# The Bible 47 Hacker News commenters recommended The Bible and 26 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Recommended as foundational cultural and literary reading, for its influence on English writing, its ethical ideas and its wisdom. Critics point to the translation's age and inaccuracies. ## Why people recommend it - Cultural and literary influence on English (7 comments): "I appreciate KJV for its artistic value and it being referenced in so much literature and cinema" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49300598)) "From a cultural / literary / symbolic perspective, reading the KJV makes the most sense." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46637899)) "for centuries was essentially a standard that all English speaking peoples aspired to" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49583876)) - Ethical ideas and life wisdom (3 comments): "the bible is a perfect source of ethical and moral ideas and problems" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46347529)) "filled with patterns for living and gives me hope of a better future" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49340532)) "There's plenty of wisdom in the Bible." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989484)) - Literal rendering of source text (2 comments): "I recommend reading a scholarly / literal translation, because there is a lot of nuance in the Hebrew" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49895706)) "Modern editions tend to pave over those difficult/ambiguous passages" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49908389)) - Gospels and Romans as starting points (3 comments): "I strongly suggest starting with Matthew 5 and continuing from there" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989333)) "that's why I'd recommend you reading Romans and James in the Bible" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49108948)) "I really like Luke because of how clearly it is structured." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45989548)) ## What people warn about - Unscientific myths and harmful content (7 comments): "It is a collection of unscientific, erroneous myths and beliefs that were popular in the culture at the time it was written" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46722293)) "I'm so glad this religion of peace sees consent as profoundly unimportant" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48668373)) "a book of cherry picked stories by a group of people to push their agenda" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49051213)) - Outdated translation with accuracy problems (5 comments): "The downside is it was translated in the 1600s with the tools, knowledge and manuscripts available to them at the time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49308178)) "but not a great translation in terms of accuracy compared to more modern ones." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46543399)) "there are things that are just bad translations even for the era" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49313706)) - Dull read, much already known (2 comments): "it's a pretty dull read that's about half "I know this part already through cultural osmosis"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49338468)) "make a website dedicated to the most read book of all time that no one can read" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47675951)) - Modern editions oversimplify difficult passages (2 comments): "Modern editions tend to pave over those difficult/ambiguous passages" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49908389)) "its English is oversimplified and directed at children and learners" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49909133)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Magnifica Humanitas by Pope Leo XIV](https://hackerapproved.com/p/magnifica-humanitas.md): 11 recommend - [Bhagavad-gita As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bhagavad-gita.md): 8 recommend - [I Ching by Richard Wilhelm and Cary Baynes](https://hackerapproved.com/p/i-ching.md): 8 recommend - [Antiqua et Nova by Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith](https://hackerapproved.com/p/antiqua-et-nova.md): 8 recommend - [Fides et Ratio by John Paul II](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fides-et-ratio.md): 2 recommend ## Where to get it - [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195289072?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link) - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780195289077) (affiliate link) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "The Bible", https://hackerapproved.com/p/bible/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).