There are many versions of the Bible out there and it’s easy to get confused by all the differences and not really know where to start. Here are the top 5 translations by units sold for May 2011 (according to CBA).

  1. New international version (various publishers) – The New International Version is commonly abbreviated NIV. It is a completely new English translation based on the best available texts in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It was developed by more than 100 scholars and originally published in 1973, but was updated in 2011. The NIV is the most widely used English Bible translation because it uses the most commonly understood language and has a reading level that most adults they can understand. (grade level 7-8). The original vision to undertake the NIV translation was because the King James version did not connect with modern people due to the Old English terms and expressions.


  2. King James Version (various publishers) – The King James Version is commonly abbreviated KJV. It is sometimes known as the Authorized Version. It was started by the Church of England, by order of King James I, in 1604 and completed in 1611. The KJV is a very common English Bible translation, but it has been superseded by the NIV for many people because the language of the KJV a often difficult to understand. An example would be: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.” Most modern readers have no idea what begotten means, whatever it is or believes. The reading level is equivalent to a grade 12 reading level.


  3. New King James Version (various publishers) – The New King James Version is commonly abbreviated NKJV. The NKJV was started in order to improve the language of the KJV while maintaining its poetic literary style. The complete version was published in 1982. One of the biggest changes in the NKJV compared to the KJV is the abandonment of historical pronouns like you, yours, and ye. The verbs were also modernized, such as “ama” instead of “ama”. Both the KJV and NKJV use later texts that were available in the 17th century, but the newer versions use older texts that are considered more reliable since they were closer to the original. These texts had not been discovered in the time of King James. The NKJV has an eighth grade reading level and is easier for most people to read.


  4. New Living Translation (Tyndale) – The New Living Translation is commonly abbreviated NLT. It began in 1989 as a revision of the Living Bible and was first published in 1996. It is intended as a full thought translation as opposed to other translations which are word for word translations. It also tries to make the text have the same impact on modern readers that it did on the original readers. The NLT is at approximately a sixth grade reading level.


  5. English Standard Version (Crossway) – The English standard is commonly abbreviated as ESV. The ESV is a revision of the Revised Standard Version (RSV). It was originally published in 2001 and updated in 2007. The translators used a translation philosophy similar to the KJV, which was literal, while updating the language and changing some supposed liberal translations in the RSV. They sought to understand the literal equivalent of each word, not the meaning it might have had to the original listeners. The ESV has an eighth grade reading level.

There are many translations of the Bible and none is perfect. Language changes and people’s understanding of language changes. New texts have also been found that slightly change the understanding of certain passages or words. You have to decide for yourself which is the best version to use. Hopefully this summary will help you make that decision.