If there is a single word that can capture the sales of Bible translations, it is “stability.” The most recent data I have is from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association as of June 2021. The numbers in the parentheses represent the rankings in 2011. Obviously, some of these Bibles are paraphrases rather than translations.
Rankings as of June 2021 (numbers in parentheses are 2011 rankings).
- New International Version (NIV) (1)
- King James Version (KJV) (2)
- New Living Translation (NLT) (4)
- English Standard Version (ESV) (5)
- New King James Version (NKJV) (3)
- Christian Standard Bible (CSB) (6)
- Reina Valera (RV) (not ranked)
- New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) (9)
- The Message (Message) (8)
- Nueva Version International (NVI)(not ranked)
Observations and Notes:
- Two Spanish Bibles are now in the top ten. Neither was ranked ten years ago.
- The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is no longer in the top ten. In 2011 it was ranked 7; in 2020 it was ranked 10.
- The TNIV was discontinued in 2011. It was ranked 10 that year.
- Technically the CSB was the HCSB (Lifeway) in 2011.
- The biggest drop was the NASB, from 7 in 2011 to out of the top ten in 2021. The second biggest drop was the NKJV, from 3 to 5.
- The biggest gain was the RV, from unranked to 7. The other translations that gained in the rankings were the NLT, the ESV, the NIrV, and the NVI.
Posted on July 19, 2021
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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25 Comments
This is such an insightful post! It’s fascinating to see how preferences for Bible translations have shifted over the last decade. I appreciate the comparisons you made and the details on each translation’s readability and usage. It’s useful for anyone looking to choose the right Bible for their study or personal use. Thanks for sharing this update!
This post provides such valuable insights into how Bible translations are evolving! It’s interesting to see the trends over the past decade. I was surprised to see the rise of certain translations that are gaining popularity—definitely gives me more to consider when choosing a version for my study. Thanks for keeping us updated!
The emergence of the RV (Reina-Valera) is not urprising. Right away, I was thinking the RV-1960. However, since there is no clarification, I take it to mean that the ranking reflects an aggregate counting of the RV-Antingua, the RV-1909, the RV-1960, and the three or more revisions beyond these. The renditions beyond the 1960 would be like multiple revisions of the NKJV in English, which I think reveals a wonderful zeal for the Word among the Spanish-speaking believers
This post is incredibly insightful! It’s fascinating to see how the popularity of different Bible translations has shifted over the past decade. I appreciate the detailed comparisons and context you’ve provided for each translation. It would be interesting to explore how cultural trends influence these changes in preference. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, this is an interesting blog post! I’m curious to see how the translations have changed over the past ten years.