Bible Recommendations for Artists

Since 2008, each year before the Christmas season I review Bible translations for artists. This year there are a number of great editions of my preferred translation, and I encourage you to check them out.

I like what the late Dr. Michael Heiser says on his website. The best Bible version is the one you read consistently, every day. That is very good advice. The Bible forms you, and in that formation, you are more able to accurately and clearly hear God for yourself. It all goes back to “Listen to the Lord, and do what He tells you.”

God will always speak to you through the Bible, even through the translations I do not recommend.

Some of you will be shocked at my honesty in this article. Bibles are big business, and big money. Every edition of every Bible sells well enough to be a best seller. Right now almost all Bible publishing in the US is handled by one of the big corporate publishers. In the end, they are about profit, not your welfare.

Artists and creative people hold a unique position. The words art, artist, and imagination have been “translated out” of most Protestant Bible translations. The original languages talk about the arts, but Biblical scholarship is still dominated by a Protestant worldview. Because of the hyper-rational grid, artistic words are lost in translation or de-emphasized.

Before we can talk about a good Bible translation for artists, let’s talk about the process of Bible translation, and the strengths and weaknesses of all translations.

Every translation has a point of view, or less diplomatically, an agenda. We need to be aware of this. Nearly every Bible translation uses a team of translators, and these teams are often composed of people who share a common vision or perspective. There is safety in committee, and I generally trust translations with diverse translation teams. All Bible translators have to make judgement calls, and the best compromises will be made by people who have differing points of view.

All Bible translations have to make a decision whether they are going to translate “word for word” or “thought for thought.” The term Bible scholars use for “thought for thought” is “dynamic equivalent.” What is the best way to communicate the essential idea in the original language into our own? This will sometimes result in some really interesting translations, or mis-translations.

And for our community of Belonging House artists, an extremely important consideration is how artistic words are translated.

It is helpful to have more than one Bible translation, but avoid becoming a Bible collector. In my practical life, I have the Bible I carry around in my paint box (and it looks like it), the Bible I use for serious study, the Bible I use for the Daily Office, and a handful of others to consult. Fortunately, we live in the internet age, and we can access nearly any translation with a few searches. You do not need to read Biblical Greek or Hebrew to get a good translation.

Because I work with artists there is another quality that I believe is important when choosing a Bible. Is the language beautiful? Is the book itself a beautiful object? Did they choose beautiful typesetting, high quality paper, and an elegant binding? And does this Bible render the text in a way that lends itself to meditation and memorization. As an artist, I have found over the years that I ponder and mentally “chew” on the Bible readings while I paint, play the piano, or walk. Some Bibles, like the New American Standard Bible, are so awkward in their use of English that they do not lend themselves to meditation and prayer.

I lead a worshipping community and I also need to consider the best Bible for public worship. What is the best Bible for public reading? What is the best Bible for the shared memory of God’s people? What is the Bible that will phrase things in a way that will stay with you for life.

I have put Bibles for artists into four categories: “highly recommend,” “recommend,” “recommend with reservation,” and “do not recommend.”

I use The New Cambridge Paragraph Bible, edited by David Norton, for my personal Bible Study and devotions. It is an expensive scholarly version of the King James Version. It is not included in my list, in part because I don’t think it meets the needs of the average artist or creative person.

Highly Recommend.

Our community uses the Revised Standard Version 2nd Catholic Edition produced by Ignatius Press (and the Ignatius Study Bible, edited by Dr. Scott Hahn). This has become the “official Bible” of Belonging House International.

The RSVCE is a corrected version of the original Revised Standard Version, and is available in some affordable and beautiful editions. The original translation team represented the broadest scope of Christian denominations and scholarship. This version retains a highly poetic prose text, and includes the Apocrypha. We use this version in our public meetings, and it is also the version that I carry around with me for private prayer and reading. It is pretty accurate in reference to the arts and creativity. It is a good version for people who make beauty their business. The translation is beautiful and leans poetic.

When I first recommended this Bible, it was very hard to find a nice edition. Because of a revival in Bible study among Catholics, you can now find many great editions to choose from. Here is the one I use: https://a.co/d/9q0LMi5

And here is the one I want, a new note taking version. https://a.co/d/1b43j86

Recommend.

The New Living Translation Catholic Edition. The NLT is a true “dynamic equivalent” translation. I find it to be fresh and vibrant. It was translated by a broad spectrum of translators who began with the Living Bible Paraphrase. It is a great Bible to give you a clear rendering of stories and can help you get a different perspective.

Sometimes the New Living Translation chooses readability over accuracy, and the term “Lord of Heavens Armies” as a translation of “the Lord of Hosts” is a bit repetitive and jarring at times. Other than that, it is a good translation for you to use regularly.

The English Standard Version. This version is very similar to the RSV. It is a good translation, and is the dominant translation among evangelicals in the United States. There are a LOTS of choices in terms of binding, editions, and now there is even a Catholic edition. The ESV is very accurate in how it translates some of the key passages for artists, including the story of Bezalel and Zechariah 1:18.

One of the drawbacks in this translation is the lack of diversity in its translation team, and the perception I have that it is the “official Bible” of the Gospel Coalition. There is no one on the translation team outside the Reformed/Calvinist tradition. This Bible doesn’t seem to have a theological agenda, but the people who produced it do. The language is not as poetic, and in places feels very dry, especially the Psalms.

Biblehub.com This is not a translation, but it is the study tool I use the most. It is free online, has many translations, Greek and Hebrew, and all the translation resources you would ever need.

Recommend with Reservation.

The Passion Translation. This is becoming the “official Bible of the charismatic conference crowd.” For this reason, in the United States, it has been censored and can’t be found on Biblegateway.com or in most of the mainstream Christian Bookstores. Being controversial will probably make it attractive to artists.

For full disclosure, the translator, Brian Simmons, is a ministry colleague from New England, and a good man. I recommend it because Brian Simmons was a linguist and Bible translator before becoming a pastor in Connecticut. He wanted to translate the spiritual experiences in the Bible as a person who has had these same experiences. The “gospel centered” camp considers this an act of war, and has tried to shut him down. Sad.

I have found this Bible very helpful, especially the translation of Hebrews 4. The notes are fascinating, and I often find myself just reading his explanation of why he translated things the way he does.

Reservations: Any translation by one person is going to have weaknesses. This is why Eugene Peterson’s The Message is not even on my list. Eventually you will get a lot of the person, and less of the original. Brian Simmons uses the Aramaic rather than the Greek versions, and that does put it in the minority (but not out of the mainstream) of scholarship. Brian started out as a Baptist missionary before his encounter with the Holy Spirit, and this creates a blind spot in how he translates artistic passages. He is not good on the arts.

Do Not Recommend.

The New International Version (and its dirivitives). Dr. Carl Schultz, the advisor for my Bible degree, hated this translation. He regularly listed all the problems with it, and there are many. I hate this translation because it is the chief offender in mistranslating artistic language. If you use this Bible you will think there is no place for an artist, artisan, creator, dancer, or singer. The most eggregious offense is Psalm 87:7: “The singers and the dancers say, all my fresh springs are in you.” The NIV leaves it out.

The New Revised Standard Version (and it’s derivitives). This is the official Bible of academia and the Progessive Left of the church. I used the NRSV for many years during my grad studies and early ministry. When I returned to studying the Bible in the original languages, the number of glaring errors shocked me. Because the NRSV makes gender inclusive language a primary goal, there are problems related to Christology throughout, and there are places where the text is unnecessarily obscure or misleading. The new updated edition made changes that I was anticipating: it is intentionally vague about homosexuality. I am guessing there will be more future editions that trend further and further away from orthodoxy.

And finally, the whipping boys:

Ugly Bibles. There are a few ugly translations, that in an effort to be accurate or contemporary, all fall short. Avoid the New American Standard Bible, the New American Bible (Richard John Neuhaus complained at length about why the US Catholic church officially uses such a bad translation), and the Good News Bible. The New Jerusalem Bible is interesting, but is an English translation of a French translation of a Latin translation. Not helpful.

Girly Bibles. I won’t name them, because Zondervan will send me samples (they have in the past). These are targeted for Christian homeschool moms who shop at Hobby Lobby (and who I love and think are great!). There are new ones every year and they have coloring pages and space to doodle, and are usually pink or teal. If you are real artist in the real world, you need a real, serious Bible.

There are a lot of Bibles out there, because Bibles are big money. Like I said at the beginning, the best translation is the one you read every day. I became a Christian because someone read to me out of the RSV, and I received my initial call to the ministry while reading the NIV Student Bible in 1987.

Your Bible is the tuning fork for your ability to hear God. Learning how to hear God will transform your entire life, and most importantly, your creative output.

Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Bible, no matter what one you prefer.

If my work encourages you, consider becoming a paid subscriber, check out my books, or buy me a coffee. Thanks.