Monday, September 7, 2009

What Bible translation do you use?

It’s a simple question: What translation of Scripture do you prefer to read and/or work out of? I am a huge proponent of the ESV- and when I am not working in the original languages I feel most at home there. I am also partial to the very helpful notes that the NET bible provides on the syntax issues of the Hebrew/Greek. I am fairly confident with my grasp of the different translations as I am a Hebrew-Greek student, grew up on the NIV, was a manager at Lifeway (HCSB), preached out of the NASB (shortly), and have been preaching/teaching/reading/working out of the ESV for almost a year now.

I found the following “translation guide” extremely funny:

HCSB - For Lifeway store buying Southern Baptists
NIV - For complementarian evangelicals
TNIV - For egalitarians
NASB - For those who want straight Bible, forget the English
Amplified - For those with no idea what a translation is but know that if you try enough words one of them will hit pay dirt

(I laughed particularly hard at the NASB and Amplified ones... haha).

So, let me know, what translation do you read out of, work out of (if there is a difference), and why?

2 comments:

  1. Oh, after many years (and a big ol stack of Bibles later--searching for one that "spoke" to me) I got a parallel with NIV and The Message...dig it because when I find myself just not gettin' it in the NIV I have a little friend there to my right that uses real terms that I "get". A little compare and contrast and it all makes sense! Question for you....what about KJV....that's my beloved's choice...what does that say about him?? (He's my Renaissance man??--hahaha!!)

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  2. The message is actually not that bad. I'd rather read the Message than the HCSB or the TNIV, haha. KJV? That is olddd school. hahaha

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