So What's The All-Purpose...?

For me its the NIV, though I always have my Greek New Testament close at hand.

 

True, my next choices would be the NRSV and the NASB, probably in that order.

 

The 'best' one, of course!

There really ain't no such animal, other than what you prefer. Frankly, I would tend to use the version to memorize, especially if one has the tendency to 'quote' Scripture without actually giving the references in a message, that is the "pew Bible", assuming your church may have them.

For the other four things, I have no real suggestion except to say that I always actually liked the KJV, probably due to familiarity. As a matter of fact, because I liked it so well, I got me a New one!

(Think about it!)

Although I gotta' admit, I do like the NASB for literal rendering, and am coming to like the DARBY, the ESV and the HCSB, more and more with the passing of each day.

Ed

 

For me it often does a great job of capturing the thought of the Greek in good, readable English. Of course, there are exceptions, but these exceptions prove the rule.

 

If I had to choose only one, it would be the HCSB.

 

Don Carson knows Greek better than anyone here ( pardon me TCG ) , I don't know how well he knows Hebrew . But considering his prodigious scholarship he probably does well in that department also .

He's more of a die-heart TNIV guy than a fan of the old NIV .

 

As most have said here -- there is no single all-purpose English version . You need to consult several with different translational methods . But , if there were such a thing it should fall along the lines of a mediating translation . A Bible that's not extreme on either side . Again we come back to TNIV , HCSB , NET Bible and the ISV to choose from .

 

I've said this before , but it bears repeating . The ESV is a retro-Bible . It has a snazzy marketing arm -- but the language is dated . Not much was changed from the old RSV ( even with the light dusting they called a update recently ) . So , in my estimation it certainly doesn't fit the bill as a 21st century version . A real upgrade is in order to merit that designation .

 

I am going to deal with #2 first . The TNIV is not an egalitarian version . Only Gordon Fee ( to my knowledge ) on the translation team is an egalitarian . The rest are conservative complementarians . And when one looks at such classic chapters as 1 Corinthians 11 ; Ephesians 5 ; 1 Timothy 2 , 3 , & 5 ; and 1 Peter 3 for example -- you are not going to find anything resembling egalitarianism . So the egalitarian charge won't stick .

Regarding # 4 -- Yes , the Reformed community has latched onto the ESV for dear life it seems . Anyone outside the Calvinistic camp that regards the ESV highly appears aberrant . Though it is still the Word of God , I do not have as high a level of appreciation for it as its more vocal fans . I guess I'm out-of-step in the Reformed Community in this respect . However , there are still some big names who deeply value the TNIV over other versions . So I'm not all alone at least .

 

For the most part the ESV has anything but 'contemporary language' . I think I have proven that over and over in my various comparisons which I have posted numerous times . Again , what the marketing arm says versus what is actually in the text are contradictory .