Holman Christian Standard Bible

The HCSB is a conservative translation that is more literal than the NIV but less precise than the NAS or the ESV. You can trace the origins of both the HCSB and the ESV back to the gender-neutral controversies of the NIV and the TNIV. I suspect that the HCSB will have a harder time gaining acceptance outside the SBC simply because it is a denominational Bible. From what I"ve seen, I prefer the ESV. Here is LINK for a more thorough review.

Andy

 

Our church uses the NIV. I don't see any reason to change.

 

C.J., Crosswalk.com has HCSB as an option for N.T. verses. I've not noticed a major difference from other modern versions but I haven't sat and done a verse by verse comparison either.

http://bible1.crosswalk.com/

2 Timothy 2:1 You, therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 To please the recruiter, no one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of everyday life. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hardworking farmer who ought to be the first to get a share of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. HCSB


Diane

 

I don't know that I would call the HCSB gender-netural. I think they are just trying to be gender inclusive when the underlying Greek is gender inclusive. Personally, I prefer the KJV rendering for anthropos, "brethren", rather the either "people/persons" (HCSB) or "brothers" (ESV).

Andy

 

dianetavegia cited:

2 Timothy 2:1

Well, I can't say I'm terribly impressed with the style!

 

I think it's on par with some of the other MV's. I really love my NKJV. I memorized scripture in KJV and it's hard to learn again at MY age! LOL

Diaen

 

n how wld u deal w "adelphoi"?

 

HCSB is a SBC controled bible and is a reaction to the TNIV and to the fact that the SBC doesn't want to pay for the rights of using the NIV in the quarterlies.
It is interesting that all the flap the TNIV took because of using gender inclusive language is a translation technique that the HCSB translator used.

Concerning the control issue I think Mohler addressed this issue fine
Link to Mohler comment on controling the translation

Control doesn't seem to be a good reason for a new translation

 

Whoops! That's the Greek word I meant! Where's the "I'm embarrassed Graemlin?"

Andy

 

Nor I -- it's all short, choppy sentences.

 

I find it very interesting that Mohler is dead wrong on this point:
The answer, he said, should be no. He pointed to the type of Greek in which the New Testament was written as an example.
"It was the common form of the day but it was not the lowest common denominator of the day," he said. "... It was not the street language."

Koine Greek was very much the language of commerce - the language of the streets and the docks - and has little of the formality and majesty of classical high Greek, the language of philosophy and other 'important' subjects.

Well it's the reason for every other decision in the SBC nowadays. Why start to change now?

 

There is some controversy concerning this point. Let me provide an excerpt from an excellent article by Michael Marlowe, Was the Bible Written in "Street Language?"

 

I received a promo video from Lifeway concerning the HCSB the other day. They say it is not a SBC Bible but I was offended by the video's subtle pot shot at Gideon's International. It Basically says prisoners cannot understand the KJV Gideon Bibles given out so this prison chaplain uses the HCSB. That may be true BUT you don't in even a subtle way down another ministry's Bible (NOTE: I am not sure if the KJV is the only Bible Gideons distribute). It may have not been intentional but a Editor should have caught such a statement.

This video was supposely something I would show for a Sunday School or a Sunday Night Bible Study. RIGHT! I'm going to show a infomercial for Lifeway who's Sunday School materials are overrated and overpriced. The prices on their evangelistic New Testaments are inexpensive and I may buy some for a Christmas evangelistic campaign but I was not impressed by Lifeway's marketing ploy.

 

I have been told by some that they feel it is an effort to get everybody on the same page and control the convention.
I exepct it to be a huge flop. There were other earlier efforts that failed miserably as well. Some of those in cintro have renounced some of their teachers from the past who are good sound theologians. Conformity does not bring unity. Having pastored in the SBC I saw quite an effort to control what was printed and read by the people. Many of the states had deliberately failed to continue the printing of the state paper. The substitute was a paper supplied by the leaders without any editorials by the lay people.

 

Now that was edifying, wasn't it?

In Christ,
Neal

 

Well, the literature for next quarter
was in my Sunday School room this morning.
Come the first Sunday in September,
we will be reading from the HCSB, but only
the Lesson Passage, not the Background Passage.
I'm Studying from the Bible Book series
which goes through each book of the Bible
each seven years. I've been teaching the
Bible Book series that i'm on the third
round.

Of course the whole HCSB won't be available
until next spring

 

The Literature (for teachers)
includes a copy of the HCSB New Testament.

Here is how you get saved in the
Holman Christian Standard Bible:

Romans 10:9 (HCSB):

if you confess with your mouth,
"Jesus is Lord," and believe in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved.