by Ben Spackman
Just in time for Old Testament, the Church has reshaped its policy around Bible translations. While the KJV remains the official Bible of the English-speaking Church, Latter-day Saints are now strongly encouraged, it seems, to use other translations as well. This has the effect of making scripture more accessible and understandable, and increases the joy and enthusiasm of scripture study. It helps us communicate better with our Christian neighbors, who are unlikely to use the KJV, and helps us avoid the problems that come from only reading the KJV.
This new approach is enumerated in the Church Handbook, but announced and encouraged in the Newsroom here AND here as “Resources to Support Old Testament Study and Teaching”, Church News, and the January Liahona, under the heading “Extra Study Aids.” (That link is being finicky, but it’s up if you google it.) While Apostles have quoted other translations in General Conference for some time, and scholars have always used them, it’s almost like the Church is saying “now is the time for everyone to benefit from this, and we want EVERYONE to know about it.” And of course, the KJV has only been our official Bible since the 1950s; before then, it was merely our common Bible, with little rhetoric about it being the best or most inspired version.
Be well-informed about the translation(s) you’re using; every translation is interpretation, and thus every translation depends upon the interpreter(s) and their intent and goals. Every translation involves decisions and tradeoffs, a negotiation between different goods and goals. While some versions are definitely problematic, translations that read differently can be equally accurate. Thus it is useful to know whether a translation is ecumenical, Evangelical, Catholic, or Jewish; whether a translation is aimed at a sixth-grade reading level, or a twelfth-grade reading level. Whether a translation is— though these terms aren’t really helpful— word-for-word or thought-for-thought. (If you’d like to dig in to why Bible translations differ, this article from Religious Educator goes into depth.)
How best to make use of this in families or Seminary, for example?
With the new missionary ages, it’s likely that many Seminary students who are graduating will go directly onto missions, where they are likely to encounter other English translations, or use a non-English Bible as their primary teaching Bible. (Notably, the Church is looking for supplementary translations for French and Spanish.) So introducing this in Seminary both gets them access to other good translations AND it gets them used to a common missionary tool: Parallel Plus.
Parallel Plus is a free non-LDS Bible that is approved worldwide for missionaries (though it is mission-president dependent.)Here’s a link to the Apple App Store with it. It has a number of free translations, including several recommended by the Church. Some download with the app, some you have to actively choose to download. The app lets you set up multi-column comparisons between translations, something easier than having multiple paper copies open.
For Seminary, I recommend having your students download the app, and setting up a 2- or 3-column comparison. On the left, the 1611 KJV, which will be familiar. On the right, the 1989 NRSV (New Revised Standard Version), download required from within the app. The NRSV is an ecumenical version, translated by a mix of religious scholars (so it doesn’t reflect any particular theological bias), and aimed at 11th-grade reading level. It’s widely used in colleges, and one of my preferred translations. Here’s a 2-column screenshot from my phone.
If you choose to have a third or center column, here are some options.
- The NKJV (New King James Version) updates the archaic words of the KJV, but doesn’t fix any of the its other significant problems; it’s merely an update to the English, not a new translation from the Greek/Hebrew manuscripts that tries to follow the KJV.
- The ESV (English Standard Version) and NIV (New International Version) are both aimed at 7-8th grade reading level, and translated from a conservative Evangelical perspective; these translations are heavily shaped by a belief in biblical inerrancy, which means the translations downplay inconsistencies or contradictions which might call inerrancy into question.
- The NIrV (New International Readers Version) is like the NIV, but downsized for children ages 6-10. Probably less useful for Seminary, but good for families.
All of those are on the list of the Church’s recommendations, which is not exhaustive. Since all of them follow the same translation philosophy (see the article linked above) of word-for-word, it would be nice to have something in that center column that is thought-for-thought. The ParallelPlus options aren’t great.
- The CSB (Christian Standard Bible) is another conservative Evangelical translation, but thought-for-thought. It’s aimed at 7th grade.
That’s… it, for what I can recommend from ParallelPlus. I wouldn’t use any of the others there (unless you read Greek and Hebrew), and certainly nothing before the 1960s.
Now, if you want to augment beyond Parallel Plus, it’s a different ballgame entirely. There are many more options, including Study Bibles. These are translations augmented with extensive notes, essays, and charts. BYU Old Testament professor Joshua Sears has published good work introducing Latter-day Saints to Study Bibles, as well as his podcast interview, and his recent Q&A about it. Elder Holland talked about his joy working through one in 2021. Study Bibles generally aren’t free, but you can buy them in print or via Logos (which I use extensively).
Paper and other apps gives us a lot more options for variety and utility. (If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, just skip down.
- The JPS Tanakh published by the Jewish Publication Society for Jewish readers in 1985, this version reads quite differently. As a Jewish translation, it’s not beholden to the weighty Christian inertia of the KJV’s language. It’s aimed at an upper high-school/college freshman reading level. And of course, there’s no hint of Christian inerrancy driving the Jewish translation here. In my Old Testament study, I tend to use this as much as the NRSV and the Hebrew. You can get this translation as the Jewish Study Bible. The first edition is freely available as a PDF, or via Logos. The second edition is in hardcover. There is also a Jewish Annotated New Testament which uses the NRSV and is excellent (Logos link).
- Robert Alter’s literary translation and commentary. As a Jewish professor of both English literature and Hebrew Bible, Alter is highly attuned to those things that simply can’t be translated such as puns and allusions. His translation emphasizes the rhythm and feel of the Hebrew as much as possible, and his notes point out the untranslatable literary aspects, which can be quite important. And if you want to go even more Hebraic to the point of odd English, try Fox’s similar translations (Logos link.)
- The Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible is excellent, and those notes are available in print with several translations; the NRSV has become rare and expensive, so your choices are between the KJV, NKJV, and NIV. In Logos, you can link the notes to whatever translation(s) you want.
- The Society of Biblical Literature has published the SBL Study Bible, which uses the NRSV Updated Edition (which I think is a mixed bag over the 1989). The notes are generally excellent.
- The New Oxford Annotated Bible also uses the NRSV. The essays and footnotes here are fewer. (Logos link.)
How-to
If you are studying scripture closely in a group and going verse by verse (which I contrast with simply reading or teaching a *thematic* lesson), then it can be useful to have people read the same verse out loud from translations that differ and talk about the differences. Now, any given teacher or parent is likely not going to have the resources to know why verse X differs specifically between this translation and that translation. (If you read this article, you’ll probably have some ideas, and I’ll write some posts in the future addressing such questions.) Rather, focus on how the different translations together make scripture’s intent clearer, and what effect that has on your feelings and understanding of what it’s trying to teach.
This is an exciting time, and I am really looking forward to our study this year, and the positive effects of reading other translations. If you have questions, post them as comments.
Merry Christmas
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