This book, written by Baptist minister David Dewey, is a manual to help people understand the history of each English translation of the Bible and to know the purpose and layout of each version. Dewey traces the history from the first English translations of the Bible by John Wycliffe and William Tyndale in the 14th and 16th centuries, all the way up to current translations as the New International Version, the New Century Version, and the English Standard Version. Dewey also points out the different styles of translation, such as form-driven versions (word-for-word translations, i.e., the NASB), meaning-driven versions (thought-for-thought translations, i.e., the NLT), and paraphrase versions (freedom-of-language translations, i.e., the J.B. Phillips translation and The Message).
Dewey's purpose is not to state which versions are better than others, because that will be determined by which type of Bible translation each individual Christian would be better served by. New Christians might be better served by thought-for-thought translations because of their use of contemporary language in making hard-to-understand verses more clear. Whereas mature Christians may be better served by word-for-word translations which, although more difficult to read, are closer to the original Hebrew and Greek wording. Another group of Christians that would benefit from Dewey's book are those who have been reading a particular version for most of their lives and simply want to switch to an alternative translation for the purpose of refreshing their Bible studies or to gain a wider grasp of the Scriptures through different English renderings.
"All the arguments in the world about the merits and demerits of this translation or that version matter not one bit unless we are regularly feeding, alone and with others, on the precious Word of Life - and then applying it to our lives."
- David Dewey, A User's Guide To Bible Translations, Chapter 12, pg 204
