining close to the RSV while updating its obscurities, the ESV is an overall excellent translation. The translators provide minimal annotations, although “Reference” editions supply an abundance of accompanying cross-references.
The ESV translators unfortunately did not produce an Apocrypha, which initially limited the value of this version for Catholics. However, a 73-book “Catholic Edition” ESV is now (as of 2019) available from the Augustine Institute, via the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, who had a translation of the Deuterocanonicals done to compliment the original 66-book American Evangelical ESV. That Augustine Institute ESV-CE would be the obvious edition of choice for most Catholics interested in the translation. Noteworthy study editions of the 66-book ESV are also available for the more adventurous, but will obviously be Evangelical in interpretive approach. 66-book electronic editions are widespread, and are typically tagged for analytical study in Bible Study programs.
Good News Bible/ Good News Translation/Today’s English Version (GNB/GNT/TEV)
The GNB/TEV is a loosely translated Bible from the American Bible Society, originally released in the mid-1960s and last updated in 1992, geared toward those with middle school level reading skills and vocabulary. This makes for easy reading, but it tends to flatten Biblical doctrines, and it can be quite pedestrian as literature. The original version (Today’s English Version) received an imprimatur in 1978 when the translation of the Apocrypha was completed. After it was republished in a second edition in 1992, it was re-branded as the Good News Translation to battle the perception that it was more a paraphrase than a translation. A little bit less oversimplified than the later CEV from the same publisher, there are still better options available among the dynamic equivalence translations for easy reading (e.g. NJB, REB)
Widely available, with or without the Apocrypha, in cheap print editions and online. Also widely available in electronic editions for freeware and commercial Bible Study programs, but these generally do not include the Apocrypha, although Logos, for some reason, produced a GNB with Apocrypha that is tagged with a full reverse interlinear, an edition which is included in some Verbum library offerings.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The CSB, published in 2017, is effectively the third version of the translation undertaken by the Southern Baptist Convention (via Holman Publishers), originally published in 2004 as the Holman Christian Standard Bible. It lands somewhere in the middle of the scale in terms of formal vs. dynamic equivalence, calling itself an “optimal equivalence” translation. It avoids most of the pitfalls of dynamic approaches, such as paraphrasing, doctrinal flattening, and politically/socially motivated obfuscations.
Interestingly, the CSB version backs off the earlier trajectory of the HCSB versions by eliminating what was, in the 2nd HCSB edition, a widespread practice of transliterating the Divine Name as “Yahweh”.
No CSB translation of the Apocrypha should be expected. The translation is serviceable, if a bit dull. Several software vendors have developed analytically tagged editions of this version. A Catholic looking for a secondary version could do worse, but could certainly find better options, especially considering the CSB’s lack of Apocrypha/Deuterocanonicals.
King James Version (KJV/AV)
This version needs no introduction, as the preeminent translation of the Bible in the English-speaking world. At one time, almost all the analytical Bible study tools available to English speakers were keyed to this version, which made it fairly indispensable for serious Bible study among those without adequate original language skills. However, that is no longer the case.
Most Catholics have little reason now to pick up this Protestant classic, other than out of curiosity, or perhaps to appreciate its literary accomplishment. As fine a presentation of the Eternal Word as it may be, the 17th century language is just too far removed from the cognitive sphere of modern man to be an effective presentation of the living voice of God for most common folk today. It is still widely read, and remains a staple of electronic Bible Study programs, which continue to offer analytical tools keyed to it, but most students looking for a good literal translation would do better with one of the KJV’s modern language revisions.
The Message (MSG)
The Message is an unapologetically paraphrastic retelling of the Biblical story written by a single author (Eugene H. Peterson) around the turn of the 21st century. This version makes no real attempt to re-present the sacred words of the Scriptures in English, but merely, as the title of the work itself suggests, to convey the message allegedly being delivered through the instrumentality of the words.
Of course, to arrive at “the message” of the Word, one must first listen to the actual words, and discern their meaning. Only then can one interpret their message. This version aims to spare you the steps of actually listening to and discerning the Word of God yourself, and attempts to tell you what those sacred words intend to say. It occasionally has an interesting angle on a text, but is mostly just too cute. In 2013, an acquaintance of Peterson supplied comparable paraphrases of the Deuterocanonical books, allowing for the release of a “Catholic/Ecumenical” edition, although there is no ecclesial sanction for publishing it as a Catholic Bible.
Modern English Version (MEV)
The MEV is a recent (2014) formal equivalence version, the latest in a very long line of attempts at revising the King James Version into a suitable modern literary form. Based on more or less the same source texts used by the original KJV translators, and intentionally hewing closely to the KJV in its wording, this work serves very well as a modernizing of the Elizabethan-era masterpiece.
It is not quite as formal an updating as the New King James Version is, but the MEV reads more smoothly than the NKJV. The only big drawback to the MEV is the same one most better Protestant translations share: it lacks the books of the Apocrypha. Given that usual caveat, it is an excellent choice for a literal yet readable translation. Not available on all electronic Bible Study platforms, Logos updated their edition with reverse interlinear texts in 2020, greatly enhancing the value of this version for study.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
One of the most strictly formal of the major modern translations, the NASB could be seen as a conservative reaction to, and substitute for, the Revised Standard Version, a work which the NASB editors regarded as an overly liberal revision of the 1901 American Standard Version (which was the American version of the “official” KJV revision). Originally published in 1971, it had a significant update in 1995, removing archaisms such as formal modes of address (thee, thou, …). Another significant update was published in 2020.
This version should not be confused with the (Catholic) New American Bible; this is a very Protestant Bible, and lacks the Apocrypha.
Some readers find the literal translation awkward or stiff, while others appreciate its attempt to reflect the original manuscript as closely as possible in English, allowing the reader to approximate the flow of thought and ancient mindsets that produced the original texts.
Many of the Study editions of the NASB in print are doctrinally anti-Catholic, but NASB texts are also available with minimal commentary. Electronic editions are broadly available, and often analytically tagged, but they are typically sold at premium prices in the commercial packages. This translation is among the most useful in English for close textual study, excepting the missing books of course, but take any accompanying editorializing with a grain or two of salt.
New International Version (NIV)
The NIV was the translation that knocked the KJV off the top of the bookstore sales charts for Bibles. Perhaps not quite as popular as it once was, the NIV was a brand new translation by American evangelicals in the 1970s, using dynamic equivalence methods fairly freely to create an English text at a middle school reading level. The result was pedestrian as literature, and several updates (the latest in 2011) have improved it, but have not salvaged it.
Worst of all, it is a tendentious translation. In numerous places, the editors either added or omitted words (or else translated inconsistently) in ways that appeared to make the Biblical text support conservative evangelical interpretations over against either liberal views on the one hand, or Catholic understandings on the other. The way I figure: if you need to manipulate and misrepresent the Word of God to prop up your doctrines, you may want to go back to the drawing board. This is one of the worst translations out there IMHO; I’ve never understood its popularity. There is no NIV Apocrypha.
New King James Version (NKJV)
The 1982 NKJV is a close revision of the KJV, and is very popular in some conservative circles. It eliminated archaisms, such as formal modes of address, and also provided other clarifications and vocabulary updates. The translators expressly sought to retain the sonority of the original KJV, while replicating its commitment to precision in translation. It thus falls very high on the scale in terms of measuring formal equivalency, or literalness. In keeping the work as close as possible to the KJV, the New Testament was based on the Textus Receptus manuscript tradition, in distinction from most other modern translations, which utilize as their basis a critical text reconstructed from numerous older manuscripts. Translation footnotes are sparse, and consist mostly of OT cross references in the NT, although publishers often provide their own notes and/or references in their editions.
The one area this work departs significantly from the original KJV is in its failure to translate the Apocrypha, thus limiting its usefulness for Catholics. With that said, it can be profitably used as an ancillary text for studying the vast majority of the canon. The Greek Orthodox Church in America chose the NKJV New Testament to be paired with their new Saint Athanasius Academy Septuagint Old Testament translation when they published the Orthodox Study Bible several years ago.
The NKJV is widely available in various print editions, electronically on numerous websites, and on all the significant Bible Study software platforms, where it is sometimes tagged to facilitate analytical study.
New Living Translation (NLT)
The very popular NLT has been published under several copyrights, the last one obtained in 2015. It is a revision of Kenneth Taylor’s successful but highly criticized 1970’s biblical paraphrase called The Living Bible (or, The Way). Although improving upon many dubious readings from the Living Bible, this revision remains both very colloquial and imprecise, aimed at readers with minimal reading skills, and little familiarity with the Bible. The editors claim it is a dynamic equivalence (thought-for-thought) translation, and not just a rehashing of the Living Bible paraphrase, but a comparison of the two makes it plainly evident that the Taylor text is the basis of the NLT, and I think revision is probably the proper term for it, despite the extent of the changes. It is clearly designed to be warm and easy-to-read, but such an approach tends to stress the story at the expense of the Word, and the NLT is no exception to that rule.
An effort of evangelicals, there is nonetheless a “Catholic Reader’s Edition” of the NLT, published in 2017 with ecclesial sanction (for non-liturgical use) from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, available in print editions only.
Electronically, Logos offers their 2015 NLT edition with an optional Reverse Interlinear module, although the version is better suited for overview-level reading than for it is close study.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
This formal equivalence translation, at least in editions which come “with Apocrypha”, is more or less equivalent to the NRSV-CE translation discussed under Catholic Bibles, except for some book ordering changes, and the inclusion here of a few books not in the Catholic canon. The verdict is the same: excellent translation, but goes overboard with “inclusive language” modifications. Basic editions include minimal notes, which address textual ambiguities.
Available in numerous print editions – but be sure to get one that indicates “with Apocrypha”. Oxford and Abingdon each make terrific Study Bibles for this translation; other Study editions are also available. It is available online, and on all the major electronic Bible Study platforms, sometimes tagged, in whole or part, with original language manuscript correspondences. The Logos edition offers full-blown reverse-interlinear tagging for the entire translation, including the Apocrypha. This translation is outstanding for serious study, and widely used in academic circles.
Revised English Bible (REB)
The REB is a 1989 revision of the 1970 dynamic equivalence New English Bible. The REB tightens up some of the looseness of the 1970 translation, and attempts to produce a bit more literary stateliness for the sake of public proclamation, while eliminating archaisms, and introducing a modest level of “gender neutrality”.
This is still a dynamic equivalence representation, but avoids some of that genre’s worst tendencies to oversimplify. It is about on a par with the Catholic New Jerusalem Bible in terms of its balance between translational precision and “accessibility”. It is British in literary character, and primarily Protestant in origin. The Deuterocanonical books are only available in editions which indicate “with Apocrypha”.
Published in somewhat limited print editions by the Oxford and Cambridge University presses. Oxford publishes a study edition. Available on some but not all the major Bible Study platforms.
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
The excellent New Oxford Annotated Bible, Revised Standard Version appears to be the only print edition of the RSV still available aside from the modified “Catholic Editions”. The Biblical text differs only slightly from the first (1966) “Catholic Edition” RSV, except for some extra books. The NOAB RSV incorporates an “Expanded Apocrypha”, which includes not only the three books from the standard Apocrypha which are not found in Catholic Bibles, but also a small number of other books which complete the canons of the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches.
In electronic editions, the RSV text itself is widely available online and for Bible Study programs, where it consists of the 1952 OT, the 1971 NT, and the 1977 “Expanded Apocrypha”, at least in most editions. Most electronic editions are not analytically tagged, but the Logos edition offers an embedded reverse-interlinear.
This is very helpful. Thank you