From our very first worship gathering as a church family, the English Standard Version of the Bible has been the version our elders have chosen to preach from. The following is an excerpt of an article by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle that most closely embodies our own convictions regarding our preference for the ESV.

Pastoral Reflections
on Bible Translations

Pastor Mark Driscoll

“. . . the Scriptures . . . bear witness about me . . .”
— Jesus (John 5:39)

The Scriptures are the revelation of the person and work of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus taught that He was in fact the very thread that wove all of Scripture together (Matthew 5:17, Luke 24:27, Luke 24:44–45, John 5:39). Therefore, having the best possible translation of Scripture is important because it helps us to hear God most clearly and therefore know Jesus most intimately. By way of analogy, if Jesus were to call us on our cell phone we would want to have the best possible coverage so as to hear Him most clearly. In some ways, a good Bible translation is akin to good cell phone coverage in that it facilitates the most effective communication.

What are the Scriptures?

The New Testament speaks of the Old Testament as Scripture, for which the Greek word is graphe, meaning “writing.” The word bible comes from the Greek word for book. Holy Bible means the “Holy Book.” It contains sixty-six separate books (thirty-nine Old Testament and twenty-seven New Testament), written in three languages (Hebrew, Greek, and a bit in Aramaic), over a period of more than a thousand years, by more than forty authors (of varying ages and backgrounds) on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe). Authors of the Bible include kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, and scholars. The books of the Bible cover history, sermons, letters, songs, and love letters. There are geographical surveys, architectural specifications, travel diaries, population statistics, family trees, inventories, and numerous legal documents. It covers hundreds of controversial subjects with amazing unity. It is the best-selling book of all time and is now available in nearly three thousand languages.

The Old Testament was written on papyrus—a form of paper made out of reeds; the New Testament was written on parchment (prepared animal skins). Because both forms of documents easily degrade under hot and dry conditions, it is providential that we have so many copies of ancient manuscripts. The various chapter and verse divisions in the Bible were not part of the original books. A lecturer at the University of Paris created the chapter divisions in 1228. Its current chapter and verse divisions were not fully developed until 1551. By its own declaration, the importance of Scripture can hardly be overstated. We will now examine how we received the precious gift of Scripture in the English language.

How did we get our English Bible?

Many volumes have been written to explain the miraculous and fascinating process necessary for the Bible’s existence. To help you understand the process in a brief and simple way, I will explain a five-step sequence that has occurred for you to read the Bible.

God –> Revelation/Inspiration –> Transmission –> Translation –> Interpretation –> Application –> Your Life

1. Revelation is the miraculous event whereby God revealed Himself and His Truth to someone and inspired them, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to write down what He had to say—perfectly. This original copy is called the autograph.

2. Transmission occurred when the autograph was carefully copied by trained scribes so that other copies could be made available for people to read. While these handwritten copies have the occasional minor error (e.g., spelling or punctuation), they were accepted as accurate and authoritative by God’s people (e.g., Deuteronomy 17:18 cf. 1 Kings 2:3; Ezra 7:14; Nehemiah 8:8). For example, the apostles, who were the senior leaders in the early church, taught from copies of the books of the Bible (Acts 17:2; 18:8), and the early church tested all teachings against the existing scrolls (Acts 17:11). Furthermore, Jesus Himself taught from copies of the books, not the autograph, and treated them as authoritative (e.g., Matthew 12:3–5; 21:16, 42; Luke 4:16–21; 10:26). In conclusion, God’s people have always relied on manuscripts, and these writings have proven to be accurate and trustworthy. Jesus’ own perfect example assures us of their trustworthiness.

Tragically, opponents of Scripture have attacked its trustworthiness by falsely stating that our current English translations are built upon poorly transmitted copies. However, the bibliographical test of Scripture flatly refutes this false argument. The bibliographical test seeks to determine the historicity of an ancient text by analyzing the quantity and quality of copied manuscripts, as well as how far removed they are from the time of the originals. The quantity of New Testament manuscripts is unparalleled in ancient literature. There are more than five thousand Greek manuscripts, about eight thousand Latin manuscripts, and another one thousand manuscripts in other languages (Syriac, Coptic, etc). Both the number of transmitted manuscripts we possess of Scripture and their proximity in date to the autograph are astounding and unparalleled in the canon of Western literature.

Possibly the oldest manuscript is a scrap of papyrus (p52) containing John 18:31–33 and 37–38, dating from AD 125–130, no more than forty years after John’s gospel was likely written. Bible scholar and papyrologist Carsten Peter Thiede even claims that he has dated a fragment of Matthew to about AD 60. By comparing the ancient manuscripts, we find that the vast majority of variations are minor elements of spelling, grammar, and style, or accidental omissions or duplications of words or phrases. Only about four hundred (less than one page of an English translation) have any significant bearing on the meaning of a passage, and most are footnoted in modern English translations. Overall, 97 to 99 percent of the New Testament can be reconstructed beyond any reasonable doubt, and no Christian doctrine is founded solely or even primarily on textually disputed passages.

Moreover, the Scripture quoted in the works of the early Christian writers (mostly AD 95–150) are so extensive that virtually the entire New Testament can be reconstructed, except for eleven verses, mostly from 2 and 3 John.

3. Translation occurs in service to people who want to read the books of the Bible but are not familiar with the original language in which they were written (Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic). Teams of language theory scholars carefully undertake the painstaking process of translating the original languages into the languages of other peoples. Today, the Bible has been carefully translated into nearly three thousand languages. While the thought of a translation may concern some people, the fact remains that most of the canon of Western literature has also been translated because we do not use their original languages either. The first translation of the English Bible was initiated by John Wycliffe and completed by John Purvey in AD 1388.

4. Interpretation occurs when someone reads the Bible in a language they can understand and determines the meaning of the verses they read by the enablement of God the Holy Spirit who also inspired the writing of Scripture. Each text of the Bible has only one true interpretation and so we must be careful to read the truth out of the Bible (exegesis) rather than reading our beliefs and desires into it (eisegesis).

A common question arises at this point: is the Bible to be interpreted literally? The answer is yes. There are plain-literal and figurative-literal portions of the Bible. We begin by assuming the plain-literal meaning and if that seems absurd then we go with a figurative-literal interpretation. A figurative-literal Scripture teaches a truth in a poetic way and often uses the words “like” or “as” to tip us off that figurative language is being used. But even when figurative language is being used, it is still communicating a literal truth. For example, in the poetic Song of Songs, the man says to his beloved, “your eyes are doves” (1:15). In this figurative language, the man is communicating a very literal truth. He likens her eyes to doves, which come in pairs, and when their tail-feathers flutter they appear like eyelashes. Doves have just one faithful mate throughout their lives, possibly indicating that her eyes are focused on him alone. The dove is also a symbol of peace and purity, alluding to her virginity.

5. Application is the result of taking what we learn from the principles in the Bible and making changes in our thoughts and actions by God the Holy Spirit’s empowering grace so that our life is congruent with the Bible. There are a seemingly infinite number of applications for a text of the Bible. For example, when the Bible says that we should love people, the applications for that principle are endless.

In this five-step process (Revelation/Inspiration –> Transmission –> Translation –> Interpretation –> Application), we see how God speaks to us and cares deeply about our lives. We also see how the chasm between God and us is graciously filled by God’s revelation, which is more accurate and true than our human speculation (e.g., religion and philosophy). While the first step (Revelation/Inspiration of the autograph) is the only one that is guaranteed to be perfect, the other steps are indeed accurate. We must be increasingly careful as we move through the steps, however, because the opportunity for error increases at each step.

Why are there different Bible translations?

In translating the Bible into English, four general categories of translation are most common: word-for-word translations, thought-for-thought translations, paraphrases, and corruptions. The same four options are also used in the translation of other ancient books into English.

Word-for-Word

Word-for-word translations (also known as literal translations) make a special effort to carefully interpret each word from their original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic into English. Word-for-word translations emphasize God, the divine author of Scripture, over the human reader of Scripture. The result is a striving for the precision of what the Bible says, much like one would expect in other important communications, such as legal documents, marriage vows, or contracts. Wordfor-word translations are generally a high school reading level.
Word-for-word translations tend to be the best for studying because of their accuracy, though they sometimes lose the poetic nuances of the original languages. Probably the best word-for-word translations are the English Standard Version (ESV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the New King James Version (NKJV). The King James Version (KJV) is also a word-for-word translation, but because of its use of old English, it is very difficult for some people to read. The NASB was widely regarded as the most scholarly word-for-word translation until the arrival of the ESV. It did not become widely popular, however, because of its tight copyright and sometimes stiff translation of poetry that lost some of the beauty of the original writings. Thankfully, the ESV has preserved the degree of accuracy present in the NASB while also doing a better job of translating the poetic parts of Scripture in a more fluid manner.

The philosophy of word-for-word translation guided virtually every English Bible translation
until the middle of the twentieth century. At that time, thought-for-thought translation became popular.

Thought-for-Thought

Thought-for-thought translations (also known as dynamic equivalence or functional equivalence) attempt to convey the full nuance of each passage by interpreting the Scripture’s entire meaning and not just the individual words. Thought-for-thought translations may include words that were not included in the original text in an effort to give the same meaning that the reader of the original languages would have had.
The best and most widely read thought-for-thought English translation is the New International Version (NIV). Other thought-for-thought translations include Today’s New International Version (TNIV), New Living Translation (NLT), Contemporary English Version (CEV), and the Good News Bible (GNB). The benefit of thought-for-thought translations in general, and the NIV, my favorite thought-for-thought translation, in particular, is that they are easy to understand and make the Bible accessible to a wide number of people.

Going one step further than thought-for-thought translations are paraphrases, which combine both Scripture and interpretive commentary into the translation method.

Paraphrase

Paraphrased translations pay even less attention to specific word meanings than thought-forthought translations in an attempt to capture the poetic or narrative essence of a passage. For this reason, many paraphrased translations do not even have verses divisions in them. Examples of paraphrased translations include The Message (TM), The Living Bible (TLB), and The Amplified Bible (AMP).

Corruption

Corruptions are “translations” of Scripture that clearly seek to undermine the very teaching of Scripture. These “translations” are very poor and should not be used as credible translations for study. These include the Jehovah’s Witness translation called the New World Translation, which was written in large part to eliminate the deity of Jesus Christ.

(NKJV) being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus.
(CEV) God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.
(TM) Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
(NLT) Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Some of these translations (CEV, TM, NLT) would perhaps not be problematic if they were presented as commentary on Romans 3:24. But they are simply unfit to be the biblical text of Romans 3:24 because they do not say what God the Holy Spirit said through Paul; the reader would have no way of knowing that they were reading commentary instead of Scripture.

Therefore, the pursuit of all Bible translation and teaching must be both accessibility to the reader and accuracy to God the Holy Spirit who inspired the writings of Scripture. Indeed, much of what passes today as a criticism of the clarity of Scripture is little more than the self condemnation of those with blind eyes caused by hard hearts. The church father Athanasius spoke of this with great pastoral insight, saying, “For the searching and right understanding of the Scriptures there is need of a good life and pure soul, and for Christian virtue to guide the mind to grasp, so far as human nature can, the truth concerning God the Word. One cannot possibly understand the teaching of the saints unless one has a pure mind and is trying to imitate their life.”

Appendix

Translations

CEV – Contemporary English Version
ESV – English Standard Version
GNB – Good News Bible
HCSB – Holman Christian Standard Bible
KJV – King James Version
NASB – New American Standard Bible
NCV – New Century Version
NIV – New International Version
NLT – New Living Translation
NKJV – New King James Version
NRSV – New Revised Standard Version
NTME – New Testament in Modern English (Phillips)
REB – Revised English Bible
RSV – Revised Standard Version
TAB – The Amplified Bible
TLB – The Living Bible
TM – The Message
TNIV – Today’s New International Version
TSB – The Street Bible

Word-for-Word Translations
ESV, HCSB, KJV, NASB, NKJV, NRSV, RSV

Thought-for-Thought Translations
NCV, NIV, TNIV, NLT, CEV, GNB, REB

Paraphrases
NTME, TAB, TLB, TM, TSB

Corruptions
New World Translation

For Further Reading on Bible Translations:
The Indestructible Book by Ken Connolly
The Word of God in English by Leland Ryken
Choosing a Bible by Leland Ryken
The Bible in Translation by Bruce Metzger
How We Got the Bible by John Sailhamer
A General Introduction to the Bible by Norman Geisler

Translators and Endorsers of the ESV

Some of the scholars who helped to translate the ESV include:
Dr. Clinton E. Arnold — Professor of New Testament Language and Literature, Talbot School of Theology
Dr. Craig L. Blomberg — Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary
Dr. Darrell L. Bock — Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
Dr. Wayne A. Grudem — Professor and Chairman, Department of Biblical and Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Dr. Paul R. House — Professor of Old Testament Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry
Dr. Andreas J. Köstenberger — Associate Professor of New Testament, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Dr. Leon Morris — Former Principal of Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia
Dr. Raymond Ortlund, Jr. — Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Augusta, Georgia
Dr. J. I. Packer — ESV General Editor, Board of Governors and Professor of Theology Regent College, Vancouver, BC
Dr. Vern Sheridan Poythress — Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Westminster Theological Seminary
Dr. Leland Ryken — Professor of English, Wheaton College
Dr. Gordon Wenham — Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies, The College of St. Paul and St. Mary, Cheltenham, England

Some of the people who have endorsed the ESV include:
Jerry Bridges — Author
Dr. Bryan Chapell — President, Covenant Theological Seminary
Roy Christians — National Director, Campus Crusade for Christ Russia
Edmund P. Clowney — Resident Theologian, Trinity Presbyterian Church
Dr. Jack Cottrell — Professor of Theology, Cincinnati Bible Seminary
Nancy Leigh DeMoss — Author, Host of Revive Our Hearts radio
Ajith Fernando — National Director, Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka; Bible Teacher and Author
Susan Hunt — Author and Teacher
Dr. Kenneth S. Kantzer — Dean Emeritus, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
John Lindell — Senior Pastor, James River Assembly, Ozark, Missouri
Max Lucado — Minister, Oak Hills Church of Christ
Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer — Pastor, Moody Church, Chicago, Illinois
Mrs. Susan Schaeffer Macaulay — L’Abri Fellowship
James MacDonald — Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Rolling Meadows, Illinois
Carolyn Mahaney — Author and Speaker, Covenant Life Church
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. — President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Dr. Grant R. Osborne — Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois
Dorothy Kelley Patterson — Author and Professor
Dr. Paige Patterson — President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Dr. John Piper — Preaching Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dr. Philip Graham Ryken — Senior Minister, Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner — Professor of New Testament, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Dr. R. C. Sproul — Chairman, Ligonier Ministries
Dr. Joseph M. Stowell — Former President, Moody Bible Institute
Joni Eareckson Tada — Founder and President, Joni and Friends
Dr. John F. Walvoord — Chancellor, Dallas Theological Seminary
Dr. Ravi Zacharias — Author and Speaker

Pastoral Reflections on Bible Translations