Why ESV?

If you ever wondered why a lot of us at R8 use the English Standard Version bible you might find these this chart from the ESV Blog to be helpful in explaining the differences between some leading bible translations:

ESV.org also explains how the ESV translation is different in an article here. Additionally, Zondervan has a nice chart depicting where each translation stands on the continuum of word-for-word versus thought-for-thought approaches. Did you know it can take a committee over a decade to completely finish translating the bible? Dang.

John Piper gives four personal convictions for using the ESV bible:

1. A more literal translation respects the original author's way of writing. It is a way of honoring the inspired writers.

2. Translators are fallible and they may mislead the English reader if they use unnecessary paraphrases to bring out one possible meaning and conceal others.

3. A more literal translation gives preachers more confidence that they can preach what the English text says with authority that it reflects what the original Greek or Hebrew text says.

4. A more literal translation which preserves ambiguities that are really there in the original keeps open the possibility of new insight by future Bible readers.

This is not to say that the all other translations are garbage in comparison to the ESV. Piper puts it well here:

"A Bible does not cease to be precious and powerful because its translators overuse paraphrase and put way too much of their own interpretation into the Bible. That's the way God's Word is! It breaks free from poor translations and poor preaching—for which I am very thankful. But even though the weakest translation is precious, and is used by God to save and strengthen sinful people, better translations would be a great blessing to the church and an honor to Christ."