ESV/NLTse In Psalms

My focus is on the awkward , and ungrammatical phraselogy of the ESV . Most of the time , even though the wording is unnecessarily clumsy , it is still understandable . Therefore , you might say , what's the problem then ? This is the problem . The revisers of the RSV did not do much work in revising large swaths of that version . They left a lot intact . It is billed as a new version , but it isn't . The wording is very plain in a great number of places , then employs awful biblish in others . It is down-right inelegant on too many occasions .

William Tyndale wanted the Bible put into the vernacular . The ESV to a large extent does not do that , neither does the NKJ . There is no excuse for sinful syntax in a Bible translation . I don't care about the literalness factor here . If the ESV was striving for that , the revisors still could have used better wording , used clearer expressions , and avoided archaic phrases in that pursuit .

The NLTse , though it has its shortcomings, at least has good grammar and escapes translationese .

The ESV is on top , and the NLTse is below .

40:13 : make haste to help me !
Come quickly , Lord , and help me .
40:14 : who desire my hurt !
who take delight in my trouble
40:17 : the Lord takes thought for me
let the Lord keep me in his thoughts
47:1 : Clap your hands , all peoples !
Come , everyone ! Clap your hands !
47:9 : The princes of the peoples
The rulers of the world
49:16 : Be not afraid
don't be dismayed

 

50:3 -- 59:11

50:3 : around him a mighty tempest
a great storm rages around him
51:5 : in sin did my mother conceive me
I was born a sinner -- yes , from the moment my mother conceived me
51:11 : take not
don't take
53:1 : there is none who does good ( and verse 3 )
not one of them does good
53:4 : Have those who work evil no knowledge
Will those who do evil never learn ?
55:3 : they drop trouble on me ( On 2nd thought it sounds sorta' slangy )
They bring trouble on me
55:15 : Let death steal over them
Let death stalk my enemies
56:5 : they injure my cause ( The ESV's footnote here has better and more contemporary English )
They are always twisting what I say
56:8 : You have kept count of my tossings
You keep track of all my sorrows .
57:8 : Awake , my glory !
Wake up , my heart !
59:4 : they run and make ready
they prepare to attack me
59:11 : kill them not
Don't kill them

 

60:2 -- 69:28

60:2 : You have made the land to quake
You have shaken the land
60:3 : have made your people see hard things
You have been very hard on us
60:12 : we shall do valiantly
we will do mighty things
63:5 : My soul will be satisfied as with fat
You satisfy me more than the richest feast
65:6 : girded with might
armed yourself with mighty strength
66:6 : There did we rejoice in him
There we rejoiced in him
66:13 : I will perform my vows to you
to fulfill the vows I made to you
68:6 : God settles the solitary in a home
God places the lonely in families
68:16 : O many-peaked mountain
O rugged mountains
69:17 : hide not
Don't hide
69:23 : make their loins tremble
make their bodies shake
69:25 : May their camp be a desolation
Let their homes become desolate
69:28 : let them not
don't let them

 

71:6 -- 89:38

71:6 You are he who took me from my mother's womb
from my mother's womb you have cared for me
71:7 : I have been as a portent to many ( unfortunately the TNIV uses the same terminology here as well )
My life is an example to many
71:10 : my enemies speak concerning me
My enemies are whispering against me
71:10 : consult together
plotting together
71:24 : who sought to do me hurt
who tried to hurt me
72:3 : Let the mountains bear prosperity
May the mountains yield prosperity for all
73:9 : their tongue struts through the earth
their words strut throughout the earth
73:11 :Is there knowledge in the Most High ?
Does the Most High even know what's happening ?
73:17 : I discerned their end
I finally understood the destiny of the wicked
73:21 : I was pricked in heart
my heart was bitter
73:26 : my portion forever
mine forever
74:1 : Why does your anger smoke
Why is your anger so intense
74:4 : they set up their own signs for signs
they set up their battle standards
74:12 : working salvation
bringing salvation
78:34 : When he killed them , they sought him
When God began killing them , they finally sought him
78:39 : they were but flesh
they were merely mortal
79:4 : We have become a taunt
We are mocked
85:13 : make his footsteps a way
preparing the way for his steps
87:7 : All my springs are in you
The source of my life springs from Jerusalem
88:18 : my companions have become darkness ( its footnote is in contemporary English )
Darkness is my closest friend
89:11 : you have founded them
you created it all
89:19 : of old
Long ago
89:38 : But now you have cast off and rejected
But now you have rejected him and cast him off

 

Your dialect is clearly in a category of its own .

 

90:11 -- 97:11

Here I am again with my famous snips ( shortened from "snippets" ) . I'm comparing the languishing language of the ESV (at top ) with the more understandable form of communication which the NLTse ( bottom ) uses .

90:11 : your wrath according to the fear of you
Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve
90:17 : establish the work of our hands
make our efforts successful
90:4 : He will cover you with his pinions
He will cover you with his feathers
91:12 : On their hands they will bear you up
They will hold you up with their hands
94:11 : they are but a breath
they are worthless
94:17 : lived in the land of silence
settled in the silence of the grave
94:23 : He will bring back on them their iniquity
God will turn the sins of evil people back on them
95:9 : put me to the proof
tried my patience
97:11 : Light is sown
Light shines

 

101:6-- 103:16

101:6 : shall minister to me
to serve me
102:4 : I forget to eat my bread
I have lost my appetite
102:14 : have pity on her dust
cherish even the dust
102:23 : He has broken my strength in midcourse
He broke my strength in midlife
103:5 : satisfies you with good
fills my life with good things
103:6 : The Lord works righteousness
The Lord gives righteousness
103:9 : He will not always chide , nor will he keep his anger forever
He will not constantly accuse us , nor remain angry forever
103:14 : he knows our frame
he knows how weak we are
103:16 its place knows it no more
as though we had never been here

 

105:25 -- 108:13

105:21 : to deal craftily with
plotted against
106:14 : wanton craving ... put God to the test
desires ran wild ... testing God's patience
106:23 : stood in the breach
stepped between the Lord and the people
106:30 : the plague was stayed
the plague was stopped
107:5 : their soul fainted within them
they nearly died
107:18 : they drew near to the gates of death
they were knocking on death's door
107:42 : all wickedness shuts its mouth
the wicked are struck silent
108:12 : for vain is the salvation of man
for all human help is useless
108:13 : we shall do valiantly
we will do mighty things

 

109:22 -- 116:14

109:22 : my heart is stricken within me
my heart is full of pain
110:7 : he will lift up his head
He will be victorious
115:14 : May the Lord give you increase
May the Lord richly bless
115:17 : who go down into silence
have gone into the silence of the grave
116:14 : I will pay my vows to the Lord
I keep my promises to the Lord

 

Some Snips From Ps.119

You know the drill --- ESV/NLTse .

14 : In the way of your testimonies I delight
I have rejoiced in your laws
19: hide not
Don't hide
20: My soul is consumed with longing
I am always overwhelmed
22: Take away from me scorn and contempt
Don't let them scorn and insult me
28: My soul melts away for sorrow
I weep with sorrow
31: let me not
don't let me
32: I will run in the way of your commandments
I will pursue your commands
43: take not
Do not snatch
45 : I shall walk in a wide place
I will walk in freedom
54: in the house of my sojourning
wherever I have lived
70 : their heart is unfeeling like fat
Their hearts are dull
81: My soul longs for your salvation
I am worn out waiting for your rescue
96: I have seen a limit to all perfection , but your commandment is exceedingly broad .
Even perfection has its limits , but your commands have no limit .
139 : My zeal consumes me
I am overwhelmed with indignation
143 : Trouble and anguish have found me out
pressure and stress bear down on me
152 : you have founded them forever
your laws will last forever
160 : The sum of your word is truth
The very essence of your words is truth
162 : finds great spoil
discovers a great treasure
168: my ways are before you
you know everything I do

 

But snatchest not Thy Word of Truth from out verily of mine mouth .

Howw's that for better biblish ?

 

120:3 -- 139:24

120:3 : What shall be given to you , and what shall be done to you
What will God do to you ? How will he increase your punishment ?
121:6 : The sun shall not strike you
The sun will not harm you
127:2 : eating the bread of anxious toil
anxiously working for food to eat
130:3 : should mark iniquities
kept a record of our sins
136:25 : gives food to all flesh
gives food to every living thing
138:6 : the haughty he knows from afar
he keeps his distance from the proud
139:15 : in the depths of the earth
in the dark of the womb
139:24 : any grievous way in me
anything in me that offends you

 

You have corresponded with Darrell Bock ! He's a knowlegeable fellow . He's also a fan of the TNIV . I am glad you make use of the NLTse in sermon preparation TCG .