I’ve gotten tons of mileage out of my NIV and ESV Study Bibles, as well as various other commentaries written by Bible scholars. Whew! This option was a tough one to decide. Let Scripture interpret Scripture: features like cross-referencing (pictured here) and chain reference links are extremely invaluable, in my opinion. The deeper I get into studying, the more I use these often-unappreciated resources. Translation Notes/Cross Reference/Chain Reference: It would be nice to have an ESV/NIV or ESV/LSB parallel, but those can be viewed electronically online and in my opinion, would take up too much room on paper for my dream Bible. Another honorable mention is the CSB for its astute balance between formal and dynamic equivalency. I love the newer LSB (Legacy Standard Bible), as well as the NASB95 on which it is based, but the literalness of the strict rendering can be a bit limiting to our everyday reading. My main, “every day” Bible has been the NIV for a number of years now, but there are times I wish the wording was a little closer to the original Hebrew and Greek text.

While I use all of these translations (and more) in my studies, I think that the ESV is a straightforward, highly-accurate translation that still is fairly easy to read.

Just as long as you sit daily with the 66 books of Scripture and let the Word of God transform you, all the other features are just “icing on the cake.” So if I could “BMOB” or “Build My Own Bible,” what would it be?ĮSV. Any solid, accurate English rendering of the original Hebrew and Greek texts done by a reputable translation committee is really all you need. Do you have a preferred translation, features, or look and feel for what best suits you? If you had absolute total control over all of the different publishing houses like Zondervan, Crossway, Thomas Nelson, and others, and get them to collaborate to release your own dream edition, what would it include?īefore we get to the fun, keep in mind that there is no substitute for a good, plain Bible. Think hard and see what you would consider to be the “ultimate,” all-purpose, everyday Bible for you. Here’s a cool little exercise: if you could put together your “dream Bible”, what would it look like?

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