How Can You Choose a Good Bible Translation?

Does your bible:
(1) Sanctify God’s name, by restoring it to its rightful place in the Scriptures.(Read Matthew 6:9 & Ps.83:18) Despite the clear evidence that the personal name of God belongs in the Bible,(7,000 times in its original manuscripts) many translations completely omit the sacred name of God.
(2) Translate the original inspired message literally where possible, but transmit the correct sense when a word-for-word rendering would distort the meaning. For example: examine the Bible in such a way that it actually sheds light on itself.The secret is this: If the surrounding verses do not make the meaning of a particular statement clear, compare that statement with others in the Bible that discuss the same subject. In this way, we let the Bible, NOT personal opinion, guide our thinking.
(3) Use easy-to-understand language that encourages reading. The New World Translation bible is written into modern-day English, our every day speaking basic english. You may read it at jw.org

There is no such thing.

I'm not Catholic, but I recommend the Catholic-approved Bibles. Whatever you think of Catholics, their scholarship is excellent.

I personally use the EOB: The Eastern Greek Orthodox New Testament and the Douay-Rheims OT.

Check out biblegateway.com. all the versions are there. You can pick a book or verse and read them side by side.

Basically, listen to advice from the experts, and combine that with your own experience.

E.g., when I went to seminary, they said we could use any Bible we wished. After asking around, many chose the NRSV because of it's excellent scholarship. But, others chose the NIV, which also has good scholarship, and is easier to read. And, others chose different versions. When we read Scripture in class, we would read from the different versions deliberately. We were encouraged to do this, as all translations have issues (e.g., the 4 words in Greek that all translate to "love" in English, thereby missing the nuances), and by reading several, we can get a fuller picture of what was intended.

You can get some good advice here, but, you need a lot of filtering! There are a lot of idiots in R&S.

As for me: the Bible I chose for seminary, and still use for my main studies is the Collin's Study Bible (NRSV). I really like it because of the excellent notes. But, I do use other Bibles pretty regularly, typically the NIV, The Message, and the International Children's Bible amongst others. For a beginning Christian, the Good News version is remarkably easy to read, while originally a paraphrase, I think it is now an actual translation.

First, ask yourself some questions; what's your reading level, how important are beauty of language, accuracy, do you want a study bible, a bible with a concordance, do you want a bible with wide margins, etc.
The only complaints I have with the last bible I bought are that the pages are very thin and the margins are very narrow, so I can't write notes in the margins. I bought the bible online because there is no bookstore near me that carried my choice. If you can then, physically inspect the bible before you buy it.
I think this site is pretty objective.
http://www.kencollins.com/bible/bible-t2.htm

Put scriptures on a dart board and throw a dart three times to see if you hit a scripture more than you nice.

There are a number of ways. Personally, I use a New American Standard study Bible and recommend it frequently. But there are others for whom a different translation will be more understandable. With that in mind, I recommend three possibilities for you:
1. Ask your Christian friends for help.
2. Check with your local Christian bookstore.
3. There are websites available with comparative language in different versions. I recommend biblegateway.com. Look for multiple verses or passages and see how they read. Perhaps one will strike you particularly.

Most versions are good, but I'd stay away from Bibles with only one or a few translators working together. Too much personal theology may get mixed in with Bible truth that way.

The other thing I recommend is once you decide on one, stick with it for awhile. Later you can branch out with comparative versions. And most of all-Read the Bible and let the Holy Spirit guide you.

New King James Version will lead you to the one true God and Jesus your Saviour.

Acts 2:21
And everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”’

Ask questions. Read several. Go to a bible believing church and seek fellowship. Pray. And let God guide you.

EXPERIENCE.....that's almost like asking which church ? I have a few, BUT the best to me is Bullingers Companion Bible KJV and especially the appendix.....it explains some stuff you'll want to know.....

Read "Truth in translation"" by Jason BeDuhn

Ask the elders and deacons. They have good resources.

Do your research
or
work your way through a web site such as this one
http://bibleselector.com/c_canon.html
or
leave the following details for me and I can give you a "short list" of recommended Bible translations.

- What is your denomination / affiliation? (i.e. Baptist, Catholic, non-denominational Fundamentalist, atheist, Christian but no church, whatever)
- What is your primary purpose for the Bible? (Some examples: "I just want to see what the Bible really says.", "I want to do original language word study.", "I want to read along during Sunday church service.", "I want to use it during Bible study with my fellow Christians.", "I want to study the Bible thoroughly on my own, to learn in detail what the Bible really teaches.", etc.)
- What is your reading level (i.e. by grade) - or, alternately - are you a good reader, an average reader or a poor reader?

Provide those details in the comments and I will provide you a "short list" of Bibles that are best and best suited for you.

that is a very difficult issue..... one that is not really suited to a forum such as YA....... simply stated.... The Creator God will lead those he accepts... as I did not even own a Bible on the day of my Salvation...I honestly believe that God led me to the Bible he wanted me to have when I went the next day to buy one...... if you have specific, basic, questions concerning the Bible and the God stuff.... feel free to contact me and I will do my best to try to answer them for you.... I accept YA email.... or contact at [email protected]

Personally I look for a translation that is as close to the original material as you can get. The New Jerusalem Bible is, as I understand it, as close as you can get at this time.

Douay Rheims by far.

You don't, I learned the kjv
It had more than 22 corrections in its reprinting and if it wasn't correct the first dozen times they now have a NKJv
And then you have to look at Pastor Steve Anderson's commentary video in the 5 new age retranslations of the bible
Right or wrong as a pastor, you have to consider his preaching