Did you know there are 3,336 different versions of the Bible in 2,182 languages available online? https://www.bible.com/en-GB/languages That’s a lot of Bibles. This leads to the question of what’s the best Bible. After all, there are many different versions to choose from. How do we choose?

The first thing that comes to mind is that the best Bible is the one you will read. If you never pick it up and read it won’t do you any good. However, some people will tell you that isn’t true. They will say you have to read this or that version because this version is the real translation. I don’t necessarily agree with this. Yes, there are different translations and interpretations but unless you are going to be a biblical scholar you don’t need to get too crazy.

Before choosing a bible read the introductory text found at the beginning. This will give you an idea of who translated it and what religious affiliation they have. One of the biggest differences in Bibles is people can’t agree on what the actual translation of the original text is. It was written in ancient times and ancient languages.

I would suggest that you get a bible with good explanatory notes. Things can get a bit confusing and you may need some help clarifying something. I would also recommend reading a Catholic bible because it has all the books in the original canon. After the Protestant Reformation, several books were removed. Without going into details (mainly because I don’t know them) Calvin or Luther or whoever was the reformer took out the books that didn’t agree with their beliefs.

Where was I? Through the internet you can find any version of the Bible, many of them free. There are websites that will let you put several different versions side by side and compare the differences between them. You can also download apps for your phone instead of buying printed versions. Some of them will let you highlight passages and write notes. The best thing about these apps is you always have them with you.

I can’t tell you which one of these is best for you and I won’t even try. My main bible is the Revised Standard Version- Catholic Edition. However, I also have several other printed versions as well as the Verbum app. I am not sponsored by any company but love the Verbum app. (If anyone from Verbum reads this and wants to sponsor me feel free to contact me.)

One word of caution: Some versions of the Bible take certain liberties with their interpretation. They try to make the Bible “politically correct”. By doing this they run the risk of changing the original meaning of Jesus’ words and teachings.

As I said above, it doesn’t matter what Bible you buy if you don’t read it, learn from it, and practice what it teaches, that’s the same as having none