What Bible translation is the easiest to read?
Which Spanish version of the Bible would be the easiest to read? I have a Reina-Valera version of the Bible downloaded on my computer, but I don't know what version it is. I read there were three versions, the Reina-Valera Antigua, the 1960 version and the 1995 version. Does anyone know how to tell the difference between the three.
Personally, I like the English NIV version. Would the Spanish NIV be compatible with the English NIV? Which Spanish version would be the easiest for a beginning Spanish student to read to study the Spanish language? Thanks for taking my question.
6 Answers
I just wanted to put in my two cents and mention first off, great question! Second, if you have iPhone, there is a great app (I use all the time) called Bible (or Biblia if your phone is in Spanish as is mine) and it's made by YouVersion and it's absolutely wonderful! It has some newer video features, daily devotionals, and other research tools for the Bible. Most important in your case though, it has almost any language you can think of and a multitude of translations (aka versions) for each language. My whole family has it and best part is it's free. Hopes that helps! 
I regularly read the Nueva Versión International. Like the English-language NIV, it is translated from the original sources and written in clear Spanish. It is very interesting to compare passages from the English NIV and the Spanish NVI. It often gives me a different perspective on something I thought I knew well!
The Reina Valera 1960 version is the one often used when the whole church does responsive reading. There is a new version that uses more modern language. I would compare this with the King James and the New King James in English. To me, the language in the 1960's version or earlier is harder to understand and uses words that are lost in normal modern conversations. The new version is better. I use this only for church because many of the older folks like the uniformity and the poetic part of the language.
I like using the NIV and the NVI (Spanish) because it uses modern language and because you can find the parrallel versions to read and hear at biblegateway.com. It's my favorite.
Depending on whether you want Latin American Spanish or Spain Spanish, some of the versions use vosotros but in modern language.
Dios Habla Hoy is also a good one for modern language. I think it has the New Testament at least on audio on Biblegateway.com. A lot of people from the Americas side like La Biblia de Las Americas.
I put it on parrellel on that site (NIV, NVI) and listen to the English while I read the Spanish.
Btw: Biblegateway has about 14 versions listed in Spanish.
I can't add much to the exellent advice already mentioned, but if you are actually reading any version of the Bible, you are more than a beginning student. Don't sell yourself short! Good luck ans success in your efforts!
Although many of the given answers are quite good, wonderful actually, let me give you my personal experience, as I am a bilingual pastoral student. Sorry, this post gets a little long winded, but I want to give you all the information that I can!
The Reina-Valera (RV), which is a Peninsular Spanish (I.E. Spanish of Spain, not Latin America) version of the Bible, is the most traditional form of the Bible in the Spanish tongue, much like the King James Version is in English. There are actually five versions of the RV that I have come across: the Version Antigua, the 1909 Edition, the 1960, the 1995 and the contemporary edition. From the versions of the RV that I have read, any version dating from RV-1960 or prior uses many antiquated phrases/verb tenses/etc. just like the KJV Authorized Version does. This does NOT make it a bad version by any means, though it can make it somewhat difficult at times. The use of translation simply depends on your personal taste (I personally like the RV-1960 as a parallel Bible with my KJV Authorized Version, which is the version I use often for personal study, as I like the flowery nature of the language).
I should also note that the translation method used for the RV is a more literal translation of the Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic texts. The oldest versions of the RV also have some transnational work done from the Latin Vulgate, as does the KJV, when no original language texts could be found/understood.
In all, the RV is good, but can prove more difficult at times if you go with a 1960 or earlier version. Again, it is also written in older style Peninsular Spanish, not Latin American Spanish (though this isn't a HUGE deal).
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I also am a fan of the NIV in English, just as you are. The Spanish equivalent is the NVI (Nueva Versión Internacional), and is very comparable in transnational style and word choice. The NVI is written with Latin American audiences in mind, not Spaniards.
The translation style is not as literal as the KJV or RV, but is somewhere between a thought-for-though style and Literal style. It is much more modern in it's word choices while still holding some of the flowery and popular wordings of the RV.
In all, this version is easy to moderate in difficultly and good if you want to speak Latin American Spanish.
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Another good choice for Biblical translations is the New Living Translation (NLT) in English or the Nueva Traducción Viviente (NTV). This one has a very modernized vocabulary suited for Latin American dialects.
The transnational method is also solid, though less literal than the RV/KJV style and the NIV/NVI. It is more thought-for-thought based, but still relies on the original texts.
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So, that said, my recommendation is to read multiple translations, especially parallel bibles which have the English and Spanish side by side.
I know others have talked about Dios Habla Hoy, etc. These are also good, but I have less practical experience with them.
Feel free to contact me with other questions regarding these translations.
¡Que la Paz de Dios esté contigo!
At least here, in Chile, in the catholic schools, the mostly used version is the Reina-Valera, I've readed a lot of versions, but if you're not good with Old-style spanish (It's difficult even for spanish-speaking natives), try to get the latest version (and I think there's a lot of apps, or even kindle versions of it.
Greetings!
