It’s a literal translation of the Hebrew text emphasizing “word-for-word” accuracy. It maintains many of the theological terms used in the older translations. However, some of the artistic beauties of the older translations are lost with this translation. Some people find the language too archaic in some verses. ESV is an excellent choice for a serious Bible study.

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It is very similar to ESV. It’s a little more literal in translation, so it may be a little tougher to read. If you’re looking for the closest word-for-word translation for Bible study, NASB is a great choice. 

 

 

It balances thought-for-thought and word-for-word. It tries to have the “soul as well as the structure” of the original texts. It’s an original translation, meaning the scholars started from scratch with the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. It’s a trustworthy text, it’s great to read, and it can have great poetic language in some places. 

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Similar to the NIV, it’s a bit more modern in it’s word choices. It’s grammar and sentence structure is also a bit easier to understand. 

 

 

It’s a revision of the Living Bible, which was a paraphrase of the American Standard Bible. The project evolved from a paraphrase to a more in-depth translation from the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. This is one of the most easily readable translations. NLT is great to simply read and to understand what is being said. It is not the best for an in-depth Bible study, but it is faithful and is comfortable to read.

 

 

This is a great in-depth study Bible with notes and commentary by Dr. John MacArthur. The notes will explain to you the biblical context, meaning of words, theological applications, and more. 

 

This book puts every chapter in chronological order (as best as one can). It helps bring to life the real history of biblical accounts. It also includes at-the-time cultural information and historical notes.

 

Great for kids from late elementary to high school. It includes simple side notes for definitions and concepts. It also includes realistic modern stories of people to help the young reader relate to biblical concepts.

 

The interviews and notes by an atheist legal writer who became a Christian on his search for facts and truth about Jesus. This book talks about many interesting questions and presents great evidence. 

 

An inspirational book that explains prayer and how to pray passionately, strongly, and “dangerously.” It’ll go over asking God to search your soul, to break your habits, and to lead you to Him. God answers prayers.

 

It’s an in-depth commentary about restoring our amazement towards God’s grace; that we can really take grace for granted. Ask yourself, “if I am not amazed by God’s grace, can I really be living in it?” 

 

It talks about some major frequent lies about the gospel that many people fall for. These lies appeal to people. The author exposes the lies, explains how they harm us, and provides ways to counteract them.

 

A great book for very young kids to read and to learn the popular and basic Biblical accounts. It has full color art for each page and is very easy to read. Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, David, Jesus, and more.

 

A great book for early to late elementary kids. It reads like a story book, giving nice short-story summaries of Biblical accounts. It has a lot of full-color art, many of which are full-page art.