Which Bible Translation Should I Use?
At the beginning of the year I mentioned in a post that in September of 2011, Liberty University Biblical Studies Symposium held a discussion on the topic, “Which Bible Translation Should I Use?” featuring Dr. Ray Clendenen (HCSB), Dr. Wayne Grudem (ESV), and Dr. Doug Moo (NIV). Those talks have now been put in written form. I want to thank Jim Baird of B&H Academic for sending me a copy of Which Bible Translation Should I Use? A Comparison of 4 Major Recent Versions. Though not part of the original discussion, an essay by Dr. Philip Comfort supporting the New Living Translation is included. All four contributors served on their respective translation committees. This is a helpful work, but it is unfortunate that Dr. Comfort’s essay does not come up to the standard of the other three (e.g., his discussion of 1 Thess 1:3).
Of course, you can call anything anything. But calling a fire hydrant a hamburger doesn’t mean you can eat it.
That said, I don’t understand the New Living “Translation” being included, but not other major options like the NAS, NKJ, and perhaps others.
I mean, does that word mean anything anymore? Is a paraphrase not a paraphrase if the paraphrasers look at Hebrew and Greek first instead of other translations?
Not, you know, that I have an opinion.