Many people want to know if the Bible they are reading is accurate. How close is it to the original languages?
If you want accuracy, why not learn the original languages themselves? Or at least learn to use Bible study tools to look at them through the lens of English.
No translation can ever be completely literal because of differences between the languages. But there is a range of translation philosophies and some versions are closer than others.
Many articles on this topic are trying to sell you on their particular version. This article is written by someone who uses as many different translations as possible in Bible study (up to 20-30 at a time). Most of the translations I use are freely available online in Bible study sites or apps, such as e-sword, Bible Gateway or Blue-Letter Bible.
When I study the Bible, I not only look at as many English translations as possible, but I read as many different language translations as possible. Sometimes I look at the Hebrew or Greek, (both Testaments) but I literally look at every language I can read, and some I cannot! That includes Germanic languages, Romance languages and multiple Chinese translations.
So I'll include a brief survey of some of the other language versions as well.
I'm not trying to sell you any particular version of the Bible, or tell you which one(s) you should read. However, I am an Amazon affiliate. If I give you a link to a print Bible it may go to Amazon. And if you click on it and buy something, I may earn a commission. Just so you know.
With that out of the way, let's get started.
Which Bible is the closest to the original languages?
Common English translations
We'll start with common translations that you might already own and read.
KJV and NKJV
The King James (or the New King James Version) is actually quite accurate. One of the things I like about the King James, whether original or new, is that they are transparent about which words are in the original and which are added in translation. You see added English words in italics.
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1)
Most of the added words are forms of "to be". Both Hebrew and Greek have much less need for "is" than English, and it gets added frequently. But there are plenty of other times when words are added to the original in order to make it make sense in English.
RSV, NRSV and NRSVUE
The Revised Standard is not common anymore, but the New Revised Standard Version (and its Updated Edition, with the awkwardly long abbreviation) are modern, scholarly translations. The NRSV was originally translated by a team led by Bruce Metzger, a very well-known Greek scholar.
One of their distinctives is to use inclusive language where possible, but a focus is on accuracy and the footnotes will tell you what the original language says. For example Ezekiel is called "mortal" repeatedly instead of the traditional (and literal) "son of man", but the change is footnoted.
I use the NRSV regularly. They are very conservative for the most part about using the same English word for the same underlying Hebrew/Greek word in a single passage.
I like the fact that this is a scholarly translation, so presumably not as denominationally-influenced. It is used by Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical and Jewish readers.
NASB
The New American Standard Bible has the reputation of being quite close to the original languages. It also has the reputation of being rather stilted.
I don't read this one very often (it is available on some of the websites like Bible Gateway and Blue Letter Bible) but some pastors choose it for its accuracy. The NASB95 is a more readable revision.
ESV
The English Standard Version is a well-known modern translation that uses a more conservative translation philosophy than the NIV for example. It is quite readable and accurate, but not as strictly literal as some. They prioritize good English.
I find this one very clear and usually very close to the original Greek.
CSB
The Christian Standard Bible (often called the Holman Christian Standard Bible, which comes with cross-references and study tools) has become popular in recent years. It is also a conservative and accurate, very readable translation.
NET
The New English Translation is a conservative translation that makes great effort to be both readable and precise. The advantage here is the extensive translation and study notes you can find on their website (https://netbible.org/) or in the app (available only for iOS, but there is a mobile-friendly version of the website).
I love to read the text critical notes. They give you a peek into the original Greek manuscripts and the text decision-making process. (Whether you agree with them or not, it gives you a window into their reasoning and a brief description of the manuscript differences.)
The NET version is also freely available in many software packages, though not necessarily with the notes.
ISV
The International Standard Version is a newer translation that is also intended to be quite accurate, but not quite as literal. They describe their translation philosophy as a "compromise between formal equivalence and functional equivalence. Meaning between "word-for-word" and "thought-for-thought".
The ISV is freely available in many places, including as a parallel with the NET on their website.
A distinctive advantage here is that they incorporate readings from the Dead Sea Scrolls along with the traditional Hebrew Masoretic Text.
Summary of Common English Versions
This is not an exhaustive list, but these are some of the most common translations that use a more formal translation philosophy. I use all of these at different times, and they are all available in different print or online forms.
You may wonder why the NIV and NLT are not described here. Those translations use a "dynamic" or "thought-for-thought" translation philosophy. They are very readable and may in fact give the reader a more accurate sense of the meaning than a more conservative version, especially for idioms. They try to express the meaning for today's reader, rather than the exact words that made sense in Biblical times.
But the goal of this survey is to look at which Bibles are the closest to the original languages, by which most people mean a word-for-word translation.
Which brings us to the next category.
Literal Translations
Every translation has to find a balance between accuracy and readability. Because the languages are so different, you cannot use the same word forms or vocabulary consistently.
Literal translations are more concerned with accuracy than readability. Here are 4 readily available literal translations.
LITV
The Literal Translation of the Bible (LITV) is a free option in e-sword, which is one of the only places I have seen it. It was published by Jay Green in 1985 and revised in 1993. A print version from 2010 is also available
Like the KJV, the LITV uses italics for added English words that have no direct equivalent in the original languages. The language is modern and readable, but its main purpose is to be accurate, and it is quite careful to use the same words and accurate word forms, as much as is feasible. It is therefore also extremely helpful if you are learning the original languages.
Julia
Julia's translation is an unusual one. I have this in e-sword (it is public domain, so a free download). It was the work of one person - Julia E. Smith - published in 1876, and I believe it is still the only complete translation of the Bible into English by a woman working alone.
Her version is extremely literal. I usually prefer the LITV, but Julia's version is interesting to read and compare. She avoids adding extra words, and keeps the word order as similar to the original as she can. Some of her verb tense choices are rather unusual.
"Jehovah my shepherd, and I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1, Julia)
YLT
Young's Literal Translation (published in 1898) is a distinctive translation that strives to be as literal as possible. The language is a bit dated, but it is public domain so widely available.
Young's understanding of Hebrew verb tenses is a bit different from some. I am not familiar enough with the issues to comment, but it is interesting to note the differences.
LSV
The new Literal Standard Version (2020) is an update to the Young's Literal Translation in modern English. You can buy a print copy, or find it in Bible study tools like e-sword.
The LSV uses a rules-based translation philosophy where the same English word is used to represent the same underlying Hebrew or Greek (or Aramaic) word if at all possible. They also strive to be as accurate as possible with the verb tenses and the like, without sacrificing readability, following the YLT translation principles.
The LSV tells you when they add words, and uses YHWH for the tetragrammaton (often represented as LORD in English Bibles).
YHWH [is] my shepherd, I do not lack (Psalm 23:1, LSV)
Summary of Literal versions
Bible translation preferences are very individual. Are you looking for modern English? Readability? Accuracy?
Personally, I use as many different translations as possible, because none of them fully express the meaning of the original language, and translator opinions vary. Reading the literal versions highlights things you might miss even if you do read the original Hebrew or Greek.
I like to compare translations with the original languages when I choose a translation to quote or to memorize. (Sometimes I end up creating my own hybrid translation, that reflects the original better in my opinion.)
Reading multiple translations could also include non-English languages. After all, God speaks every language. And reading how the Bible is translated in another language can lead to interesting insights.
Other language translations
One advantage of reading translations in other languages is that you see things differently, and sometimes they lead you to a different way of thinking about a passage. They may also slow you down so you pay closer attention.
If you can read a non-English language, you might be interested in how those compare as well.
Germanic language translations
Traditional translations such as the Luther Bible in German or the traditional Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish translations are available for free in apps like e-sword. The traditional versions are pretty literal, but I also enjoy the Norwegian Open Living New Testament (OLNT) which reminds me of the NLT. Much looser and almost as modern as the Message at times.
Like I said above, I read the Bible in languages I "cannot". I don't speak Norwegian but it is not that difficult to read if you know English, German and especially another Scandinavian language.
My favorite Norwegian Bible verse is from the traditional translation:
"for jeg holdt ikke noget tilbake, men forkynte eder hele Guds råd." (Acts 20:27, Bibel 1930)
Literally: "For I held nothing back, but proclaimed to you the whole of God's counsel"
(For the last bit, I actually prefer the Swedish Folkbibeln 15 "hela Guds vilja och plan" = "the whole of God's will and plan.")
See how easy this can be? And how meaningful?
For comparison, the Literal Standard Version has:
Romance languages
Spanish
The Reina-Valera version is the King James of the Spanish-speaking world. Quite accurate but sometimes dated.The modern Nueva Biblia de Las Américas is very accurate, at times down to the Greek word order (which may be easier to accomplish in Spanish because of the similarity of the languages). It is advertised as the most literal version available in Latin American Spanish.
Portuguese? French?
I don't speak these, but I can read quite a bit. (I even read the Italian and Romanian at times, but I have no way to judge how accurate those translations are!) It can be interesting to compare them though, to see how different translations interpret a given text.
Latin
The Latin Vulgate is an amazing thing to read. The Vulgate is an ancient translation (4th century), and it is often used as a comparison to the Greek and Hebrew in Bible translation. Since it was translated so early, it reflects original texts that we may no longer have.
And of course it was the translation used by the Catholic church for centuries, up to our own day.
(No, I have not studied Latin, but I can understand quite a bit from having studied Spanish. And the grammar is related to Greek.)
Chinese
The Chinese Union Bible (和合本) is the most common traditional translation. It is more literal than the NRSV in a number of places (I have a bilingual 和合本-NRSV). But the language can be outdated and it is sometimes criticized for being too influenced by non-native speaker translators.
Several modern Chinese versions exist and can be found online or in Bible apps such as the WeDevote app. The Chinese New Version (CNV 新譯本) is considered the most literal version available.
The NET Bible is available in Chinese, as a translation of the NET in English. Accuracy to the original languages is a priority for them.
Getting back to the original languages
There are thousands of translations available in many languages. (See Bible.is for a sample) Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. But the ideal would be to be able to read the original languages themselves.
Maybe you are interested in learning how to use some of the tools mentioned above to do Bible study. Tools that use English as a bridge to the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. Check out our mini-course that introduces you to several different Bible study tools and resources. It shows you how to use them (and not to use them) to do different kinds of original language studies.
Maybe you are interested in learning how to read the Greek for yourself. You can learn to read the Greek (without getting lost in the grammar) in our New Testament Greek courses.
Being able to read even a little of the Greek will let you use different language tools, such as Greek versions of the Old and New Testaments with Strong's numbers in Bible study software.
Learn to read the Greek, and a whole new world of understanding will open up for you.
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