Quick thoughts on the NIV (latest revision)

Recently there has been some dust kicked up in the translation wars. It all started when it was announced that a rather famous, and godly, pastor would have his study Bible published with the new NIV. You would think he denied the Trinity!

I happen to like the new NIV. I think, by and large, the changes (including the gender accurate ones) to it were positive. I live and work in an area where the generic “male” is almost completely extinct. I understand that some people do not share my experience and hearing gender accurate language in the NIV causes a reaction in them similar to fingernails on a chalkboard.

Regardless of our experiences and preferences, it seems to me that we do harm to the church when we impugn the character of the NIV translators. There are differences of opinion regarding the use of gender accurate nouns and pronouns. That’s an in-house debate. Let’s act like it.

To call the NIV the equivalent of the Great Satan sounds a bit too much like the KJV-Only crowd. It is not becoming of the children of God.

Ever think the Bible should be free?

Crossway has been making the Bible available for free for several years. They have produced an online booklet explaining Crossway’s Commitment to the Free Use and Development of the ESV Bible into All Technologies. The following, taken from that booklet, is a brief bullet-point list of free ESV Bible use:

• The ESV was the first Bible published simultaneously in digital and print editions (in 2001). (At one point the ESV had garnered 60 percent of all online Bible citations.)
• It was available free online to everyone, everywhere immediately upon publication.
• It is available free as a link to all doctrinally sound Christian organizations for non-commercial use.
• It is licensed free to other publishers for use in commentaries and church curricula.
• It was available free online on the iPhone within a week of the original iPhone launch.
• It was available free on the Kindle 2 shortly after its launch. (The ESV was the number one Kindle product for a number of weeks, beating out Stephen King’s free book, Ur.)
• It is available free as an iPhone App.
• It was available free as an iPad App immediately when the iPad launched on April 3, 2010. (When the iPad launched, we received an e-mail from Apple saying: “Congrats on being the very first partner of ours to send content in using the iTunes Producer tool!”)

(HT: Justin Taylor)

The Birth of Jesus as told by Luke (God’s Word translation)

At that time the Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the Roman Empire. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All the people went to register in the cities where their ancestors had lived. So Joseph went from Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a Judean city called Bethlehem. Joseph, a descendant of King David, went to Bethlehem because David had been born there. Joseph went there to register with Mary. She had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant. While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn’t any room for them in the inn.

Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. The angel said to them,

Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.

Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying,

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those who have his good will!

The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed. Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them. As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

Eight days after his birth, the child was circumcised and named Jesus. This was the name the angel had given him before his mother became pregnant.

After the days required by Moses’ Teachings to make a mother clean had passed, Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem. They took Jesus to present him to the Lord. They did exactly what was written in the Lord’s Teachings: “Every firstborn boy is to be set apart as holy to the Lord.” They also offered a sacrifice as required by the Lord’s Teachings: “a pair of mourning doves or two young pigeons.” A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He lived an honorable and devout life. He was waiting for the one who would comfort Israel. The Holy Spirit was with Simeon and had told him that he wouldn’t die until he had seen the Messiah, whom the Lord would send. Moved by the Spirit, Simeon went into the temple courtyard. Mary and Joseph were bringing the child Jesus into the courtyard at the same time. They brought him so that they could do for him what Moses’ Teachings required. Then Simeon took the child in his arms and praised God by saying,

Now, Lord, you are allowing your servant to leave in peace as you promised. My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people to see. He is a light that will reveal salvation to the nations and bring glory to your people Israel.

Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “This child is the reason that many people in Israel will be condemned and many others will be saved. He will be a sign that will expose the thoughts of those who reject him. And a sword will pierce your heart.”

Anna, a prophet, was also there. She was a descendant of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was now very old. Her husband had died seven years after they were married, and she had been a widow for 84 years. Anna never left the temple courtyard but worshiped day and night by fasting and praying. At that moment she came up to Mary and Joseph and began to thank God. She spoke about Jesus to all who were waiting for Jerusalem to be set free.

After doing everything the Lord’s Teachings required, Joseph and Mary returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee. (Luke 2:1-39 GW)

An open letter to Crossway re: the marketing of the ESV

To Crossway:

It seems to me that from the beginning the marketing of the ESV has been somewhat divisive. Granted a lot of the divisiveness was generated by people not on Crossway’s payroll who, presumably, were not speaking for Crossway. That said, it has been no secret that some ESV supporters have been overly zealous in their promotion of the ESV, a fine translation and the one I use primarily.

Given the public nature of the anti-TNIV translation efforts that some in the ESV camp have engaged in, I think it would be wise to publicly call for an end to such hostilities. I agree with D.A. Carson when he wrote in his article The Debate over Gender-Inclusive Language:

In quieter moments, one wonders if any conceivable damage that could be done by the NIV or TNIV could be any worse than the division, bitterness, and strife stirred up by those who have made this a dividing issue.

Your recent video about trusting the ESV had a feeling of “If you’re not using the ESV you’re using a second class Bible at best.” A number of brothers and sisters in Christ were offended by that.

I hope you will consider marketing the ESV a bit differently, something like:

“The ESV is a translation similar in style to the KJV but with modern language and translated using the latest manuscript evidence and scholarship. We believe it would be easy to transition from the KJV. If you’re currently using the NIV or NLT (or any of the other more thought for thought translations) we think the ESV would nicely complement your existing translation as you explore the riches of God’s Word. Just as in an abundance of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14) so too there is safety in using several English translations.”

IMHO, something like that would work a lot better and would not alienate people.

Thanks for your consideration.

YouTube ESV Audio Channel

From the ESV.org website:

Crossway has created a YouTube ESV Audio Channel where users can create their own custom playlists and reading plans. Currently, all of the New Testament is available as well as the books of Psalms and Proverbs. YouTube is accessible not only on desktop and laptop computers but also on mobile phones and gaming platforms (ie. Playstations, Xbox, Wii).