Bible Translation Bestsellers

[blueskies]

Bible Bestsellers for August, 2023.

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) published rankings for August 2023, of the most-sold Bible translations in the USA, based on reporting from retailers.

They are:
1) New International Version (NIV)
2) Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
3) English Standard Version (ESV)
4) King James Version (KJV)
5) New Living Translation (NLT)
6) New King James Version (NKJV)
7) Reina Valera (RVR)
8) New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
9) New American Standard Bible (NASB)
10) New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

One interesting takeaway here is the growing popularity of the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). A relatively recent translation, it was first published in 2017. It has been finding a growing acceptance and was the second most-sold Bible translation for three out of the past four months, according to data compiled by the ECPA. The CBS ranks behind the New International Version (NIV) and ahead of the English Standard Version (ESV).

The most popular styles of Bible translations are three approaches:

1. Formal equivalent translations (word for word) such as the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and the venerable King James Version (KJV).
2. Dynamic equivalent translations (though for thought) like the New International Version (NIV).
3. Functional equivalent (paraphrasing) such as the New International Readers Version (NIRV) and the Good News Translation (GNT).

Among the three bestsellers, the completed NIV was released in 1978, with a minor revision in 1984 and a major revision in 2011. An Optimal Equivalence translation, the CSB was last updated in 2020 and maintains a committee of Bible scholars to oversee changes as needed. The ESV made its final updates in 2016 and no further revisions or updates are planed.

 

[Musicmaster]

Adding to this short video, I also recommend people use the resources to actually go back to the original languages rather than to trust any or all of the English translations.