The King James Bible – 1611 (KJV)
     In the early 1600s, the varied English translations of the Bible led to division rather than unity. When King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England, he called for a conference in 1604 to resolve the differences. From the conference came King James’ order to produce a new translation. Its purpose was “to deliver God’s book unto God’s people in a tongue which they could understand.”

The New International Version – 1978 (NIV)
     The New International Version (NIV) is a dynamic equivalent translation which means that scholars use modern language to capture the intent of the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek phrases. The NIV provides an excellent combination of readability and accuracy.

The New Revised Standard Version – 1990 (NRSV)
     The New Revised Standard Version (1952) was the standard for mainline Protestants in the United States for over 20 years. In 1974, following the discovery of many new manuscripts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, the NRSV was commissioned. It is the primary translation in use in mainline Protestant churches in the United States and is widely used in Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches around the world. The NRSV was the first translation to take special care to avoid exclusively masculine pronouns when making reference to people, i.e. humanity instead of mankind.

The Good News Bible (Today’s English Version) – 1976
     The Good News Bible was originally published as a Bible designed for those who speak English as a second language. The current edition was updated in 1992 to reflect new scholarship and gender-inclusive language. Because of its readability, it makes an excellent version for children and younger adults.

Living Bible, Paraphrased – 1971
      In 1956, Kenneth Taylor embarked on paraphrasing the American Standard Version (1901) in simple, modern English so that his children could better understand the Bible. The Living Bible was not intended to be an accurate translation but, rather, something that was easy to read. In 1996, the same publisher produced Holy Bible, New Living Translation, a revision of the Living Bible translated from original texts using dynamic equivalence. This version is written at a junior-high reading level, and uses more gender-inclusive language than the Living Bible.

The Message – 2002
     Completed in 2002, Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the Bible uses modern, often complex, language to convey the text’s meaning. Although Peterson, a Presbyterian pastor, uses dynamic equivalence, he often presents the Bible as if it and its characters were located in 21st century America. The Message is written as a story and often includes added details in order to draw the reader into the text.