ny Bible we read in English is a translation. The Bible was not written in English; it was written in Hebrew and Greek. Hebrew is a language of about ten thousand words. Greek is a language of about one hundred thousand words. To this day, there are words in Hebrew that we do not know; words like "shalom," which scholars have agreed can mean either "peace" or "wholeness," depending on the context. There are seven words in Hebrew for the English word "praise," and at least three words in Greek for the English word "love." Interesting, isn't it, that the English language, which has at least one million words, requires us to use separate modifiers to explain which kind of love the Greeks were talking about. 

Because biblical scholars come to the Bible from different theological positions, some translations will be more literal, some more dynamic, and some completely political. Literal translations are attempts to be absolutely faithful to the original languages. Dynamic translations try to give us the original meaning in the grammatical constructs of today's English. Political translations are designed to provide a specific agenda by a specific sect. I shall give examples of each type.

The most literal translations into English are simply unreadable because the original languages do not form words into thoughts the way we do in English. The most readable of the literal translations are the King James Bible (KJV), the Revised Standard Version (RSV), and the New American Standard Bible (NASB). The King James is a triumph of English literature, but the language we use today bears little resemblance to the King's English of the KJV. Reading the KJV often requires us to seek assistance to understand the meaning today. The RSV is similar, but still difficult. The NASB uses the language we use today, but much of the phrasing requires an advanced understanding of contemporary American literature, which is just not how most of us communicate.

The translations mentioned so far are all the work of Christian biblical scholars. There are other translations in English. The Jewish Publication Society version is known as the "Tanakh" and is very similar to the NASB Old Testament translation. The difficulty with the Tanakh is that it is purposely anti-christologic; that is, those places where Christians believe that Jesus Christ is specifically foretold are put into more generic terms to indicate that the messiah has not yet arrived. The prophesy in Isaiah which foretells the virgin birth is translated as "young woman" instead of "virgin." Both terms are factually accurate; the truth is still there in the understanding of the culture of the original writing. By that I mean that in ancient times a young woman was assumed to be a virgin before her marriage. Evidence that a woman might not be a virgin on her wedding night would have resulted in the marriage being called off, the dowry returned, any treaties made were over, and the woman was at least cast out of society if not stoned to death. A very new translation of the Torah entitled "The Five Books of Moses" by Rabbi Everett Fox of Worcester, Massachusetts has caused some excitement in the scholarly community. Rabbi Fox spent twenty-five years writing a translation that is written to be read aloud, just as the Torah has always meant to be read aloud. I find this translation very robust in the reading. I understand the Rabbi Fox is now working on the Psalms. I personally look forward to his future work.

The NWT of the Jehovahs is a recent writing. In the first half of the twentieth century the Jehovahs used the King James Version until they were caught in their misinterpretations. Then they devised their own translation and changed those things that they did not like. They changed John 1:1 from '"...and the Word was God." to, "...and the word was a god." When you engage Jehovahs in conversation, remember that they are not reading the same verses that you are.
All of this leads me to the point of this essay. Which Bible should we read? I suggest that each of us will read the translation with which we are most comfortable; probably the translation on which we grew up. We will always be more secure with the Bible we have heard as well as read. I learned early in my walk with Jesus Christ from a man who was on the original translation team for the NIV, the Reverend Doctor Donald Madvig, that each of the Christian translations provides God's truth; we just need to do our best to understand it.  
I suggest that when you read the daily lectionary, you should try to do so aloud. If you find yourself struggling with the meaning of a phrase, go to a translation that is not like yours and see what it says. If you are part of a group Bible study, it is useful for group members to read from different translations. I'll have other suggestions in the future on study methods.