Digital Logos Edition
Why use multiple translations? Using multiple translations while you study will give you a well-rounded understanding of the text at hand. Though it’s good to have a primary version for memorization and meditation, reading from different translations demonstrates sound scholarship and can help you better understand a passage by seeing what the biblical author meant in new ways.
The goal of every Bible translation is to balance faithfulness to the wording of the original language with readability in everyday English, but most lean more toward one or the other. Translations that prioritize mimicking the original forms—word choice, word order, and grammatical category—of the Hebrew and Greek are known as “formal equivalence” translations (also known as “word-for-word” translations).
Though formal translations tend to read more “wooden” for the modern reader, they honor the line between translation and commentary. They hold firm to the conviction that the Holy Spirit inspired not just the thoughts but the very words of Scripture. Therefore, they are accurate inasmuch as English has an exact equivalent for each Hebrew or Greek word.
The Formal (Thought-for-Thought) Translation Bible Bundle 1 includes King James Version (KJV), New King James Version (NKJV), Lexham English Bible (LEB), Revised Standard Version (RSV), and English Standard Version (ESV).