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Esv

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RLBosley

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I thought about posting this in another thread about versions used in churches, but didn't want to derail it.

Why has the ESV become so popular? I know Crossway has done a marvelous job of marketing it and a lot of the "big name" people have jumped onto the bandwagon, but that doesn't really answer the question of why the bandwagon exists in the first place. Why did it initially become popular?

I have one and I use it occasionally, but IMO it really isn't an improvement over the NASB. It seems almost as wooden in many places, OT especially, and less clear than the more dynamic translations.

If you love your ESV, why do you like it so much?

BTW, I'm not hating on the ESV. It seems to be a fine translation. I doubt so many would accept it if it weren't. I just personally don't get it.

EDIT: I meant to make he title all caps - ESV. Can a Mod change that?
 
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RLBosley

Active Member
InTheLight said:
It's the Calvinist's Bible of choice. Reformed is trendy nowadays.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm a Calvinist so... maybe I didn't get the memo? :tonofbricks:

But I don't believe that is the reason. The ESV is no more Calvnistic in it's translation than say the NASB or HCSB.
 
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Revmitchell

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RLBosley said:
Well, I'm a Calvinist so... maybe I didn't get the memo? :tonofbricks:

But I don't believe that is the reason. The ESV is no more Calvnistic in it's translation than say the NASB or HCSB.
Click to expand...

Uh....I think most cals would disagree with you.
 
InTheLight

InTheLight

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RLBosley said:
Well, I'm a Calvinist so... maybe I didn't get the memo? :tonofbricks:

But I don't believe that is the reason. The ESV is no more Calvnistic in it's translation than say the NASB or HCSB.
Click to expand...

Take a look at the main contributors list of the ESV study Bible and tell me how many people you see on there that hold to Reformed theology.

http://esvstudybible.org/contributors/

Then trawl through the posts here on BB and notice that the ESV is the preferred version for most of the Calvinists.
 
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Revmitchell

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RLBosley said:
OK. Then, can you point me to a particular passage that the ESV rendered in a more Calvinistic way? Or where a Cal has said that is the reason they like the ESV?
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Nope what I can tell you is that Cals by and large use that more than anything else and the primary contributors were cals.
 
Deacon

Deacon

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I use it in my personal study and here on the BaptistBoard.
I use the NIV when teaching bible class because it reads easier and many in the class use it.

Why do I like the ESV?
  1. Essentially literal
  2. Modern formatting aids in delineating structure
  3. Modernized eclectic Greek text
  4. Updated Hebrew text utilizing early sources when appropriate.

Rob
 
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Van

Well-Known Member
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Hi RL, here is your statement: "The ESV is no more Calvnistic in it's translation than say the NASB or HCSB."

This could be simply a mantra, yet another of the dogmatic fictions presented by Calvinists, or you could be expressing what you actually believe is true.

Lets assume you were not being disingenuous. What evidence would convince you that the ESV, the NLT and the NIV are Calvinistic. Please provide specific criteria.

In a previous thread I provided 3 or 4 verses, which demonstrated Calvinistic renderings that deviated from the NKJV, HCSB, NET, and NASB.
 
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RLBosley

Active Member
InTheLight said:
Take a look at the main contributors list of the ESV study Bible and tell me how many people you see on there that hold to Reformed theology.

http://esvstudybible.org/contributors/

Then trawl through the posts here on BB and notice that the ESV is the preferred version for most of the Calvinists.
Click to expand...

I believe that's contributors for the Study Bible notes, not the translation itself.

As for Cals using the ESV here. That doesn't prove anything. It's purely anecdotal and I've seen a lot use the KJV and the NIV too.

Revmitchell said:
Nope what I can tell you is that Cals by and large use that more than anything else and the primary contributors were cals.
Click to expand...

OK. I'm sure many of the translators were Calvinists, but was it really more than other translations? There were Cals on the HCSB, NIV and NASB committees too.

So from my (limited) understanding the issue isn't that the translators or the translation are more Calvinistic than the others.

Maybe because it is the most recent, "literal" translation?

Maybe that's the issue. Cals tend to favor the more literal translations it seems. Perhaps that's why the ESV does well in reformed circles?
 
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RLBosley

Active Member
Van said:
Hi RL, here is your statement: "The ESV is no more Calvnistic in it's translation than say the NASB or HCSB."

This could be simply a mantra, yet another of the dogmatic fictions presented by Calvinists, or you could be expressing what you actually believe is true.

Lets assume you were not being disingenuous. What evidence would convince you that the ESV, the NLT and the NIV are Calvinistic. Please provide specific criteria.

In a previous thread I provided 3 or 4 verses, which demonstrated Calvinistic renderings that deviated from the NKJV, HCSB, NET, and NASB.
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:

I'm not being disingenuous. I'm really curious. Unwarranted attack on the character of Calvinists aside, do you have a link to that previous post?
 
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RLBosley

Active Member
Deacon said:
I use it in my personal study and here on the BaptistBoard.
I use the NIV when teaching bible class because it reads easier and many in the class use it.

Why do I like the ESV?
  1. Essentially literal
  2. Modern formatting aids in delineating structure
  3. Modernized eclectic Greek text
  4. Updated Hebrew text utilizing early sources when appropriate.

Rob
Click to expand...

OK. So in what ways is this superior over the NASB then? Is the updated text that different? Or is it just the sheer volume of "extras"?
 
InTheLight

InTheLight

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RLBosley said:
I'm not sure but I don't think an online forum, dominated by the Arminainism/Calvinism debate qualifies! :laugh:

I can't go to the link ATM. Can you summarize?
Click to expand...

It's a Facebook page for Reformed Baptists and a poll was done on favorite Bibles. The ESV was the hands down winner.
 
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Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
RLBosley said:
OK. So in what ways is this superior over the NASB then? Is the updated text that different? Or is it just the sheer volume of "extras"?
Click to expand...

Think that it is "so popular" for the same reasons that the Niv became the version of choice by so many Evangelical /Baptists did in the 80's!

It has the push of a major publisher behind it, getting it into church curriculums

It has the translators/persons using it and recommended it as big names within reformed/Calvinistic circles

It does use the critical gtexts, and is somewhat more smoother reading than say the nasb is, the closest comparison to it among MV

Would say that the esv is a fine version to use to study from, but to me, its big flaw is that it tries to mediate between the Niv/Nasb, as it reads easier then the Nas, but not as easy as the Niv, nor as accurate to the texts as the nasb!

Think that the esv is THE choice among reformed, Niv among evangelicals, while Nasb/NKJV still popular among conservative Baptists!

And also think that the SBC version HCSB does better what the esv attempted to do!
 
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