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Best Bible Translation for Memory Verses
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Which Bible translation do you prefer for memory verses? We are using the KJV for our regular Bible readings. Do you think it is important to use the same tranlation for our memory verses? The other translation I like is the New Living Translation.
I just want the Word that they hold in their hearts to be easily by them understood in order for them to be able to apply it to their lives, as well as understandable to others with whom they share the Word.
What do you think? Am I thinking about this too much and it really doesnt matter as long as they are reading and memorizing the Word?
That’s probably a highly controversial issue for some. All I would want to ensure is that the translation I used was an actual translation and not a paraphrase.
What translation do you use in your church? I think that’s the first place to start. Each week we learn a Bible verse that is going to be read the next Sunday, so for us it is very important to use the same translation as our church.
Well, the church we attend at the moment uses many different translations. They seem to pick the verse(s) which most clearly communicate the point the pastor is trying to make. Actually that is something I really don’t like about this church. They don’t study an entire passage so much as they pick and choose verses (yes, sometimes they have used a verse completely out of context.) along a certain theme. The only reason we still attend this church is that for a while we had no car and so I was relying on a friend for rides to church so we just started attending her church. We are military and will be (hopefully) moving soon so I don’t think it’s worth the time and effort right now to find a new church.
Okay, all that to say that what my church uses does NOT need to play a role in the bible translation we use. I really don’t know much about the different translations other than:
1. I believe the KJV has the most beautiful language
and
2. It seems like the NIV is what most people are most familiar with.
NIV has just come out with a new edition (or will very very shortly) so you should make sure you have the newer one. Or the older one I guess, depending on what you want to do. I suppose most bible study stuff, including that for children will have to be revamped to the new NIV.
I would opt for the KJV though. It hasn’t changed in several hundred years so it’s a pretty sure bet. 😉
Our family reads, memorizes and enjoys the English Standard Version. I love that it is a literal translation that flows beautifully.
Here is a good article where John Piper expresses why he chose the ESV. His explanations are far better than mine could be. He makes the point that any translation, no matter how weak is still better than none. http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/good-english-with-minimal-translation-why-bethlehem-uses-the-esv
This is obviously a personal choice, but I thought perhaps this article would enrich the discussion. No offense intended toward anyone’s favorite translation.
Blessings,
Christie
I think a more poetic, lovely language version like the KJV is the easiest to memorize, personally. In high school I had a friend who did Bible quizzes. They used KJV and I had never seen one. I tried to memorize verses from MY own Bible (I had NASB at the time) and failed miserably, until I got a KJV like she had, then I could just about keep up with her. 🙂 It’s like song lyrics, which I memorize very easily. There is a rhythm and beauty. I don’t really see a comprehension issue, myself, but that’s because my children and I have consistently read it. We do sometimes consult other versions and look up specific words when we need to, but we have no problems understanding KJV. And it’s beautiful—to me, memorizing something else would be like taking a poet’s poem and “translating” the language into vanilla prose and then learning that instead of the poem. (Yes, I know the Bible was not originally written in KJV–no flames please! It’s just such a foundational part of English literature.)
We also like the ESV. It’s a very nice mix of literal translation and readability. Here’s another article that give some reasons why it’s a good translation. http://elimbaptist.org/2007/09/01/which-bible-should-i-use/
I just had a funny thought about some version being more “poetic” than others. The Bible does contain poetry and it seems to be poetic in all of the translations.
In her book “A Biblical Home Education”, Ruth Beechick talks about the KJV being the easiest to memorizer because of its cadence. She uses Psalm 23 as an illustration to compare in the different translations. She also said it will help prepare students to read classical literature, Shakespeare, etc.
It made sense to me. DD has only memorized verses through AWANA, thus far, which have all been in NIV. Some of them have seemed a bit awkward or stilted to me, having memorized them in the traditional KJV in years past. I’ll need to make a decision by fall, I guess.
Off to read the articles about ESV for curiousity . . . 😉
April
We read only and memorize only the KJV.
My girls are 9, 7, and 5 and have no difficulty reading nor memorizing this English version.I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. When we were using AO they rec. reading KJV to help kids understand the old Eng. literature. I talked to hubby (the theologian in the family) about this, and he said the priority to him was the kids engaging and understanding Scripture. So, we currently do NIV…but I’m very drawn to ESV for my next Bible and may go that route:) Just personal preference, I think! Blessings, Gina
On the new NIV, many churches have denounced it. I have my old 1984 one but it is falling apart. I tried to find a replacement recently but the store had only 2011 editions. Not trying to be controversial, just commenting to someone else mentioning it and needing newer version possibly. Just beware that some church leaders feel the new 2011 NIV is not acceptable in translation or rather has too many errors.
We have several translations in our home and use them all on occasion, but the one we read from and study from daily is the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), which is the same one our boys use for Bible Drill at our church.
The NIV issue concerns gender-neutral language. In 2005 the TNIV was released w/over 3,000 changes in gender translation- removing the “maleness”. The rerelease of 2011 corrected some but not all, though probably some may be a more accurate rendering, many of the others may be PC influenced; which has infected the process.
IN answer to the OP question, whe used the Holman Standard Version children’s bible when they were young (which is highly recommended alongside the ESV as a fairly good balance between word-for-word and thought-for-thought,); however, we wouldn’t use it now.
I don’ t like the paraphrasing Bibles at all.
Now that mine are older (ages 11), we use the Complete Jewish Bible- they each received thier own copy at their immersions; there are a few Psalms and verses that I remember from my childhood which are from the NKJV for the fluidity of the language and I do’t perceive a difference in meaning or other issues I have with translations that I won’t go into here.
We have used the ESV too, I grew up with that and so it was a natural fit for our family. I also love KJV which we used in school, but I still prefer the ESV for everyday study and learning. It is all very personal to the reader I think and in that sense there is no right or wrong version, just personal preference.
I think the ESV version you are speaking about is the Crossway version which I also use and like, the one that is my favourite is The New English Bible- mine was published in 1961 and was The New Testament, later the Old Testament was published as well. I used it in school for religious studies along with the KJV and comparing it to the ESV it is very similar. Just wanted to clarify.
My girls are 9, 7, and 5 and have no difficulty reading nor memorizing this English version.
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