I want to get a different Bible than the NWT. Which version?

ithinkisee

Any suggestions? I'd like to have several different ones, but what is a fairly good version to start using out of the gate?

-ithinkisee

confusedjw

www.redsox.com

Okay that was flippant, sorry.

How about NIV or one of the 5 in 1 versions so you can compare on the spot?

peacefulpete

The New Revised Standard is better than most. The NIV really is not the best.

Robert K Stock

I like the NIV. It is the version I used the most after leaving the Watchtower.

I recently bought NIV, NCV, NLT and NJB - I think I spent about $30, there are some good deals at amazon used, ebay or bookcloseouts.com. I've noticed that NIV seems to be the most recommended, but it's good to have others to compare it to. The parallel bible idea is a good one, but they were out of my price range. Some other suggestions - at amazon, you can 'look inside' most bibles to see if you like the font, language, layout, whatever... christianbook.com also allows you to see page excerpts, and I ordered one of my bibles (NLT, $10) from discountbible.com because they can inscribe your name on the cover.

stillajwexelder

Todays English version and I still like the King James

robhic

For a really great electronic option go to

http://www.e-sword.net/

You can download (for FREE!!!) many, many versions of Bible translations. It also allows for comparisons between selected trasnlations in a verse-by-verse format and has a bunch of maps of current and ancient biblical regions. The search features are first-class, also.

All in all, it is one heck of a product -- and you can't beat the price!

Euphemism

I'm not a Catholic, but in my limited experience the New Jerusalem and New American Standard (both Catholic translations) strike a good balance between readability and accuracy, and are pretty good at avoiding theological bias. Look for a study edition that has footnotes on alternate renderings for disputed texts.

If you're approaching the Bible from a secular perspective, I recommend the Oxford Study Bible. It's based on the RSV, but the footnotes are purely secular analysis.

Odrade

If I'm doing some research, I usually start with NIV and NJB, then if I need more clarification I use the RSV and NAS. That gives a fairly well-rounded picture.

If I'm just looking something up for reference, I will still use NWT mainly because if I look it up in another translation it will often sound so different I don't know if I've read the correct scripture, LOL, then I will follow up in the NIV, because it's handy and easy. But for real research I think it's hard to pick just one because your research can be distorted somewhat by bias.

Deputy Dog

I'm with robhic on this one, e-sword is great! They have many other good tools.