BBibleTranslationGuide

English Bible Translations

Which Bible translation should you use?

There’s no single best answer — it depends what you’re using it for. This site lays out twenty-six major English translations: how literally each renders the original, how it reads, where its text comes from, and who it might be best for.

See the full comparisonWhy these 26 translations?
FormalBalancedDynamicParaphrase
word-for-wordoptimal + mixedthought-for-thoughtfreely restated

Read a verse in every version

Pick a popular passage and read all twenty-six side by side, ordered word-for-word to thought-for-thought.

Rankings, by purpose

Best for daily reading, preaching, memorization, or serious study — each use ranked and explained, not just listed.

Bible Translation Tree

A third of the twenty-six descend from the King James Version, the rest are independent work — laid out as one diagram of how they all connect.

Full comparison

The full table — philosophy, reading level, textual basis, publisher, and more, sortable by any column.

Find your church

Look up a U.S. church, and help us by updating its denomination and translation. For most churches, the pulpit translation isn't known yet.

Common questions

What “accurate” means, why there are so many, what the manuscripts are, what changed since the KJV.

Where each one lands

Translations sit on a spectrum from word-for-word to thought-for-thought. It’s a choice of method, not a measure of quality — every translation here is a serious work by a scholarly committee.

Formalword-for-wordBalancedoptimal + mixedDynamicthought-for-thoughtParaphrasefreely restatedLiteral Standard VersionLSVLegacy Standard BibleLSBLexham English BibleLEBNew American Standard BibleNASBEnglish Standard VersionESVWorld English BibleWEBKing James VersionKJVNew King James VersionNKJVModern English VersionMEVAmplified BibleAMP *New Revised Standard Version, Updated EditionNRSVueBerean Standard BibleBSBMajority Standard BibleMSBInternational Standard VersionISVChristian Standard BibleCSBGOD'S WORD TranslationGWNew English TranslationNETNew International VersionNIVNew International Reader's VersionNIrVCommon English BibleCEBNew Century VersionNCVNew Living TranslationNLTGood News TranslationGNTContemporary English VersionCEVThe VoiceVOICEThe MessageMSG

The translations in translation-method order, word-for-word (Formal) on the left, thought-for-thought (Dynamic) toward the right. The Amplified's asterisk marks its bracketed expansions pulling the printed page rightward of its NASB-level base text.

See the full rankings, by purpose →

The twenty-six

Ordered word-for-word to thought-for-thought, like the spectrum above — read down the left column, then the right. Tap any one for a full profile.

How we got the English Bible

Tyndale's martyrdom, the King James Version, and the six-hundred-year story behind the translations above.

Where translations differ

The specific verses where the wording visibly differs, and why — bracketed passages, the Textus Receptus, and more.

Watch instead

A short, curated set of videos on where the English Bible came from and how to choose one.

BibleTranslationGuide is a non-commercial project with no affiliation to any publisher. It covers the 66-book Protestant canon and the translations most used in Protestant churches.