Bible-related Items
I would like to comment on some news related to the Bible. I intended to comment on some of those for a long time; thankfully, now I can
1. ESV Sales Growing at a Fast Clip Worldwide. It is no secret that I am very fond of the ESV, which I regard as the best contemporary English Bible translation available. This post on the ESV blog says that I am not alone on my appraisal. Right now the ESV is distributed through partnerships with such powerhouses as the British and Foreign Bible Society, the American Bible Society, the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, and the United Bible Societies. Furthermore, it is being increasingly used by Anglican and other churches worldwide; for example, in Singapore, the ESV is the selected translation at national cathedral of the Anglican Church. For once, it is heartwarming to see such «mainline» organizations and denominations turning to a literal, conservative translation.
2. Daily Office Lectionary from the Book of Common Prayer Available Online in the ESV. The folks at the ESV website came up with this wonderful new service. From now on, you will see a link to it under the «Liturgy» section of my sidebar. So, if you are liturgically minded, this is a great way to read the Bible daily.
3. Cheyenne Bible dedicated. Wayne Lehman of Better Bibles Blog fame recollects the wonderful time they had dedicating the Cheyenne Bible after several years of hard work. The Lord blessed the efforts of the translators, and now the Cheyenne people have the Bible in their own language. Kudos to all of them!
4. Words and Relevance: Removing Repentance is Unjustified. In this post, as well as in its sequel, Language: Don’t Lose It – Use It, Catez (of Allthings2all fame) makes a great case for the forensic/theological specialized terminology found in the Bible, and especially in the New Testament. (Incidentally, this is a response to a statement made by Wayne Lehman.) I was wondering about taking the subject for some time, but Catez said everything I wanted to, and much better. Therefore, this is strongly recommended reading.

Tom di Giovanni:
Hi.
Thanks for pointing out Catez’s pieces. I felt prompted to respond on his site – I’m not sure I entirely agree with him, but I can see arguments both ways. I guess the choice is between accuracy for study purposes on the one hand and accessability for evangelism on the other hand. Where I live (UK) I feel that church life is far too inward looking, and that probably explains my bias.
Personally I use the NIV, which is ok if not brilliant in most situations. And I really don’t like it when people read “The Message” in church …
I’d be interested on your thoughts on Spanish translations of the Bible. Is there the same debate over the word “propiciación” – if that’s even a legitimate Spanish word?
Tom
1 February 2007, 6:30 amEd Hurst:
My next Bible purchase will be the Geneva version.
8 February 2007, 2:20 pmRuchamah:
Do you know where the ESV translators got the little Paragraph markers? There is no notation, yet there are 9 paragraph markers in Gen 1 [show]Genesis 1
alone. I see no info in the introduction. Any thoughts?
17 March 2007, 4:31 amThe Creation of the World
[1:1]In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. [2]The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
[3]And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. [4]And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. [5]God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
[6]And God said, "Let there be an expanse(1) in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." [7]And God made(2) the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. [8]And God called the expanse Heaven.(3) And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
[9]And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. [10]God called the dry land Earth,(4) and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
[11]And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants(5) yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. [12]The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [13]And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
[14]And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons,(6) and for days and years, [15]and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. [16]And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. [17]And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, [18]to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. [19]And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
[20]And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds(7) fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens." [21]So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [22]And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." [23]And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
[24]And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds--livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. [25]And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
[26]Then God said, "Let us make man(8) in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
[27]So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
[28]And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." [29]And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. [30]And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. [31]And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (ESV)
Footnotes
1. [1:6] Or 'a canopy'; also verses 7, 8, 14, 15, 17, 20
2. [1:7] Or 'fashioned'; also verse 16
3. [1:8] Or 'Sky'; also verses 9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
4. [1:10] Or 'Land'; also verses 11, 12, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
5. [1:11] Or 'small plants'; also verses 12, 29
6. [1:14] Or 'appointed times'
7. [1:20] Or 'flying things'; see Leviticus 11:19-20
8. [1:26] The Hebrew word for 'man' ('adam') is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name 'Adam'
thanks,
Ruchamah