A question for those who are not KJV only - which english translation would you use in a church related book and why?
Hey gang,
Just a quick question. I’m having to pick which primary translation I’ll be quoting in my new book “Pyramid and the Box” coming out sometime in the new year from Wipf and Stock Publishing. So my book is in the editing phase. In the writing process I was quiet schizophrenic in my selection of english translations. The publisher would like for me to be bit more consistent (imagine that!). So I’m torn - part of me wants to quote from the NKJV - it is the translation I have almost exclusively preached from over the years. However - I sure love the NIV in the OT; NAS in the NT; and who doesn’t love the ESV for the newest guy on the block?
So if it were you - which would you use and why?
Thanks!
Straight Ahead!
Joel Tetreau
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Unless the AV 1661 doesn’t present a clear translation of the passage in question, use it. Why? it isn’t under copyright like all of the modern translations. This means you publisher doesn’t have the headache of getting the needed proper permissions.
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
Thanks Rob,
It is true that if one went with the 1661 there would be no copyright issue. Still I think I want to stick with either the NKJV, NAS, NIV or the ESV. If you had to pick out of those four, which one would you go with and why?
Straight Aheads!
jt
Dr. Joel Tetreau serves as Senior Pastor, Southeast Valley Bible Church (sevbc.org); Regional Coordinator for IBL West (iblministry.com), Board Member & friend for several different ministries;
It’s literal but not as rigid as the NASB
Image source: http://www.apbrown2.net/web/TranslationComparisonChart.htm
I would use the ESV b/c I think it strikes the best balance balance of accuracy (essentially literal), understandability (easy to read and comprehend for the average person), and availability (most bookstores have it and it is free digitally).
Those were the 3 criteria I considered before switching to the ESV as the preferred translation for preaching and teaching at our church.
David Harris is the Pastor of Faith Baptist Church of Palmhurst, TX (www.faithbaptistministries.org)
NKJV. I’d want a translation that “sounded” like the Bible.
[Joel Tetreau]Thanks Rob,
It is true that if one went with the 1661 there would be no copyright issue. Still I think I want to stick with either the NKJV, NAS, NIV or the ESV. If you had to pick out of those four, which one would you go with and why?
Straight Aheads!
jt
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
I’d go with ESV. More precise than NIV, less controversial, better English than NASB, on the whole a better translation than NKJV. (I don’t use ESV on a daily basis, but when I have used it I’ve been surprised at how much it “sounds like the Bible”… In many places it’s only slightly less KJVish than NKJV)
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
There is clunkiness, but I have watched people’s “lights go on” when they realize where a more dynamic translation makes interpretive choices for them in matters like genitives (in terms of possession, source, etc), articles, implied words (where the lack of italics or other notation mask the choices the translators made for them). The more our church studies the Word, the more they want to understand the dynamics of the language of what they are reading. The NIV, ESV’s etc lack of italics and sometimes lousy glosses get in the way. If people are actually readers, and reading your book, it likely means they are studiers, and would do well with a more word for word xlation.
SamH
Thx guys
Appreciate the thoughts - very helpful. God bless you all as you minister in your corner of the Vineyard during this season as we reflect on the incarnation.
Straight Ahead!
jt
Dr. Joel Tetreau serves as Senior Pastor, Southeast Valley Bible Church (sevbc.org); Regional Coordinator for IBL West (iblministry.com), Board Member & friend for several different ministries;
I just published my first book and used ESV as the primary translation, but in some places I quoted the Amplified, Green’s literal, NIV, or World English Bible where I felt the translation got the meaning across better.
- Andrew Bernhardt
Andrew Bernhardt
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