Which Bible translation should you read?

You’d be amazed at how often I hear ‘Wait, there’s more than one?’

Choosing a Bible sounds like a simple question until you try a Bible app or walk into a bookshop.

There’s the NIV, ESV, NLT, CSB, NASB, NRSV, NKJV, RSV, AMP, The Message and even more on top of that. And we’re just talking English language Bibles here.

There are dozens of English Bible translations, and each comes with passionate advocates. Some emphasise accuracy to the wording and structure of the original languages. Others place more weight on communicating the meaning in a natural modern English style. Some work particularly well for close study; others shine when you simply want to sit down and read several chapters at once.

So how do you choose?

Here's an approach you may not have considered:

Start with the Christian authors, pastors and Bible teachers you already enjoy.

What Bible translation does John Piper use? What does Beth Moore read? Why has Joyce Meyer used both the NIV and Amplified Bible? Which translation does Richard Foster recommend? What about British Christian writers such as J.John and Pete Greig? And what does N. T. Wright say when people ask him which Bible version is best?

Their answers are surprisingly varied.

And that's useful.

A favourite author's recommendation does not prove that one translation is objectively superior to every other Bible version. Translation involves thousands of decisions about how Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek should be expressed in English, and thoughtful Christians regularly reach different conclusions.

But an author's preference can tell you something valuable:

It tells you what they value when they read Scripture.

Some want an English Bible that allows them to see as much of the original wording as possible. Others prioritise clarity and accessibility. Some deliberately use several translations because they don't want familiar wording to stop them noticing what the text is actually saying.

So if your Bible reading has become a little too familiar and you want to try something new, here are some translations based on the Christian writers and teachers you already read and listen to.

What Bible translation does John Piper use?

If you read John Piper, one of the most obvious Bible translations to explore is the English Standard Version (ESV).

Piper had preached from the NASB for many years before Bethlehem Baptist Church adopted the ESV.

His preference is closely connected with the way he studies and preaches Scripture. Piper wants a translation that leaves as much as reasonably possible of the wording and grammatical relationships of the original text visible to the reader rather than resolving every difficulty through paraphrase.

His assessment is unusually straightforward:

“the best balance available of readability and literalness.”

That helps explain why the ESV has become so prominent in Reformed and conservative evangelical circles.

Piper's ministry has also said:

“We are building all our future ministry around the ESV.”

You might enjoy the ESV if…

You enjoy John Piper's close, phrase-by-phrase approach to Scripture.

It can be particularly interesting if you normally use a smoother translation and want to notice more of the structure underneath the English.

What Bible translation did J. I. Packer use?

Readers of J. I. Packer, author of Knowing God, have an even stronger reason to investigate the ESV.

Packer did not merely recommend it. He served as general editor of the ESV Translation Oversight Committee.

Reflecting on the completed translation, Packer said the ESV offered a:

“richer, clearer, stronger, and more powerful” presentation of what Scripture is saying.

Packer's involvement tells you something important about the philosophy behind the ESV.

Its translators wanted readable English, but they were reluctant to smooth away details simply because a freer wording might sound easier.

If Packer's combination of careful theology and close attention to biblical language appeals to you, the ESV is an obvious translation to explore.

What Bible translation does Francis Chan use?

Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love and Forgotten God, actually changed the Bible translation he preached from.

His explanation for choosing the ESV is simple:

“I find it both accurate and easily readable.”

Chan says he made the switch after preaching from the same version for more than ten years.

What Bible translation does J.John use?

For a distinctly British recommendation, J.John is worth listening to.

The evangelist, speaker and author is a long-established voice within UK Christianity, and his endorsement of the New International Version (NIV) gets straight to one of the translation's central aims:

“The NIV communicates clearly and relevantly to our world today.”

That word clearly matters.

The NIV does not attempt to preserve every Greek or Hebrew construction mechanically in English. Its translators aim to communicate the meaning of the original text in a language contemporary readers can naturally understand, while still remaining closely anchored to the source languages.

That makes it particularly versatile.

You can read the NIV devotionally, hear it preached in church, use it in a small group or spend serious time studying it.

It is also especially significant for UK readers: the NIV remains the UK's bestselling modern English Bible translation.

You might enjoy the NIV if…

You appreciate J.John's accessible, conversational approach to Christianity and want a Bible that similarly prioritises clear communication.

It is also a strong choice if you want one translation that can comfortably move between private reading, church and study.

What Bible translation does Scot McKnight use?

New Testament scholar and author Scot McKnight makes the whole question more interesting.

McKnight has publicly praised the NIV, calling it:

“an exceptional translation, designed to be read and heard in an idiom that we can understand.”

But ask him whether he has a single favourite translation and his answer is different.

“No, I don't.”

McKnight has explained that the translation he uses often depends upon his context: NIV in some settings, NRSV in more academic contexts and Greek in technical scholarship.

He has also produced his own deliberately close rendering, The Second Testament, designed in part to make experienced Bible readers slow down and encounter familiar language differently.

What Bible translation does Richard Foster recommend?

If you read Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline, consider the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Foster's endorsement is among the strongest in this article:

“I view the NRSV translation to be the finest English Bible we have today.”

He specifically praises its scholarship, accuracy and readability.

The NRSV has been especially influential in seminaries, universities, Anglican and mainline Protestant churches and ecumenical settings. Catholic editions are also available.

An updated edition, the NRSVue, has since appeared.

Foster's famous endorsement relates to the NRSV, although publishers of the updated edition continue to reproduce his comments alongside the NRSVue.

What Bible translation does Barbara Brown Taylor use?

Episcopal priest, professor and bestselling author Barbara Brown Taylor is very clear about her preference:

“The NRSV is my first choice.”

Taylor says she uses it for her college classes as well as her own study and devotion, praising its scholarship and textual notes.

Readers of An Altar in the World, Learning to Walk in the Dark and Taylor's other books may therefore find the NRSV (or its updated successor, the NRSVue) a natural translation to explore.

What Bible translation does James Martin use?

The NRSV also has significant support within Catholic Christianity.

Jesuit priest and author James Martin, SJ describes the Catholic edition as:

“The best contemporary translation of the Bible.”

The NRSV Catholic Edition includes the books of the Catholic canon while retaining the NRSV's broader translation philosophy.

It is therefore worth exploring if you read James Martin or simply want to encounter a translation used across Catholic, Anglican, academic and ecumenical contexts.

What Bible translation does Tony Evans use?

The Christian Standard Bible (CSB) deliberately aims to combine close attention to the original languages with contemporary readability.

That balance lies at the heart of Tony Evans' endorsement.

He calls it:

“a clear trustworthy translation of the Holy Scriptures.”

Evans is also closely associated with the translation through the Tony Evans Study Bible.

The CSB occupies an interesting middle ground. It often feels less formal than the ESV or NASB while still preserving a significant amount of the original sentence structure and terminology.

You might enjoy the CSB if…

You listen to Tony Evans or other contemporary evangelical teachers and want a translation that is easy to read without becoming highly paraphrastic.

What Bible translation does Beth Moore use?

Beth Moore provides one of the most interesting examples because she has intentionally changed translations during her teaching ministry.

She describes spending:

“Years and years and years of the NIV”

before moving to the ESV.

Then she encountered the CSB:

“The CSB has just come out and it is spectacular.”

But Moore's reason for changing translations may be more interesting than the endorsement itself.

She explains that once she becomes so familiar with a Bible that she can anticipate exactly how a verse will be worded, changing translations helps restore her attention.

Opening an unmarked Bible allowed familiar passages to feel new again.

If you read Pete Greig: try the NIV, but don't be afraid to compare translations

British author and 24-7 Prayer founder Pete Greig offers another interesting approach.

Greig's books frequently use the NIV as their main Scripture text. God on Mute, for example, uses the NIV by default while also drawing from translations including the ESV, NASB and The Message.

But Greig's own comments on Bible translation suggest that his deeper priority is not loyalty to one English brand.

It's understanding.

Speaking with Wycliffe Bible Translators, Greig says:

“It's essential to give people the Scriptures in the language of their hearts.”

He explains that Scripture is not merely a textbook but something intended to speak to the heart and soul of people within their own language and culture.

Elsewhere in the same interview he says:

“Scripture is the primary way in which God speaks to me.”

And then:

“The Bible isn't just how I know about God, it's how I know God.”

That's a helpful philosophy when choosing a translation.

Accuracy matters enormously, but a Bible sitting unopened because its English continually feels impenetrable is not accomplishing much in your daily life.

You might enjoy this approach if you read Pete Greig…

Start with a clear translation such as the NIV, especially if you want something suited to prayer and daily reading.

But don't be afraid to have another translation beside it.

Greig's own published writing regularly draws from more than one version, and that practice fits naturally with the emphasis of books such as How to Pray and How to Hear God: Scripture is something to read attentively, pray through and respond to, not simply analyse.

What Bible translation does Kay Arthur recommend?

Readers shaped by Kay Arthur and Precept-style inductive Bible study have a different set of priorities.

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) has long appealed to readers who want English wording that remains relatively close to the grammatical details of the original text.

Arthur's recommendation could hardly be stronger:

“The NASB is ‘my’ Bible, the finest and clearest of translations for inductive study.”

She goes on to say that it is the translation she recommends above others for that purpose.

That makes sense given the method Arthur teaches: marking repeated words, observing grammatical connections, tracing themes and carefully examining what a passage says before moving to interpretation.

You might enjoy the NASB if…

You study Scripture with a notebook, pencil and concordance.

It may not feel as effortless during prolonged narrative reading as a freer translation, but the qualities that make it slightly less conversational can become strengths during detailed study.

What Bible translation does Scott Hahn recommend?

Catholic readers have another fascinating option in the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (RSV-2CE).

Catholic biblical theologian and author Scott Hahn gives it an especially memorable recommendation:

“the most beautiful English translation of the Bible today.”

The RSV-2CE retains much of the literary character of the RSV while updating some older language and incorporating the Catholic canon.

You might enjoy the RSV-2CE if…

You read Scott Hahn and other Catholic biblical theologians, or simply prefer a slightly more traditional literary style.

It also makes an interesting comparison with the NRSV Catholic Edition: two related translations whose later revision histories moved in somewhat different directions.

Should you read The Message? Eugene Peterson explains why he wrote it

The Message occupies a different place in the Bible translation conversation.

To understand it properly, it helps to understand why Eugene Peterson created it.

Peterson was a pastor. He found that people in his congregation could hear familiar biblical vocabulary without really hearing what it meant anymore.

So he began putting passages into the kind of English his congregation actually spoke.

He later explained:

“I was just trying to translate into the language my parishioners used.”

That sentence unlocks much of The Message.

It was designed to make familiar Scripture sound alive again.

Peterson described the process in terms of listening carefully for the heart of what is being said and reproducing it in the vernacular English he heard around him.

So instead of asking only:

“Should I replace my normal Bible with The Message?”

try asking:

“What happens if I read this passage in my normal translation and then read it again in The Message?”

That is often where its value becomes obvious.

What does Max Lucado say about The Message?

Max Lucado is one of the Christian writers who has praised The Message specifically for its freshness.

He says:

“Seems like forever since I've picked up a Bible that made the stories so fresh and new.”

And then:

“What a friend this Bible has become.”

That isn't really an argument about whether The Message renders an individual Greek verb more precisely than the NASB.

It is an endorsement of the experience of encountering familiar Scripture differently.

And sometimes that may be exactly what a long-term Bible reader needs from a second translation.

What Bible translation does Joyce Meyer use?

If you associate Joyce Meyer exclusively with the Amplified Bible, the real picture is more interesting.

Meyer has a particularly long personal relationship with the Amplified Classic Bible.

She says:

“For many years, my absolute go-to version was the Amplified Classic Bible (AMPC).”

She also says she likes the ESV, but her broader advice is revealing:

“you need a Bible translation you can understand.”

Joyce Meyer Ministries also uses the NIV prominently in her teaching, alongside the Amplified and ESV.

That suggests an interesting combination.

Use something such as the NIV for continuous reading.

Open the Amplified Bible when you want to slow down over a phrase.

And compare the ESV when you want a more formally structured rendering.

What Bible translation does N. T. Wright recommend?

Ask New Testament scholar and British author N. T. Wright which Bible translation you should use and you don't get a simple brand recommendation.

You get a method.

Wright says:

“I don't much mind as long as they always have at least two open on the desk.”

That may be one of the best pieces of advice in this entire article.

Wright has produced his own New Testament translation, but he explicitly presents it as one translation among many.

Why compare translations?

Because every translation has to make choices.

Should an ancient idiom be reproduced literally or replaced with a natural English equivalent?

Should an ambiguous Greek phrase remain ambiguous?

Should a long Greek sentence stay long in English?

Should the same Greek word always receive the same English word, or should its translation change according to context?

Two reputable Bible translations can make different choices.

Opening both allows you to see some of those decisions.

Wright's analogy is memorable: even the finest translation remains something like trying to play a Beethoven symphony on a mouth organ.

In other words, something is inevitably lost.

Which is a very good reason to read more than one.

So what is the best Bible translation?

There probably isn't one English Bible that is “best” for every reader and every purpose.

A more helpful question is:

What do you want this translation to help you do?

If you want close word-by-word study, explore the ESV or NASB.

If you want a strong balance between accuracy and everyday readability, compare the NIV and CSB.

If you want very natural, flowing contemporary English, the NLT is well worth exploring.

If you want a translation widely used in academic, Anglican, ecumenical and mainline Christian settings, try the NRSV or NRSVue.

If you are Catholic, compare the RSV-2CE and NRSV Catholic Edition.

If you want familiar verses to sound fresh and unexpected, add The Message as a companion.

And if you aren't sure?

Take N. T. Wright's advice.

Use two.

If you aren’t sure which Bible to get, there are a few ways we can help.

1. Try the Bible Finder: We’ve put together a simple way to filter down to the perfect Bible for you. Just choose a translation, pick the features you want and select a comfortable text size. You can try the Bible Finder here.
2. Read more from the Blog: We are always adding new guides, insights and articles that explore ways of understanding the different Bibles available today, as well as how to make your decision. Read our Bible posts today
3. Read our Book: Over the years, we’ve explored hundreds of topics and questions about knowing which Bible to get. We’ve compiled all that information into an easy-to-read eBook that is completely free to download. Download our book “How to Choose Your Bible” today.