Hair products are not an easy world to navigate. Walking down the men’s hair aisle alone left me feeling a bit frustrated. Seventy-eight hair styling options is more than enough to induce perspiration.

Bible translations can feel similar. With over 450 English translations alone,¹ Christians may wonder which version should I choose? I think it may be helpful in your Bible translation journey to know that every Bible translation has a translation philosophy and exists on a spectrum. On one end there are thought-for-thought translations (functional equivalents) and on the other end are word-for-word translations (formal equivalents).²

Functional Equivalent

A thought-for-thought translation (“also known as idiomatic or meaning-based translation”³) “seeks to reproduce its meaning in good idiomatic (natural) English.”⁴ For example, The Message states John 3:3 as follows: “Jesus said, “You’re absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to—to God’s kingdom.” Functional equivalents desire a translation that “sound[s] as clear and natural to the contemporary reader as the original text sounded to the original readers.”⁵

Formal Equivalent

A word-for-word translation aspires to state as closely as possible the author’s specific intended words from the original languages. Fee and Strauss state that formal equivalents “seek to retain the form of the Hebrew or Greek while producing basically understandable English.”⁶ Thus, the New American Standard Bible says in John 3:3, “Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Mediating

Moreover, there are translation versions that seek a word and thought combination; these land in the middle of the spectrum. The goal is clarity of thought while trying to stay close to original working.⁷ Hence, the New International Version declares in John 3:3, “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

Comparing Translations

Fee and Strauss offer helpful examples to see bible translations side-by-side. Here is one example from Matthew 5:2.⁸

“Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying” (NKJV)
“And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying” (ESV)
“and he began to teach them saying” (NIV, NCV)
“and he began to teach them” (NCV)

Can you see the formal, functional, and mediating spectrum? Here is another chart that is visually helpful.⁹

Each translation philosophy will have strengths and weaknesses. The thought-for-though translations do well to communicate to a foreign reader of Scripture the idea of a text. But they can struggle by saying too much or not enough. The word-for-word translations excel in sticking to an author’s words but may struggle in helping with reader clarity.

At the San Diego Branch Church, we began using the English Standard Version (ESV) around July of 2023. But why the ESV? The ESV is a good option for where it falls on the translation spectrum. It seeks to safeguard the authors words while being readable for the modern English reader. In the ESV Preface (2016), it states, “The ESV is an ‘essentially literal’ translation that seeks as far as possible to reproduce the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. A such, its emphasis is on ‘word-for-word’ correspondence, at the same time taking full account of differences in grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original language. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and exact force of the original.”¹⁰ In simple terms, the ESV is an “essentially literal” translation that seeks the precision of the original text and the personal style of each biblical writer.

The ESV’s philosophy is good as it seeks to communicate the authors words in the author’s way, “while maintaining clarity of expression and literary excellence.”¹¹ “As such, the ESV is ideally suited for in-depth study of the Bible. Indeed, with its commitment to literary excellence, the ESV is equally well suited for public reading and preaching, for private reading and reflection, for both academic and devotional study, and for Scripture memorization.”¹²

To be sure, every translation will have its strengths and weaknesses as well as reader preferences or sentimentality. Personally, the NIV has a sweet place in my heart as it was the Bible I used for around 15 years. It was greatly used by God in the early and formative years of my Christian journey. However, I personally think as Christians grow the word-for-word translations offer a more primary place in the Christian walk. The thought-for-thought translations (as well as mediating translations) can still be used and are helpful in providing rich clarity, but a word-for-word translation—in my opinion—offers the better primary foundation to stand on and work from.