Most of the english translations are pretty good and most people these days in South Africa anyhow will use the NIV translation. The ESV (English Standard Version) is a good literal translation of the Bible and now there is a new study version of it that is very highly regarded by some really good scholars.
You can view information and some some sample pages from it at http://www.esvstudybible.org/#features. When you purchase the print version you also get access to an online version with further information. The ESV Study Bible is availble in South Africa from Loot.co.za. If you are looking for a good quality study bible and are prepared to try a different translation, this one is highly recommended.
1 comment:
Hi Brent
I think we should open up the debate about which Bible translations we support and recommend in the church.
Personally, I thought I had every translation available, including the NASB, KJV, NKJV, NAB, NIV, NJB, NLT, The Message. I have study Bibles which span all these translations too.
What has concerned me, recently, is our apparent endorsement of The Message. I doubt most of our members know the difference between Strictly Literal (e.g. NASB), Literal (e.g. KJV, NKJV, NAB), Thought-for-Thought (e.g. NIV, NJB), Functionally Equivalent (e.g. NLT, CEV) and Paraphrastic (e.g. TLB, The Message) translations.
The ESV fits most probably into the Literal translation category. I would endorse us considering replacing every NIV we have at the church with ESVs and that we recommend the ESV Study Bible for our discipleship groups.
As you probably know, the ESV also has excellent online support. For example, the multiple Daily Reading options
www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/daily.reading.bible/
Let’s discuss more and also raise the issue/debate in the next Session meeting. Do you know what the local Presbyterian denomination’s stance on the ESV is?
Kind regards and thanks for bringing the ESV translation to my notice.
Gary
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