Dhammapada students: What are the merits of the various English translations available?

Question

I've only read the F. Max Müller translation, and I like it because it gels well with my KJV Bible.  But I had comments from one Buddhist that scoffed at this version.  Does anyone have more information for me to draw a comparison between the relative merits of various versions of the Dhammapada (in English)?  A link to the texts would be good, too.  Thank you.

Sati · Accepted Answer

If I am understanding you correctly, you are looking for other english translations of the Dhammapada.  The following is a list of some different translations:

[Online Versions]

Thanissaro Bhikkhu
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.than.html

Acharya Buddharakkhita
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.budd.html


[Book Versions]

Gil Fronsdal
http://www.amazon.com/Dhammapada-Translation-Buddhist-Classic-Annotations/dp/1590303806/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301818126&sr=1-1
http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/dhammapada/

Thomas Byrom
http://www.amazon.com/Dhammapada-Shambhala-Pocket-Classics-Thomas/dp/0877739668/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301818241&sr=1-5

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Dhammapada students: What are the merits of the various English translations available?

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