English Standard Version

That is one thing that makes the ESV
such a useful translation. It is
very much within the Wycliffe/Tyndale/KJV
tradition. I use it all the time.

Clay

 

In a short time the ESV has become my favorite and most trusted translation. I reccommend it for everyone.

 

Mine too. The NASB is next.

 

I hate to show my ignorance in the history of translating scripture, but are you saying that there is a conscious tradition from Wycliffe to Tyndale to the KJV?

 

I have also been impressed with the ESV. Another version I am impressed with is the New Testament of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). The entire Bible is slated for publication in 2004. I look forward to it with anticipation!

 

I have absolutely no interest in
debating the KJV only perspective.
Let me say that right off the bat.
I say this because I have seen this
happen over and over again. I am
responding to a very good question,
but will not respond to comments that
have nothing to do with this thread.

There is a stream within
English translations that goes
back as far as Wycliffe. The
KJV translators worked on their
translation using the best Hebrew
and Greek manuscripts available,
but also consulted other translations.
There are estimates that up to 90%
of Tyndale's NT ended up in the KJV.
I've seen lower estimates at around
75 percent. At any rate, the percentage
of Tyndale's translation used in the KJV
is high. He is one of the great Christians
of the ages.

Modern versions like the ASV and RSV attempted
to revise the KJV without changing too much of
the language. While modernizing the language
the ESV team sees the ESV as another translation
in the historic stream of English translations
that began with Wycliffe and continued on
through Tyndale and the venerable KJV.

If you are interested read the prefaces to the
KJV and the RSV for some more information.

Clay

 

Charlie T asked:

I hate to show my ignorance in the history of translating scripture, but are you saying that there is a conscious tradition from Wycliffe to Tyndale to the KJV?

Yes and no. John Wycliffe and William Tyndale shared similar political goals: they were both English Reformers who wanted, amongst other things, to make the Scriptures accessible to the laity so they could read and understand it for themselves. Both of them posed threats to the religious/political establishment of their day; Tyndale was, in fact, martyred for his translation.

Not long after, however, Tyndale's New Testament slipped into the Church of England via the "back door," when it formed part of the Matthews Bible, the first English translation approved for use in the Church. Ultimately the Tyndale Bible became the de facto foundation for subsequent English translations, including the King James.

So there is a connection. Not a clear and direct one, but it is there.

 

Thanks guys!

 

I like the ESV so much it is the Bible I
give away as a gift and the one we give
to new Christians.

Clay