Which Bible Translation Should I Use?

Since the Bible is the Word of God, his revelation to us it is important to use a good translation.  There are three basic types of translations.  They are literal, dynamic, and paraphrase.  A good Bible translation needs to be readable and most importantly accurate.  

The first translation category is literal.  It seeks to translate word for word as much as possible from the Hebrew and Greek.  Literal translation also tries to maintain the original sentence structure.  The idea is to be transparent to the original text.  Examples of literal translation are:  ESV, NASB, CSB, and NKJV.    

The next translation category is dynamic equivalence.  It is more of a thought for thought translation not necessarily trying to maintain word for word translation.  Dynamic translation tries to steer a middle ground between literal and paraphrase.  The original sentence structure is often changed for greater readability.  Examples of dynamic translation are:  NIV, NLT, and NRSV.  

The other translation category is paraphrase.  This type focuses on readability mainly.  Paraphrases deviate greatly from the original Hebrew and Greek, basically just giving you the gist of what the original text said.   Examples of paraphrase include: The Message and The Living Bible.  

I do not really recommend dynamic translations or paraphrases.  Dynamic translations are just thought for thought and not word for word.  They deviate somewhat from the original text giving you the translators interpretation instead of what it actually says.  Also dynamic translations often tend to be politically correct.  Paraphrases are probably best avoided all together.  They stray too much from the original text and are not very accurate or precise.  

I strongly recommend literal translations.  They try to translate from the Greek and Hebrew as closely as possible.  There goal is to be transparent to the original text, giving you what it actually says.  A literal translation is much more accurate and reliable than a dynamic translation or paraphrase.  

Here are what I consider to be the best translations.

1) (ESV) English Standard Version
2) (NASB) New American Standard Bible
3) (CSB) Christian Standard Bible
4) (NKJV) New King James Version