History of the English Bible: question nine

That is correct!

Isn’t that wonderful? Bibles that were once illegal now served the translators by official orders! It is said that William Tyndale’s influence can be seen throughout the King James Bible. What a legacy left by this faithful Christian and martyr. It is good that we remember him and his contribution to the world.

Title page of a King James Bible 1611

Further Reading/References
Story Behind King James Bible, Chistianity.com
History The King James Bible, kingjameversionbible.com   
The King James Bible, Sola Scriptura
King James Bible, University of Minnesota 

TIMELINE
1901 AD: The American Standard Version; The First Major American Revision of the King James Bible.
1971 AD: The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is Published as a “Modern and Accurate Word for Word English Translation” of the Bible.
1982 AD: The New King James Version (NKJV) is published as a “Modern English Version maintaining the original style of the King James.”
2001 AD: The English Standard Version (ESV) is Published as a translation to bridge the gap between the accuracy of the NASB and the readability of the NIV.
Timeline credit: greatsite.com

We now jump forward to modern Bibles. Our changing English language and developments and discoveries in the field of Bible translation contributed to the making of newer versions. Today there are a variety of Bible versions to choose from. But some do debate whether modern translations should even be used. Some believe that only the King James Version should be used. It is not the scope of this study to examine this question, for it is a very big topic. There are plenty of sources online and in books if you’re interested. I recommend looking into it.

My research into the subject has led me to the conclusion that the King James Bible is not the only Bible that should be used. There are reliable, modern English Bible translations available; though Bibles do fall on a sliding scale. The scale ranges from accurate to inaccurate and from presenting an essentially literal meaning of the original languages to paraphrasing the meaning. It is important to find out were your Bible falls on the scale and why and how it was translated. If you find it is not as accurate as another version, it is best to switch to something better. I recommend the KJV, NKJV, the New American Standard Bible, or the English Standard Version. There is a bit more information about this in the next question.

This question is about a modern Bible translation, the English Standard Version (ESV). The English Standard Version was first published in 2001. It is considered an essentially literal translation. It aims towards a word-for-word representation of the original and also seeks to maintain the style of the original Bible writers while presenting a text readable to modern readers. Like the Bible translators of old, the translators of the ESV looked to previous English versions including the King James Bible to assist them in their work. Of course, they also relied on Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.

Along with other sources such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, what is the name of the Hebrew text that was used for the ESV in translating the Old Testament?

A. The Septuagint
B. The Talmud
C. The Masoretic text
D. The Novum Testamentum Graece

Find Out! (then hit your back button to return)
Preface to the English Standard Version, ESV.org (Look under “Textual Basis and Resources”)