Which is best between ESV and the NRSV versions?

Agreed....
Its just that when using English versions for research, My pastor found out that while getting his Phd in NT Theology from Wales, pretty much all European colleges/universities required use of the NRSV!

I would suggest Nas/NKJV best english versions to serious study from....

 

Many seem to still doubt that there has been a concerted effort in new revisions to adapt the scriptures to more of an "Evangelical Feminism" viewpoint, as they tend to see the Bible orogonally too much into male authority and leading...

 

The 'strength' of the NRSV is that it is ecumenical. All denominations, including the Church of Rome, were involved with it and approve it. But I'm not inclined to think that recommendations from non-English speaking countries are necessarily valid for an English translation.

:Thumbsup
Was your Pastor at the theological seminary at Bridgend, Wales? Good place! It's now called 'Union' https://www.ust.ac.uk/location/union-campus

 

Picking the best between two needlessly flawed translations stinks. Why not stick with the NASB95 or LEB on the one hand and the WEB on the other. Use the NET (for its footnotes) and NKJV for comparison bibles. Stay away from agenda driven translations such as the ESV and NRSV.

 

You are stepping into sin with those wild charges TC.

The following is from How To Choose A Translation For All Its Worth by Gordon F. Fee and Mark L. Strauss:
"The Greek plural noun adelphoi can refer to (1) brothers (male siblings); (20 siblings (i.e., brothers and sisters), or (3) people in some other close bond or association. It is sometimes used in the New Testament of physical siblings (see 1 Cor. 9:5), but more often refers figuratively to the kinship between Christian believers.

[The authors then refer to Philippians 4:1]"...But in this context, and many others like it, the author is clearly addressing the whole church --both men and women. In the very next verse Paul encourages two women, Euodia and Syntyche, to live in harmony. The TNIV and other versions accurately render adelphoi as "'Therefore, my brothers and sisters (cf. NLT,NET, GW, NCV, NRSV). This translation is not a 'paraphrase' or a concession to a political correctness. It is exactly what the Greek term meant in its first-century context." (page 99)

 

Continuing what Fee and Strauss were saying in How To Choose A Translation For All Its Worth:

"...translation is not about 'literally' reproducing words or the form of the text (and in this case, a masculine form), but about accurately reproducing the meaning. The fact that adelphoi is one word in Greek while 'brothers and sisters' is three words in English is irrelevant, so long as the meaning is retained. And the meaning in these passages is 'brothers and sisters' or 'fellow believers.'

The singular adelphos can also be used in a generic sense, meaning 'brother or sister' or 'fellow believer.' First John 2:9-11 in the NIV [the 84 edition] reads, 'Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother [adelphos] is still in the darkness.' Since adelphos here clearly refers to a fellow Christian believer, whether male or female,..." (p.100)