What Bible Translation Does My Church Use? How to Find Out in Five Minutes

The pastor reads the verse aloud, it goes up on the screen, and you follow along on your phone. Halfway through, the words stop matching. Same verse, different sentence. You check the pew Bible for a label and find nothing on the spine.

Searching the question mostly turns up forum threads where strangers name their own favourite translation. That is a fine conversation, but it is not your question. Your question is about your church, and you can answer it yourself in about five minutes.

Why the internet cannot tell you, but five minutes can

The question sounds like it should have one answer. It does not, because who decides changes from church to church. In some traditions the denomination sets the text read in worship, and every parish reads the same words. In others the denomination leans one way but leaves room. In many independent churches the pastor or the elders choose.

That is why a stranger's favourite translation tells you nothing about your church. The answer lives in your own building, in print, in a few places you can check this week.

Five places to look, in order

These are ranked by how reliable they are. Most people have the answer by step two.

1. The small print under the verse. Look at the bottom corner of the slide on the screen, or at the end of the reading printed in the bulletin. Many churches put a short abbreviation, like NIV or ESV, right after the reference. This shows what is read on Sunday now, which is what you want.
2. The copyright page of the pew Bible. Take the Bible from the rack and turn past the title page. The copyright page names the translation in full, even when the cover and spine say nothing.
3. The church website. Check the sermon page, posted sermon notes, or the "what we believe" page. A church that chose a translation on purpose often says so there.
4. Your denomination's lectionary page. If your church follows a lectionary, a set schedule of readings, the denomination's page usually names the translation behind it.
5. Ask. A two-line email to the church office works: "I'd like to read along at home. Which translation do you read from on Sundays?" It is an easy question to answer.

If the answers disagree, trust step one. A pew Bible may have been bought years ago, while the slide shows what the pastor reads today. If you are still new to the congregation, our guide to visiting a church for the first time covers the bulletin and the rest of a first Sunday.

Decoding the letters under the verse

Once you have the abbreviation, here is what it stands for. The full names are the ones Bible Gateway's list of English versions uses, with a note on where each one comes up in this article.

• NIV: New International Version. The Scripture in the catechism of Lutheran Worship, the Missouri Synod hymnal in use in 2004.
• ESV: English Standard Version. Proposed in 2004 for the Missouri Synod's new hymnal.
• CSB: Christian Standard Bible.
• NKJV: New King James Version.
• KJV: King James Version. Used in worship by about 40 percent of congregations in a 2014 report.
• NRSV / NRSVue: New Revised Standard Version, and its Updated Edition. The PC(USA) lectionary quotes the 1989 NRSV.
• NABRE: New American Bible (Revised Edition). The New American Bible is the basis of the Catholic Mass lectionary in the United States.
• NASB: New American Standard Bible.
• NLT: New Living Translation.
• RSV: Revised Standard Version. The source of the Scripture in the Orthodox Church in America's 1967 Divine Liturgy.

Bible Gateway's page lists many more by abbreviation if yours is not here. For how these translations differ in approach and reading level, see which Bible translation you should read.

What each tradition actually reads in worship

This table is ours, built from each church body's own pages. The status column matters most. An official lectionary text means every parish reads it. A decided-but-debated row means the denomination made a choice by vote. "Varies by parish" means you need to check locally.

One note on the Catholic row. A lectionary is not a whole Bible. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops' lectionary FAQ explains that the readings at Mass are arranged by day and occasion rather than by book, and that not all of the Bible is in the Lectionary. It also states that since May 19, 2002, the revised Lectionary based on the New American Bible is the only English-language Lectionary that may be used at Mass in US dioceses.

For the Presbyterian row, the PC(USA) lectionary FAQ says the Scripture quotations in its lectionary readings come from the New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles also hold more books than Protestant ones; the Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox canons compared explains why.

When your denomination has not decided for you

Lutheran and Orthodox churches show that even a denomination's preference is not always a rule.

In July 2004, delegates to the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod convention voted on using the ESV for the Scripture passages in Luther's Small Catechism in their proposed new hymnal. The LCMS Reporter recorded the resolution defeated 580 to 585, a margin of five votes. The Commission on Worship had proposed the ESV for the catechism and for the Psalms; the hymnal then in use carried a catechism with Scripture from the NIV. A translation is a decision, and sometimes a close one.

The Orthodox Church in America published an official translation of the Divine Liturgy in 1967, with its Scripture taken from the RSV. But an OCA priest answering a reader on the OCA's question-and-answer page notes that it has never been imposed on parishes, and that a wide variety of translations are in use. Writing on the same site in 2002, Fr. John Breck said there is no Orthodox English translation of the Bible, that the OCA had issued a formal statement forbidding the NRSV in liturgical services, and that he recommends the RSV.

In a non-denominational or independent church, assume nothing, and especially do not assume "modern." Lifeway Research, reporting on The Bible in American Life in 2014, found about 40 percent of US congregations use the KJV in worship. Among self-described Bible readers in that report, 55 percent preferred the KJV and 19 percent the NIV. Those figures are twelve years old, so treat them as a reason to check, not a forecast of what your church does.

Does it matter if you read a different translation at home?

Not much, and it should not stop you from reading. Translations differ in wording, not in the story. If a word on Sunday's slide differs from your Bible at home, that is a good question to bring to your pastor, not a sign you picked wrong.

There is a practical reason to match, though: most readers move between paper and a screen. In the American Bible Society's State of the Bible 2026 (2,649 US adults, surveyed by NORC in January 2026), nearly 80 percent of Bible Users read a printed Bible at least monthly, and 62 percent read Scripture digitally. When the pew, your phone and the slide use the same words, following along is easier.

So check which translation your phone is set to. BlessUp pre-selects one by tradition from five in all: NABRE for Catholics, NKJV for Orthodox, NIV for Protestants and BSB for non-denominational readers, with the WEB as the fifth. A reader whose church uses the NIV can read during the week in the same words, and a Catholic reader starts in the same New American Bible family the Mass lectionary is based on. The app does not carry the ESV, CSB, KJV or NRSV, so if your church reads one of those, pick the nearest of the five and start.

Knowing the translation answers one question. The next one, where to begin, is the one that stalls most weeks. Our guide on where to start reading the Bible takes it from there.

Reading Monday what you heard on Sunday

Public reading of Scripture was always meant to be understood. When the Law was read aloud to the people in Nehemiah 8, the readers did more than recite it. Nehemiah 8:8 (NIV) says, "They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read."

Understanding did not stop when the gathering ended. Luke writes that the Bereans "received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11, NIV). Reading on Monday the same words that were preached on Sunday is the simplest way to do what the Bereans did.

If you are between churches right now, that comes first. How to find a church in a new city lays out a plan, and the church finder lists churches city by city, from Nashville to Phoenix. Then, on your first Sunday, look for the letters under the verse.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find out which Bible translation my church uses?

Check five places in order: the small print under the verse on the slide or in the bulletin, the copyright page of the pew Bible, the church website, your denomination's lectionary page, and finally the church office. The credit line on Sunday's slide is the most reliable, because it shows what is read now.

What Bible translation do most churches use?

There is no single answer, because many churches choose their own. One dated data point: The Bible in American Life report, as summarized by Lifeway Research in 2014, found about 40 percent of US congregations used the King James Version in worship. Check your own church rather than assuming.

What Bible translation does the Catholic Church use at Mass?

In the United States, the readings at Mass come from a Lectionary, not a full Bible. According to the USCCB, since May 19, 2002 the revised Lectionary based on the New American Bible is the only English-language Lectionary that may be used at Mass in US dioceses.

Is it okay to read a different Bible translation than my church?

Yes. Translations differ in wording, not in the story. Reading the translation your church uses can make Sunday easier to follow, but reading daily in a translation you understand matters more than an exact match.

What Bible translation do Orthodox churches use?

It varies by parish. The Orthodox Church in America published an official Divine Liturgy translation in 1967 with Scripture from the Revised Standard Version, but it has never been imposed on parishes. The OCA has formally forbidden the NRSV in liturgical services, and Fr. John Breck wrote in 2002 that there is no Orthodox English translation of the Bible.