Top Ten Bible Translations, 2014

The Christian Booksellers Association recently released its list of the top ten selling Bible translations for December 2014. The CBA actually provides two lists: one by dollar sales; and the other by unit sales.

Top Ten Translations Based on Dollar Sales

  1. New International Version
  2. King James Version
  3. New King James Version
  4. New Living Translation
  5. English Standard Version
  6. Holman Christian Standard Bible
  7. The Voice
  8. New American Standard
  9. Reina Valera 1960
  10. New International Reader’s Version

Top Ten Translations Based on Unit Sales

  1. New International Version
  2. The Voice
  3. King James Version
  4. English Standard Version
  5. New King James Version
  6. New Living Translation
  7. Holman Christian Standard Bible
  8. Reina Valera 1960
  9. Nueva Version Internacional (Spanish)
  10. New International Reader’s Version

What is your preferred Bible translation? What do you think about these two lists? Let me hear from you.

Posted on December 10, 2014


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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175 Comments

  • Waverly Marsh says on

    The King James Version Bible is the only bible for English Speaking Peoples.

    All versions which came afterward were/are the work of liars and deceivers which both add and take away from the Word of God.

    Such works are catholic/pagan/satanic attempts to pervert the Word of God.

    You would be better off looking at pornography than reading an NIV, RSV, or ESV bible.
    I would burn pornography so I’d burn an NIV, RSV or any other translation bible. Period

    • Dear Waverly Marsh,

      Ugh. Where is the Holy Spirit and Christian Love in your narrow minded, legalistic, “my way or the highway and everyone is else is guaranteed eternal damnation” opinion of what Bible to use?

      If this is the spirituality the KJV fosters, you’ve accomplished the opposite of your intentions. Any curious but horrified soul seeing your post will never pick up a KJV. Additionally, any potential convert to Christianity reading your post will assuredly give pause before joining us at the Banquet Table…please remember our mandate (Matthew 28:19-20) does not come with a license to beat people over the head with our opinions, no matter how ironclad we perceive them to be…Peace to you…

  • After using the NKJV, NASB, and ESV I switched to the NIV 2011. The articles and books on translation (by Fee, Strauss, Moo, Carson, Decker) opened my eyes. I use the NET and NLT quite a bit for comparison. Curious to see how the NASB 2017 translation turns out.

  • Michael says on

    Why not NLT?
    The bad good and the ugly…
    Help me please!

  • John Hubbard says on

    The “oldest” text vs the “preserved text”. There are hundreds of omissions that are in 97% or more of the manuscripts. In some cases only 1 manuscript is the justification for changes or omission to the traditional text. See the apparatus for the family 35 Greek new testament.
    https://www.amazon.com/Greek-New-Testament-According-Family/dp/0989827372/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485124796&sr=1-1&keywords=family+35+greek

  • Mark Gabel says on

    The only bible with the corrects names of our heavenly father and our saviour is AHAYAH, YASHA, THIS BIBLE IS THE ONLY TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL ANCIENT PALEO HEBREW LANGUAGE which was the only bible with no pagan names or titles of paganism from egyp deities. all others version contain a corrupt names, therefore no other bible until now was a complete erased from all pagans names contained from old times into our creators words.

  • Seriously, all of these versions of bible!!!! why? what’s the advantage? Now in Arabic I have 2 versions, one of them is for memorizing (avd) and the other one I use it whenever I need more understanding for what I am reading on avd. Today I’d like to read an english bible but in fact I am seeing a lot of english readers who are struggling to choose a good, authorized, understandable with a modern English language!!! for God’s sake tell me something else, if I believe in KJV and I like it to be re-written with modern language then I don’t think that It needs any change but some old words to be replaced with modern ones without changing anything else.
    at the present time, I am reading the esv and I found it truly very beautiful, understandable and widely used but the problem whenever I find you people talking like that regarding bible versions, I get depressed and don’t know what’s the right or correct version?
    another thing, I think that Bible societies should have the only right to translate, or supervise the whole translation process and also releasing process; instead some other publishers are doing this… I’m afraid that this big variety of translations is just a matter of making money nothing more and nothing less, I wish that I am wrong.
    God bless you all.

  • Do you have the original URL for this information?

  • The best Bible is the one in your hands.

  • Chrissy Mount says on

    I like the King James Daemonologie. Written in 1597 before the Bible translation. It is how to find who is a witch and burn them. Great Christian book unknown to the masses.

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