Just last Thursday night I was teaching a class and explaining why we have so many versions of the English Bible. A translation is when they take the original language manuscripts and translate them into a particular language so that people can read it. Going from the original Hebrew/ Aramaic and Greek language manuscripts to English is a translation. An English version is when they revise an English translation. We use the words "translation" and "version" interchangeably,

In Choosing a Bible – Part 1 we talked about the versions are divided into literal, balanced, or a paraphrase. In literal versions the translators chose words that closely matched the original Hebrew and Greek words even if some of the meaning to present day readers is lost. Balanced versions translate words into modern day language and are in general easier to read. Paraphrases are usually only written by one person and add a lot of extra words to convey the ideas. King Jame

You want to purchase a new Bible. Good for you! Reading the Bible is the number one way God will speak to you. Oh, He can speak to you in other ways. He is after all, God. He can do anything He wants in any way He wants. But the primary way He will speak into your life is through the Bible. It sounds easy enough to go to a Christian store or go on-line and choose a Bible until you look at what is available and then you are going to be overwhelmed. There are so many choices! B