A Bible can be easy to buy and hard to use well. A newcomer may find ten English editions, conflicting recommendations, and a shelf labeled “Apocrypha,” then wonder whether Orthodox Christians even read the same Scriptures as everyone else. The question of the best Orthodox Bible translations deserves a clear answer: choose a Bible that helps you receive the Scriptures as the Church has received, prayed, preached, and lived them.
No single English volume settles every need. The best choice depends on whether you are beginning to read Scripture, preparing for catechism, following the services, or doing serious study. But the Orthodox Study Bible is usually the wisest place for an English-speaking inquirer to begin.
What Makes a Bible Translation Orthodox?
An Orthodox Bible is not merely a Protestant Bible with extra books inserted between the Testaments. The Church receives the Old Testament in the form most often quoted by Christ and the Apostles: the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Scriptures. This matters because the Septuagint sometimes differs in wording, order, and even the books it contains from the later Hebrew-Masoretic text that underlies many modern English Old Testaments.
Orthodox Christians also receive books often called the Deuterocanon, including Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Tobit, Judith, Baruch, and 1-3 Maccabees. These are not optional historical appendices. They belong to the Church’s scriptural inheritance and appear in her worship, hymns, feasts, and teaching.
Yet an Orthodox approach is larger than the printed page. Scripture belongs in the Church. A translation may be accurate, but it cannot replace the Church’s rule of faith, the reading of the Fathers, the lectionary, or the guidance of a priest. The Bible is not a private code book. It is the living word of God proclaimed in the assembly and planted in the heart through repentance, prayer, and obedience.
The Best Orthodox Bible Translations for Most Readers
The Orthodox Study Bible
For most people entering Orthodoxy, the Orthodox Study Bible, often called the OSB, is the best first Bible to own and actually use. Its New Testament uses the New King James Version, while its Old Testament is translated from the Septuagint tradition. It also includes the full Orthodox Old Testament and study notes written from an Orthodox perspective.
Its greatest strength is that it gives the reader one coherent volume. You can read Genesis, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the books of Maccabees without being trained to think of some books as secondary or suspect. The notes regularly point toward Christ, the sacramental life, and the Church’s reading of Scripture.
There are trade-offs. The New King James language feels more formal than many contemporary translations, and the notes are helpful but not infallible. They are aids, not a substitute for careful teaching. Still, the OSB serves personal reading, family use, catechism, and the first years of Orthodox life remarkably well.
If you buy only one Bible at the beginning, buy this one. Read it steadily rather than constantly comparing editions.
The New English Translation of the Septuagint
The New English Translation of the Septuagint, commonly called NETS, is especially valuable for readers who want to see the Septuagint rendered closely into modern English. It is a serious scholarly tool and can sharpen your attention to passages that sound different from familiar Protestant Old Testament translations.
NETS is not designed as a beginner’s all-purpose devotional Bible. Its phrasing can feel more technical, and it does not provide the same pastoral notes or unified New Testament experience as the Orthodox Study Bible. It is best used alongside a primary Bible, particularly by students, teachers, and readers who want to investigate how the Greek Old Testament speaks.
The RSV With the Deuterocanonical Books
The Revised Standard Version remains a strong English translation for careful study. Its language is dignified without being difficult, and many Orthodox teachers and study groups have used it fruitfully. Choose an edition that includes the Deuterocanonical books rather than a standard Protestant edition that omits them.
The RSV is not itself an Orthodox translation, and its Old Testament normally follows the Hebrew textual tradition rather than the Septuagint. That does not make it useless. It means it should be read with awareness. When a Psalm, prophecy, or liturgical reading differs from what you see in the RSV, do not assume the Church has made a mistake. Often you are seeing the difference between a Hebrew-based English translation and the Septuagint tradition.
For sustained study, comparing the RSV with the Orthodox Study Bible can be fruitful. For a brand-new reader, however, comparison should not become paralysis.
Translations That Can Help, With Caution
The King James Version has shaped English-speaking Christianity deeply. Its cadence has formed prayers, sermons, literature, and memory. Some Orthodox Christians love it and read it devotionally. But its archaic English can obscure the meaning for modern readers, and its Old Testament does not normally reflect the Septuagint text used in Orthodox worship.
The New King James Version is easier to understand and forms the New Testament of the Orthodox Study Bible. As a New Testament translation, it can serve well. By itself, however, it does not give you the full Orthodox Old Testament.
The English Orthodox Bible New Testament can also be useful, especially for those interested in a translation shaped by Greek Orthodox textual tradition. It is not generally the most practical single starting point for a family or catechumen because it is not a complete, widely used one-volume Orthodox Bible.
Many contemporary translations, including those popular in evangelical settings, can help clarify a difficult passage. There is no need for fear or superstition about every non-Orthodox edition. But a reader should not make a Bible that excludes the Church’s Old Testament books his primary scriptural home.
Choose According to the Work Before You
A person praying the Psalms needs a translation that can become familiar on the lips. A catechumen needs a complete Bible and notes that do not quietly oppose Orthodox doctrine. A student may need several translations and a willingness to examine textual questions patiently. A parent reading at the dinner table needs clarity, regularity, and a plan simple enough to keep.
For most households, begin with the Orthodox Study Bible and establish a modest rule. Read one Gospel slowly. Read a Psalm each day. Read Genesis, Exodus, Proverbs, and the wisdom books over time. Do not race through Scripture merely to finish a plan. The aim is not information alone, but communion with the God who speaks.
It also helps to follow the Church’s appointed readings. The lectionary trains us not to choose only the passages we already enjoy. During feasts and fasts, the Church places particular words before us because she knows the shape of the Christian life. Hearing Scripture at Vespers, Matins, and the Divine Liturgy teaches us how to read it with Christ at the center.
Read the Bible With the Church
A common error among modern Christians is to ask, “What does this verse mean to me?” before asking, “What has God said, and how has the Church received it?” Personal application matters. Scripture addresses every conscience. But our interpretation must be corrected and nourished by the apostolic faith.
The Fathers read the Old Testament as fulfilled in Jesus Christ. They see the Passover as pointing to His sacrifice, the crossing of the Red Sea as an image of baptism, manna as a sign of the Eucharist, and the Psalms as the prayer of Christ and His Body. This is not an imaginative shortcut around the plain sense of the text. It is the Church reading the Scriptures she inherited from the Apostles.
If a passage troubles you, bring the question to catechism, Bible study, confession, or conversation with clergy. Hard passages are not evidence that Scripture has failed. They are often invitations to deeper attention, humility, and formation.
For those in the west Phoenix area who are exploring Orthodoxy, All Saints of North America Orthodox Church welcomes serious questions and offers a clear path of catechism and ongoing biblical formation. You do not need to arrive with every answer already settled.
Choose a Bible you will open tomorrow morning. Read a little, pray honestly, attend the services, and let the Church teach you to hear the voice of Christ in every page.
