The ESV me likee

The first Bible I ever bought as a believer was the New King James Version, and I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for this wonderful translation. I treasured my battered leather-bound NKJV for over ten years until it started falling apart. I still have it, lovingly tucked away in a drawer.

Since that time I’ve bounced from version to version. I like the NIV. It’s readable, of course, but it somehow leaves me a bit flat. The NASB is a translation I respect greatly, but it can sometimes make for a hard read; I don’t always “grasp” what it’s trying to say. For devotional reading I’ve enjoyed my New Living Translation.

I recently discovered the English Standard Version. I love this translation! Something about the way it reads . . . I’m no scholar, but it seems very transparent, allowing the meaning of the passage to reach me relatively unhindered.

Peter over at Stronger Church has a great post [hat tip: Mr. Standfast for directing me to Peter’s blog] about why he’s begun using the ESV more and more in his services (side note: Peter is a Pastor who has evidently been at the same church for 25 years! Wow!). Peter writes:

The ESV – to me – is now the better choice for best of both worlds. I like the way it reads. It’s not as easy to read as the NIV, but not that far off. And it’s worlds better than the NASB, even from the 1995 NASB update. From charts that I have seen, it occupies a place of middle ground between those two translations.

What helped win me over was also the level of technical savvy among the people who promote the ESV. The passage of the day in the right sidebar is fed by an RSS feed from their site, they offer several great Bible reading plans. I’m currently following their One Year Bible plan, which is also an RSS that I download into my feedreader every day and read on the bus.

And did I mention they have a Blog?.

Most importantly, though, the ESV is just a great translation and they have done excellent work in making it accessible to as many people as possible. Check it out if you get a chance.

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2 thoughts on “The ESV me likee

  1. My study text is NRSV, but my “carryin’-around” Bible is an NASB.

    I’ve been really interested in the ESV due to all the buzz, but I’ve been holding out on getting one until the Reformed Study Bible was released in that version. It’s out now and Beck knows what to get me for Father’s Day!

  2. The ESV rocks I got mine about 3 months ago or so. Great Bible. The Reformed Study Bible would really be nice.

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