My Favorite Translation

I often get asked which translation I like to use for my study of the Text. There are many different ways of answering this question, but none of them truly do.

First, there is the NIV (particularly the 1984 edition, now known as NIV84). This is the translation I use the most, by far. This isn’t so much by choice as it is familiarity. I grew up with the NIV84. I hear the verses and remember my memory verses from the NIV84. I studied under Ray Vander Laan and the Bible we all used was an NIV84. Again, this decision wasn’t made because it was the “best” translation. It was made because of familiarity.

In Bible college, the accepted translation for much of our study was the NASB. In short, I hate the NASB — for many reasons, one of them would probably be my negative feelings toward homework.

I continue to be impressed by the ESV. Time and time again in my class, when I try to catch a translation error (a dangerous game to play — the people who translated the Text are not stupid), the students who have an ESV are usually sitting with the word translated correctly, foiling my plans.

All in all, I still find that the newest, updated NIV is one of my favorites. It continues to be my “go-to” Bible and probably will for some time. I do love to brush up on my Hebrew understanding by reading the Orthodox Jewish Bible (and even Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible, as well). And nothing can beat sitting down with a good cup of coffee and the Message (I prefer the “Remix” edition). And please don’t get me started with all the whiners out there who scream about “paraphrases.” It’s the art of translation, people; on some level, it’s all a paraphrase. That’s how translation works.

But that’s not what this blog post is about.

No, I want to come and publicly declare to the world what my favorite translation of the Scriptures has always been. There is one translation that has topped them all throughout my study.

My mom.

My mom has spent her entire life trying to impress what she understands about God onto her children. She has taken the commandments of God and incarnated them for the family to see. She has learned about God’s compassion and she has shown us compassion. She has learned about God’s forgiveness and she has never failed to model forgiveness to us. She has learned about God’s faithfulness and she has never ceased to be faithful.

My mom has never translated the Text from the Hebrew into the English. My mom has never parsed a Greek verb in her life.

But my mom has spent her life translating the Text for her family.

My wife has often commented at how frustrating it can be to feel so guilty that she doesn’t have time to study the Text like I do. The Jews teach that while the men of the family race off to school to learn the Text and pass it on to their families, the women are busy putting it into practice.

While I sit in my office studying the nuances of a Text that changes lives, the great women of my life have been busy living it. While I prepare to teach others, they already started teaching long ago.

So if I might take a break from our blog series, it would be worth it to pause and say thank you to my mom. You are the best translation I have ever had the privilege to experience. Thanks for your commitment. Thanks for your dedication. Thanks for never giving up on any of us — but even more importantly, never giving up on God.

Thanks, Mom. We love you.

Happy Mother’s Day.

XOXO