All twenty-six translations
In alphabetical order, with a one-sentence summary of each, so you don’t have to open all twenty-six to get the gist. Tap any one for its full profile — history, distinctives, who it’s a good fit for, and a sample verse. Sorted word-for-word to thought-for-thought instead? See the full comparison or the rankings. Curious why these twenty-six in particular? Here’s why.
- AMPFormal
Amplified Bible
A study tool that expands key words with bracketed alternatives and definitions right in the text, so a reader can see the range of meaning without a lexicon.
- BSBOptimal
Berean Standard Bible
A free, public-domain translation built with every word linked back to its Hebrew or Greek root.
- CEBDynamic
Common English Bible
A readable, mainline-sponsored translation aimed at a comfortable 7th-grade reading level, best known for rendering “the Son of Man” as “the Human One.”
- CEVDynamic
Contemporary English Version
A 4th-grade-level translation written to be read aloud clearly, for readers with little or no church background.
- CSBOptimal
Christian Standard Bible
A modern “optimal equivalence” translation designed to be read naturally aloud without drifting into paraphrase.
- ESVFormal
English Standard Version
A formal, word-for-word translation designed for close study, without losing its literary voice.
- GNTDynamic
Good News Translation
A dynamic-equivalence translation written in plain, common English for readers with little or no church background.
- GWOptimal
GOD'S WORD Translation
A "closest natural equivalence" translation built to avoid both stiff literalism and loose paraphrase.
- ISVOptimal
International Standard Version
A "Literal-Idiomatic" translation aiming for a middle path between strict word-for-word accuracy and readable modern English.
- KJVFormal
King James Version
The original English translation whose language still echoes through English idiom, hymnody, and worship four centuries later.
- LEBFormal
Lexham English Bible
A highly literal translation built to be read alongside the original Hebrew and Greek, not as a stand-alone reading Bible.
- LSBFormal
Legacy Standard Bible
An update of the NASB tradition designed to be the most consistently literal English translation available.
- LSVFormal
Literal Standard Version
An explicit modernization of Young's Literal Translation, aiming to be the most literal English Bible currently available.
- MEVFormal
Modern English Version
An explicit update of the King James Version, re-translated directly from its Hebrew and Greek source texts rather than modernized word by word.
- MSBOptimal
Majority Standard Bible
The Berean Standard Bible's Old Testament paired with a New Testament translated fresh from the Byzantine Majority Text.
- MSGParaphrase
The Message
A paraphrase, not a translation in the same sense as the rest of this list — but one built directly from the Hebrew and Greek rather than from an existing English Bible.
- NASBFormal
New American Standard Bible
A formally precise, word-for-word translation long regarded as the standard for close Bible study.
- NCVDynamic
New Century Version
An easy-reading translation that grew out of a Bible originally built for deaf readers and children.
- NETMixed
New English Translation
A modern translation built around its own extensive footnotes, showing the reasoning behind nearly every rendering.
- NIrVDynamic
New International Reader's Version
The NIV's own text and translation philosophy, simplified in vocabulary and sentence length to a third-grade reading level.
- NIVDynamic
New International Version
A thought-for-thought translation designed to read as clear, natural English for as wide an audience as possible.
- NKJVFormal
New King James Version
The King James's language modernized, without changing the underlying text it's translated from.
- NLTDynamic
New Living Translation
A clear, conversational translation designed to read as naturally as everyday storytelling.
- NRSVueFormal
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition
The 2021 Updated Edition of the NRSV — the formal, inclusive-language translation standard across mainline Protestant churches and academic biblical studies.
- VOICEDynamic
The Voice
A screenplay-formatted retelling that renders dialogue without quotation marks and translates "Christ" as a title, not a name.
- WEBFormal
World English Bible
A free, public-domain modernization of the 1901 ASV, built on the Majority Text rather than the Critical Text.