What is the most accurate and literal English translation of the Bible?

Answer 1

New American Standard Bible and the New International Version. Both are accurate, the NASB is more literal, NIV is more "readable".

Answer 2

First of all let me say that all the translations of the Bible
are good...if you can understand what you are reading.
Those translations who use Old English words were good for those days excellent.
But today language change sense then. People do not use such language. The King James Translation is an example. Case in point, Genesis 25 verse 28 and verse 29
sod pottage, and faint. What did these words mean in our language? there are a lot more but I don't want be the source of it look it up with a good Bible Dictionary or use the translation I use...
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, rendered from the Original Languages.
For some that's a no no...I know where you are coming from.
But seriously check it out.
I'm not a J.W.

Answer 3

What Mr Badwrench said "Generally speaking,the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version are the Most accurate" is correct. The NIV is an idea for idea or "equivalent" translation. It's useful for getting the general sense of a passage in easy to understand English, but it isn't good for people who are studying the Bible and looking for the exact words.

What I recommend is downloading the e-Sword software that comes standard with the KJV with Strong's numbers so that you can see the actual Greek and Hebrew words along with a short definition of them. You can download other versions of the Bible and compare how translators chose different words, download the KJV concordance to see how the same word was translated with different English words according to the context it was used in and many other useful study aids.

It's available from a link on the Free Stuff page @ http://web.express56.com/~bromar/ along with the add-ons I mentioned at no cost, however if you want to pay a fee you can also download Zodiahtes Word Study for the e-Sword software that gives a much more complete look into the original words.

Answer 4

The New American Standard Bible is the most accurate/literal, followed closely by the King James Version.

Many people like the NIV because it is more readable, but it's translated according to the Dynamic Equivalence principle which is definitely less literal. That said, most of the versions are pretty close, though many of the ones from the last 5-10 years use language that is less precise (subtleties lost in translation) than the others.

Edit: I just realized I forgot about the English Standard Version. I would rank that one in the same category as the New American Standard. Very literal and very accurate.

Answer 5

Which translation is the most accurate and why do we have so many versions?
First of all, remember that the original writings were in the language of the day. Hebrew, Greek and some Aramaic were the languages of the original writings. Church scholars then translated the Bible into Latin, and eventually English. In the course of translation, they would examine the original Greek word and then translate that into the appropriate language they desired.
Wycliffes' Bible, A.D.1383, was produced by John Wycliffe, a Catholic who believed that Christ alone was the true head of the church and not the pope. He(with associates)produced the first English translation of the Vulgate(Latin) and distributed it in England. He was condemned by Pope Gregory XI.
Tyndale- 1530 A.D. first to translate entire Bible in original languages directly into English.
King James-1611 A.D. used much of the Vulgate, it was the standard for centuries of use by Christians worldwide. Fifty-four scholars were on the translation committee. It is still considered one of the best translations after almost 400 years of use. The old English that is used makes it difficult for many to use in modern times.
English Revised, American Standard, New King James (1885-1979)
These are modern English translations of the King James Bible.
New International Version (1973, 1984) This is a translation directly from the earliest Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Very widely accepted and used.
Living Bible(1972), Good News(1976), The Message(1995)- These "Bibles"
paraphrase the literally translated Bibles. They attempt to present concepts, ideas and theology in the most relevant language for modern culture. Though they are an easy way to understand the basic teachings, they are not intended to be used for extensive Bible study since they are human paraphrases of God's literal Word.


Version changes are good when they provide a means of spreading the Gospel to more people throughout the world. One must be somewhat cautious however, and recognize the difference between a "paraphrased version" as explained above and a version which is based on the original manuscripts. They are to be used for different purposes. For extensive and in-depth Bible study, stick with a version based on the original manuscripts.

Answer 6

...do you want accurate, or literal? They're not the same thing, you know. Sometimes ideas can not be expressed the same in two very different languages.

The NIV, or New International Version (that should tell you a bit about it right there, how presumptuous that "international" should be English, huh?) is usually considered to be the most literal translation from the Greek and Aramaic.

It is hard to tell what the most Accurate version is. I know my NIV and my RNA (sort of the equivalent to the NIV, but in Spanish) don't always get quite the same nuance.

The living Bible is not bad, but for my money (and I've spent more of it than I should have during that period in my life on Bibles) the Amplified New King James is the most accurate.

Answer 7

Generally speaking,the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version are the Most accurate. There are Many easier to read versions out there today,but that doesn't mean that they are more accurate than the older versions. Face it,the Bible is a very difficult book to read and understand in any form. Why do you think there are so many differences of opinion and different religions based on one book? Does that mean that it's not true? Absolutely not! Obviously GOD meant the truth to be contained in the Bible,but He also meant for it to be searched out in a thoughtful and prayerful way. He's not going to spoon feed it to anyone. Good luck.

Answer 8

Since the Textus Receptus is the most reliable text, Youngs Literal Translation and The King James are the most accurate. All the other versions. including the NKJV are based on "let s be different" texts,

Answer 9

The DR

If you're looking for a serious answer.....the Douay-Rheims. Its the original of the translations into English. The King James even borrowed heavily from it. The Douay- Rheims, named for the towns it was developed in, was worked on and translated in the latter 1500's. King James was not published until1611. Also the "extra" 7 books found in the Catholic Old Testament were also originally in the King James Authorized version but were later removed by Protestants. The Catholic Church never "added" "extra" books, but existing books were removed by Protestants. Look it up for yourself.

The DR is a direct translation into English from the common Latin Vulgate used universally throughout the Church at that time. This Latin Vulgate is the original Latin translation made by Saint Jerome around 400 AD (approximately) from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and then Greek scrolls.

So...from the original scrolls, to the first Latin, to English in the DR. As far as English versions go its has the most direct link to the original scriptures.

Answer 10

Try ESV

There is not a definitive answer, as there is no complete one set of original manuscripts for comparison. As the original manuscripts are found and explored, there may be minor adjustment in translations. But Gods word does not change with linguistic variation. Not coincidental that through thousands of years, the old documents continue to reinforce what we have today, rather than show error.

Answer 11

If you are looking for literal, you should go with either the KJV or the New KJV. If you want to be able to understand it, the New Living Translation is my fave. The translators use a "modern equivalent" when translating phrases or lengths or amounts. This helps me to better picture what is being said, and to really relate it to my life.