There are lots of good bible translations out there. Choosing one can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to Christianity or are upgrading from the children’s bible of your youth.

At the outset it needs to be said that there is no perfect translation. Anyone who knows Chinese well knows that going from Chinese to English always loses some nuance or shading that the original Chinese contained. The same is for Greek and Hebrew to English. But just because there is no perfect translation does not mean that we should not trust whatever bible we have in front of us. God has done a wondrous thing to give us his Word! It’s a wonderful and good thing that we have so many translations of his word and that God has equipped faithful men and women throughout the ages to translate and refine our translations that we have in our bibles: for all ages, reading abilities and languages.

So whether you met Jesus through the KJV, NIV, CEV or ESV we can all rejoice!

The choice to switch to a uniform bible translation has many reasons, chief among which is the benefit of all looking on the same text of scripture together. We are certainly not rejecting any other translation, but encouraging the use of one translation for our weekly gatherings.

Why we like the ESV at SLE Church:

As I said just before there is no perfect translation available. But the ESV has a number of strengths that we think make it a very good fit for our church. The following is a summary from a booklet by Reverend Kevin DeYoung writing to his own church about why they switched to the ESV as well (which you can find here: http://static.crossway.org/excerpt/why-our-church-switched-to-the-esv/why-our-church-switched-to-the-esv.pdf). It contains many bible references as well as comparisons, especially between the ESV and NIV.

First, the ESV aims for a word-for-word, or ‘essentially literal’, translation of the original Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic texts. This means we have a translation as close as possible to what was originally intended while also remaining readable.

Second, the ESV is a more transparent translation – opting to leave ambiguous wording to the reader to decide the meaning (which is a good thing!).

Third, the ESV engages in less over-translation, leaving words translated with its original meaning and allowing the reader to investigate and study these things closer.

Fourth, the ESV engages in less under-translation. All words are given a translation compared to other translations which will often iron out words which they believe make little sense in our world.

Fifth, building on the third point, the ESV does a better job of translating important Greek or Hebrew words with the same English word throughout a passage or book (which is very important, particularly in the letters of Paul).

Sixth, the ESV retains more of the literary qualities of the Bible. Word images and metaphors come across much more strongly in the ESV.

Finally, the ESV requires much less ‘correcting’ in preaching.

It’s worth reading the booklet for more information and biblical references/examples. And as always, your pastors are freely available to discuss this with you as well!

Why we think it’s good to have a physical paper bible as well as your phone/tablet version:

Current research* indicates that our brains currently find it easier to absorb and memorise information from a physical book. It has something to do with our brains developing a sort of hiking trail as we read.

The jury is out on whether the same can be said for scrolling screens on the phone/tablets.

Another reason to have a physical bible is that you can more readily identify which part of the bible you are in, and so connect the passage before you in its historic biblical theology context. At SLE Church we teach that the Bible is a united whole, from beginning to end, telling the one story of the one God who seeks to restore humanity into right relationship with him through His Son, Jesus Christ. Having a physical bible in front of you allows for easier identification of where you are in biblical history and the unfolding story of the Gospel of Jesus in every page of scripture.

Fact checking becomes easier as well. We always encourage you to test what is being said from the pulpit against what scripture itself says. Checking the context of the verses we use is much easier with the physical pages in front of you than on your screen, which generally limits you to viewing one chapter at a time (or less if you view it on your phone!).

Finally, it will never run out of batteries or crash on you.

* For more reading on this research:

http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/14/do-e-books-impair-memory/

and

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/