A Meaningful Step in the Right Direction

I was pleasantly surprised (make that astounded) last  winter when I learned that the Gideons had decided to change the modern English version that they distribute to the new English Standard Version (ESV)!

The Gideons organization, of which I have been a part for about a decade, is one that I am sure that all my readers are familiar with. They have, since 1899 distributed Bibles in several venues, free of charge. They have from the beginning distributed the Bible in the King James Version (KJV) and somewhere along the line have also distributed what they refer to as a modern English version (MEV) which in recent decades has been the New King James Version (NKJV). If you have read my book, you are aware of my affinity toward modern translations (pp.72-75), hence my joy over this decision.

Please understand: the Gideons are a conservative organization, both from a theological perspective (a good thing), and in their resistance to change (not necessarily a good thing, depending on the change they are resisting). A good example is that for many years they have engaged in “Bible Blitzes” in which they stand on street corners and hand out Bibles in a designated area, usually a major city. This is certainly a worthy activity. However, our camp and our neighboring camps (individual Gideon groups are known as camps) rejected an invitation to do that very same thing at the Life Light Fest which is an annual Christian Music festival for which people travel to Sioux Falls from all across the nation. We would have had an audience in that venue that was already warmed up to the Gospel, and in my estimation even more receptive than strangers on a street corner. Also, when it comes to modern translations, many of my Gideon brothers function as though they believe that the KJV is actually the original version of scripture.

I was unfamiliar with the ESV as it had not yet become readily available when I did my research for the book. Upon hearing this news, I got myself an inexpensive copy ($4.99, small print) and began taking it for a test drive. I had gotten a Greek-Hebrew Key Word Study Bible in New American Standard Bible (NASB) translation for Christmas, and had also been test-driving that version, so I began to use them side-by-side. While I like the NASB for its accuracy and the kind of in depth word study that I often do now, I have found that it is a rather clumsy translation for reading aloud. I quickly discovered that the choice of English words in the ESV were nearly the same as that in the NASB, thus imitating the NASB’s heretofore unparalleled accuracy. At the same time, ESV does not have the clumsiness that I find to be so characteristic of the NASB, hence it is exceptionally readable.

Another problem that my Gideon brothers have frequently expressed in articulating their aversion to modern translations is their belief that some modern translations have involved “unregenerate” persons as translators. I agree that this is a legitimate concern. I think, however, that this has been a subjective evaluation on their part. I am looking at a list of over a hundred individuals that I found on the ESV web site that were involved in either the translation ,the oversight of it, or as advisors. While this list is a veritable “who is who” among contemporary evangelicals, I seriously doubt that the Gideons took it upon themselves to solicit a personal testimony from each of them to prove that they were “regenerate”. I also doubt that they had the necessary information to determine that the scholars involved in the KJV translation back in 1611 were in fact “regenerate”. I also doubt that if some fifty-plus scholars today were commissioned by the royalty of England to produce a translation of the Bible that it would have as good a reception as the KJV. It seems to me that this subjective judgment of being a “regenerate” translator is based more on their ecclesiastical affiliation or the time in history that their work was done.

 I recommend the ESV to all my readers, and I commend my Gideon brothers for their decision to make this exceptional translation their new modern English version.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.