Holman Standard Version

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by brorobw:
Hi, everyone, I'm a newbie here, so go easy on me. I've picked up a copy of the Holman Standard Version New Testament, Lifeway's latest project. Anybody got any news or details concerning this version?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The HCSB is now available to search online at
Holman Christian Standard Bible

From Lifeway online:

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>LifeWay News—July 2001


Holman Christian Standard Bible New Testament released
Ken Walker

Although selected Bible books from the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) have been released in various forms since 1999, the newest translation made its debut recently with the release of the complete New Testament featuring devotional notes by Henry Blackaby.

Part of a seven-year, $10 million project, the entire HCSB translation (Old and New Testaments) will be completed in 2003, according to David Shepherd, senior vice president and publisher for Broadman & Holman Publishers, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Despite hundreds of translations on the market, Shepherd said the HCSB bridges the gap between a literal translation and modern English versions tailored for lower-level reading skills.

"This is a fresh, modern English translation," he said. "Most work done lately has been on ease of reading, like the New Living Translation. That has a place and is helpful. But this is a new work on the other end of the spectrum, where accuracy is supreme."

Portions of the new translation were first released through such books as "The Christ We Knew," with commentary by Calvin Miller; and "Experiencing The Word Through The Gospels," featuring devotional notes by Blackaby.

The "Experiencing the Word New Testament" with Blackaby notes was released in June.

Earlier this year, a new "Here's Hope" edition, a low-priced paperback designed for evangelistic outreach, and an Ultra Trim New Testament that can be slipped into a pocket or purse were released.

While many different LifeWay products will use the HCSB translation, Experiencing the Word's extended study format plays an important role in the New Testament release, said Ken Stephens, president of Broadman & Holman.

In addition to Blackaby's notes, the New Testament includes Greek word studies, topical subheadings and a Scripture reference list for the seven realities of God as outlined in the Experiencing God study course.

"We're giving them a lot of new features and benefits," Stephens said. "The word studies alone are worth the price of the New Testament, and we have a lot of other notes and thoughts by Henry. We're giving people a reason to buy it, and as they use it, they will interact with the translation."

While the products are fairly new, the reaction thus far has been very favorable, said Shepherd.

"This is aimed at those who want serious Bible study but in a version that is more readable than others on the market," he said.

Another product linked to the HCSB and released in June was "The Words of Christ" with commentary by Calvin Miller. "Share Jesus Without Fear," a popular discipleship course, will be released in 2002 in a new edition using the HCSB.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible translation originated with Arthur Farstad, formerly general editor of the New King James Version. He began pursuing a new translation in 1984, long before signing a contract with LifeWay.

After Farstad's death in 1998, a colleague, Edwin Blum of Dallas, took over Farstad's position as general editor of the HCSB. The team has 90 scholars from more than 20 Protestant denominations. One-third are Southern Baptists. All affirm a belief in biblical inerrancy.

Stephens points to Broadman & Holman's reason for pursuing a Bible translation project in the first place: a "drift" in modern-language translations."

"Some translations we thought to be reliable for a long time are slowly being changed," said Stephens. "Our goal is to have a Bible that simply, accurately and reliably expresses in good, understandable English what the original manuscript said."
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The HCSB, my opinion:

The HCSB is a victim of poor translation technique and even poorer timing.

Although it is allegedley more accurate than the NIV, it follows the same translation philosophy of dynamic equivalence, and doesn't provide a good enough reason for NIV users to switch to the HCSB. It also finds itself up against the much better formal ESV, which has received the recommendations of many Conservative Southern Baptists, instead of their own SBC produced HCSB. In an era when scholars and lay people are returning to formal word for word traslations like the NKJV, NASB and ESV, I do not envision the HCSB as catching on.

 

Also agree with Chris. I do appreciate the info, as I didn't realize the HCSB was a dynamic equivalent translation. Chris is right, though. The three translations he listed (NKJV, NASB, ESV) all appear to be superior to the HCSB.

 

HCSB is decent, but far inferior to the ESV, NASB. I'm disappointed with it and with the timing of its appearance (As Chris has pointed out).