Apprentice 2 Jesus

An Anglicostal Connecting to a Real World

I LIKE — The Bible Translation Game

Dan

In the spirit of wanting to find the good in things, and not just the negatives, I continue on with my “I LIKE” campaign. For the initial rules of my little game, read here. Please understand, this is not to say I am 100 percent in favor of something. When I use opposites, I actually PREFER one thing over the other. But my point is NOT to take a stand and say, “That means the other side is lousy!”

So, today… BIBLE TRANSLATIONS.

At bat: the ESV and the NIV2011.

The ESV stands in the tradition of the RSV, which is a fine translation. Also, there is one edition available with the Apocrypha.

The NIV2011 stands as a work that has been needed to update the 1984 edition. I was not a fan of the 1984 edition. The update is great for congregational reading and it a bit more to the “formal” side, which I prefer for studying.

They are both very good translations, and while I can complain about the downsides of each one (which I hope you won’t on this post), I want to say there are definitely things to LIKE about each one.

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2 responses to “I LIKE — The Bible Translation Game”

  1. Rick Wadholm Jr. Avatar
    Rick Wadholm Jr.

    I like that the NIV2011 offers a more critical approach to the question of the original text (something the ESV could have been better served by)and to offer a fresh translation that actually elicits a new response, but I love that the ESV has chosen to keep things within a certain textual tradition and offers a reading far more “churchy” (if you will) which to me is helpful for liturgy and for the language of the Church at large (while the NIV2011 offers something more helpful for those lost by the language that has too long been over their heads).

    Reply
  2. Dan Avatar
    Dan

    Rick, Good thoughts. I agree with those assessments.

    Reply

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