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NET Bible vs. NASB and ESV

Discussion in '2005 Archive' started by Marcia, May 26, 2005.

  1. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    I have been using a NET Bible for a few years as a primary study Bible (though I read other versions as well -- mainly NASB, NIV, and NKJV). I used their first version and now have the second one. I think they are coming out with the third and final version next year or about then. You can download the NET Bible from the Internet, though I ordered one from them for about $30. Their site is
    http://netbible.bible.org/

    I like the notes in the NET Bible and I think it reads better than the NASB. I am not too familiar with the ESV though I use the online ESV to quote from a lot in things I write.

    I am just wondering what the thoughts are of anyone who uses the NET Bible as compared with the NASB and/or the ESV. Which do you prefer and why? Thanks. [​IMG]
     
  2. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    Maybe a holiday weekend is not a good time to ask this question? Even one answer would be nice! [​IMG]
     
  3. robycop3

    robycop3 Well-Known Member
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    Want JUST an answer Marcia? OK, here goes....

    I cannot answer truthfully cuz I don't have an ESV or NET. But I mainly use the NKJV and NASB.

    Weelll, it was at least SOME kinda answer!(LOL)
     
  4. rsr

    rsr <b> 7,000 posts club</b>
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    I have the NET (second edition) and greatly enjoy the notes. (And it's a steal at the price.) I think some of the translation choices are a bit novel, but it may be the best dynamic equivalency translation available in English.

    I used the old NASB for many years (anyone remember the ugly orange soft cover?) but have gravitated to the ESV.

    I think the ESV preserves the flow of language while still being intensely formally equivalent. (Moreso than the KJV, less so than the NASB.)
     
  5. Keith M

    Keith M New Member

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    The NET Bible is one I have not used extensively, nor have I used the ESV extensively, so I really can't give an honest opinion on these versions. I normally stick with the NKJV or the NASB, and of course the good old KJV.
     
  6. Psalm145 3

    Psalm145 3 New Member

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    The NET is just another &lt;attack on the Bible deleted&gt; Bible in a long line of English translations based on the wrong Hebrew and Greek text. The Greek text from which the NET New Testament was translated from is the same Westcott and Hort type text that the NIV is based on. There is a huge difference between the Greek text which underlies the KJV compared to the text which underlies the modern versions such as NET, NIV, NASV, and others.

    The Greek text used for the modern versions New Testament have 2,886 Greek words LESS than the Received Text used for the King James Bible. The Greek text which the modern versions are translated from have added, subtracted, or changed 9,970 Greek words compared to the Received Text underlying the KJV.

    Here are just a few examples of the errors in the NET:

    Matthew 17:21 -- COMPLETELY removed from NET.
    KJV says "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."
    The footnotes in the NET bible say, "This verse...is almost certainly not original."

    Matthew 18:11 -- COMPLETELY removed from NET.
    KJV says, "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."
    Footnotes in NET says that this verse "is almost certainly not original, being borrowed, as it were, from the parallel in Luke 19:10."

    Matthew 23:14 -- COMPLETELY removed from NET.
    KJV says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation."
    NET footnotes says this verse "is almost certainly not original."

    Mark 7:16 -- COMPLETELY removed from NET.
    The King James Bible says, "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."
    NET footnotes says this verse "is almost certainly not an original part of the Greek text of Mark."

    The list goes on and on. The footnotes reveal the Modernism and unbelief of the authors. Satan did the same thing to Eve in the garden, planting the seed of doubt in her mind, "Yea, hath God said...?"

    The Holy Bible is the Christian's Sword. God has promised to preserve His Words. The King James Bible is a faithful English translation of the exact Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek words that were given by inspiration of God.

    Psalms 12:6-7 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

    [ May 28, 2005, 10:18 AM: Message edited by: C4K ]
     
  7. rsr

    rsr <b> 7,000 posts club</b>
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    The topic is about the NET, NASB and ESV, not about the KJV and TR. Why can't we keep on point?
     
  8. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    Thank you, rsr. That's why I specificially named those versions -- NET, NASB and ESV only.

    And thanks to those who answered or tried to! [​IMG]

    Maybe after Monday, I'll bump this up for those who are out of town and might have a view.
     
  9. Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob Administrator
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    Man, the same old hate? the same old misuse of Ps 12? This gets old. C4K is more gracious than I am. I would cut the whol post rather than let this stand.

    Ah, but it's a holiday weekened . . . [​IMG]
     
  10. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    I am trying a new softer, gentler approach ;)

    Although if the KJV does come back in to the discussion the post will be deleted without notice.
     
  11. Brandon C. Jones

    Brandon C. Jones New Member

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    Hi Marcia,

    I was introduced to the NET about six years ago right when I started to learn both Greek and Hebrew. The value of the NET is definitely its notes, but some translations are rather maverick without any rationale for a specific wording in a footnote. That being said, it is an excellent Bible and a great price. I have enjoyed the notes many times, even if I don't quite agree with the translator's decision in some places (no translation is perfect). Some books are stronger than others in this regard; it is also a great source for textual criticism if one does not have Metzger's little book handy.

    As to how it compares with the NASB or the ESV? Well it is definitely more towards the dynamic equivalent side of the translation scale, whereas, the NASB and ESV are more towards the formal equivalent side. Just like any translation it has some questionable translations and it is best to compare what it says with other versions and see if there is any explanation in the notes why it differs from the others (like the NASB and ESV). I am looking forward to the next edition!

    sincerely,
    BJ
     
  12. BruceB

    BruceB New Member

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    I have only briefly read mention of the NET Bible before this thread and then not in any detail. What is the NET Bible, what does NET stand for? Who is the publisher and what was the rationale behind it's publication? I gather from Brandon's post that it is more akin to the NIV style of equivalence in its translation method? This is an interesting discussion so far of a Bible I am fairly ignorant of at this point. Thanks, Bruce
     
  13. Brandon C. Jones

    Brandon C. Jones New Member

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    They have a website that can answer all of your questions: www.netbible.org. You can also view the whole Bible for free at this website.

    It stands for New English Translation, but also has this name because it was on the internet long before it was ever printed. It is "self-published" by the foundation that sponsors it, I think it is called "biblical studies press."

    The Bible is unique in that it explains the rationale for its translation decisions in many passages whereas other versions may in very few places give a brief footnote here or there, this version offers over 60,000 footnotes that mostly deal with translation options (that is why they do label it a "study Bible." It is different from other study Bibles because there are little extras at the end (like a concordance, dictionary, etc.) and there are no book intros. The translators are mostly from the DTS family (although they are not individually named in the paper version).

    I have found it useful both as an English-only reader and as someone who "knows" Greek and Hebrew. If you have the time, check it out online.

    BJ
     
  14. rsr

    rsr <b> 7,000 posts club</b>
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    It's the New English Translation; the acronym is a deliberate play upon the Internet.

    It is a completely new translation; that is, it is not a revision of an earlier work. (Which is as true of the KJV and the ESV.)

    It has no "publisher" as we think of the term. It is not a work of Zondervan or Crossway or the SBC. It is an independent work. Its leading light is Daniel Wallace of Dallas Theological Seminary.

    As for the rationale behind its publication, I would refer you to:

    http://bible.org/page.asp?page_id=10

    In addition, you can print the text freely, so long as you don't charge anything for it. If you desire, you can print an entire copy of the Bible and give it away.

    (To defend publishers here a bit, it would be monstrously expensive to do this on a regular basis; the publishers are much more efficient. The canard about making the Bible expensive are just rubbish. The ABS and IBS, and even major publishers, have cheap editions of the Bible. The ESV is available for $3.99 in paperback; $14.99 in bonded leather.

    Off my soapbox now.)

    [ May 28, 2005, 01:17 PM: Message edited by: rsr ]
     
  15. west

    west New Member

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    Do all the NET Bible's contain the Apocrypha ?
     
  16. rsr

    rsr <b> 7,000 posts club</b>
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    Some of the Apocrypha is available online; eventually, all of it will be.

    There are no plans to include those books in the printed version.
     
  17. west

    west New Member

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    On more thing .Does all the NET Bibles have the notes ? I like what I have read on line .I have been using the ESV and HCSB alot the last year .I just bought a Reformation Study Bible in the ESV large print leather .I got a ESV leather from Crossways and it started to come apart already . I got a Thin Line leather in HCSB in large print its a good guilty Bible .You can only get the NET on line correct ?
     
  18. rsr

    rsr <b> 7,000 posts club</b>
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    The printed version does indeed have all the notes. Usually, the notes take up more of the page than the translation.

    The NET is only available online. You can buy the entire NET bible at bible.org for about $30 (leather cover) plus shipping. It's 2,300 pages plus some beautiful maps (based on space images) that put other references to shame.

    I would not recommend trying to read the notes with eyeglasses or contacts, but then I'm getting older ...

    Sadly, your comment about the quality of the Crossway ESV is common and may determine its future, not the quality of the translation.
     
  19. Marcia

    Marcia Active Member

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    You can order a printed version in bonded leather online or by calling them at 1-888-997-6884 (that's how I got mine). As rsr says, it has some stunning maps from space images, and then regular maps.

    I really appreciate everyone's input. I've learned some things. Thank you! [​IMG]
     
  20. Craigbythesea

    Craigbythesea Active Member

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    Both the NET and the ESV are too loosely translated to be suitable for a primary study Bible. The NASB, however, is excellent for that purpose. Between the NET and ESV, I would definitely use the ESV over the NET as the ESV is a much more literal and precise translation.

    A good indication of how precisely translated each of these three translations is can be readily seen by how often their footnotes indicate that the Greek text says something different than the translation in the text. Take a look, for example, at the first chapter of Romans in each of these three translations. The footnotes for the NET indicate that the Greek says something different than the translation used in the text in almost 40 places in just 32 verses.

    [​IMG]
     
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