I couldn’t figure out how to pare down the translations I’ll use for my project without seeming to favor one over another, thereby potentially skewing the results; that is, if the differences in translations is indicative of bias or corruption to God’s word, as some maintain.
So I used them all.
For the parameters of my project, see My Project.
The translations I used (all of which I personally own) are listed below. The first number indicates the year the translation was first published. The second number indicates the year the Bible I hold in my hands was published.
Amplified, 1954/1987
English Standard Version (ESV), 2001/2011
Jerusalem Bible, 1966
King James Version (KJV), 1611/1988
The Living Bible, 1971
The Message, 2002/2005
New American Bible (NAB), 1986/1990
New American Standard Bible (NASB), 1960/1995
New International Version (NIV), 1973/2013
New King James Version (NKJV), 1982/2013
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), 1989/2007
Philips Translation (The New Testament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips), 1958/1974
I also have one “bonus” Bible – the Moffat translation – that was first published in 1913, revised in 1935. As time permits, I will read the Moffat translation in and around the official 12. I like the Moffat translation because it’s a very old book, and I love very old books.
I purposely didn’t buy all brand-new translations, the latest and greatest, for the same reason I didn’t choose Catholic (NAB, NRSV, Jerusalem) over Protestant (ESV, KJV, NASB, NIV NKJV, et al), the oldest translations, or pick and choose favorite translations. I wanted to read from all major translations: some very old (Moffatt being the oldest – well, aside from the King James Version which dates back to 1611) and some more recent (NIV or ESV or NKJV, etc.).
Doing it this way will (or, at least, should) be fair to all denominations, translators, and Christians of all stripe. A charge of bias hurled against me will be unable to stick.
The reason why I’m being so meticulous about this is because I truly just want to discover the nature and character of Jesus, which is why I’m using editions that aren’t chock-full of notes and commentaries. I tried to find as many translations as I could that are wide-column or single-column editions. Reader’s editions, if possible. Editions with few distractions. Even chapter headings were to be avoided, if they could be.
If there are footnotes and study notes present I won’t read them.
All I want is the words of the Bible, not the words of those who write the notes and commentaries giving me their opinions.
I want to form my own.