On Bible Translation Preferences

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Here is the preference of my English Bible translations... hopefully in some accurate order:

1) English Standard Version (ESV) - Highly accurate yet easily readable.  Recommended by John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Joshua Harris, etc.

2) New King James Version (NKJV) - Revision of the King James, yet some language has been eased over to make it more accessible. 

3) New American Standard Bible (NASB) - VERY strict translation from the original language to the English language.  The problem may occur, however, when some of the meaning may get lost in the translation itself, due to the rigid translation of words.

4)  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) - Slightly loser than ESV, but still very accurate.  If I remember correctly, this is a publication of LifeWay - the publishing and retail arm of the Southern Baptists.

5) New International Version (NIV) - Most read English translation today and has been for several years.  It is more of a functional or meaning-driven text, and some of the passages I depend on to be translated clearly for my discussion of reformed theology are glossed over in delivering a meaning that sometimes seems to try to pander to a wider Evangelical range of audience.  Still can be useful for devotional times... but not necessarily serious Bible study.

This is probably to be understood though as more... idealistic.  Why?  I do not own so many translations myself.  What versions do I physically have?  Several ESVs, an NIV Study Bible, and a paperback outreach TNIV I got for free before it was released from Biblica... as well as an NRSV only because I found it in a book recycling bin at the end of the school year, and I figured I should have one, as my school uses the NRSV as their Bible translation.

 For whatever reason... I am fascinated by the TNIV.  No, it is not the most accurate version.  However I do find myself drawn to it first if there is a passage that is somewhat confusing in the ESV.  It is about as loosey-goosey of a version I will use - I won't touch the Message or NLT or CEV or anything like that unless I have to... but they are not reliable enough for me to use or recommend using.

Truthfully there are problems with all English versions... but I would recommend the ESV for a very accurate yet readable version.  Still, keeping that NIV around to compare confusing passages is not a bad idea either.

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