Skip to content ↓

Book Review – Choosing A Bible

Book Reviews Collection cover image

Choosing a Bible used to be an easy task. Only a few decades ago there were only two or three translations to choose from, giving a person very little in the way of options. The situation today is far different. We are inundated with translations of Scripture and it seems that a major new translation hits the store shelves every couple of years. Terms like “dynamic equivalent,” “formal equivalent,” and “paraphrase” are tossed around but few people have any real sense of what they mean. Christians purchase Bibles expecting that what they are reading is truly the Word of God. But is it?

Leland Ryken has written extensively on the subject of Bible translations. His book The Word of God in English, which I have reviewed here, was foundational in my life as I attempted to come to terms with the multitudes of translation options available to me. I have since read an excellent essay he wrote for a recent book Translating Truth. Choosing A Bible is a short book, weighing in at only 30 pages, that provides a highly-compressed version of the most important arguments from The Word of God in English and his contribution to Translating Truth. Ryken seeks to show quickly and convincingly that Christians deserve and ought to desire nothing less than an essentially literal translation of the Bible.

The format of the book is simple. He begins by showing how Bible translations differ from each other. He writes about the goal of translation and compares thought-for-thought with word-for-word. He then provides five negative effects of dynamic equivalent (or thought-for-thought) translations. They are:

  • Taking liberties in translation
  • Destabilization of the text
  • What the Bible “means” vs. what the Bible says
  • Falling short of what we should expect
  • A logical and liguistic impossibility

The book concludes with ten reasons that we can trust essentially literal translations. These include transparency to the original text, keeping to the essential task of translation, preserving theological precision, preserving the dignity and beauty of the Bible and consistency with the doctrine of inspiration.

As with all of Ryken’s writing, this book is well-argued and convicting. He does not argue for a particular translation, though it is obvious that he prefers the English Standard Version (he did, after all, serve on the translation oversight committee for the ESV). He merely argues that we, as Christians, deserve to be given nothing less than the Word of God in English.

This book is meant to appeal to all Christians and there is little that will prove difficult to understand. Choosing A Bible is a great introduction to translation theory and to understanding the importance of translations that preserve the words of God.


  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (June 16)

    A La Carte: The freedom of being fully seen / Churchiness is back / Man-made marvels / Michael Tait’s confession / Church membership is inescapable / Rebaptism / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Right Place to Worship

    Where Is the Right Place to Worship?

    A woman from Samaria was once conversing with Jesus and puzzling over the answer to an age-old question: Where is the right place to worship? After all, the Jews and Samaritans worshipped in different places, each convinced theirs was the right and best place. But Jesus answered in a way neither Jew nor Samaritan would…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (June 14)

    A La Carte: Diapers of glory / The manipulator / A censorious spirit / Know your teenage child’s frame / Even if he doesn’t / How can I be a godly father?

  • Managing Household

    Managing Your Household Well

    The Bible lays out a whole list of qualifications that must be present in the life of a man who wishes to be a pastor. He must be the husband of one wife, he must be a lover of good, he must be hospitable, and so on. Meanwhile, he must not be arrogant, quick-tempered, violent,…