Start with a study of Biblical texts. See which text family the translation is based upon. (Textus Receptus or Majority Text). Then look at the translation philosophy (formal equivalence or dynamic equivalence). Finally, look for translator bias.
On the third item, the original NIV is OK, but the TNIV and the current version should be avoided for the intentional injection of socially liberal bias.
My personal preference is for the New King James version. Readable, and deals with manuscript and translation issues in an honest manner.
I’m no scholar, but I agree with you on the NKJV. I also love my Catholic Jerusalem Bible, the 1960’s version, because it reads like poetry.
The Textus Receptus is the majority text!
“Modern” translations are based on
codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, which differ from the majority texts substantially, because they were deliberately corrupted by Origen.
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