I want to reiterate that the NIV is not a bad translation. It was not wrong for my church to use the NIV, or for me to preach from it. Churches will continue to grow using the NIV. The lost will still be saved through the NIV and Christians will be built up in the faith with the NIV. I don’t want to tear down the NIV.
I do, however, want to recommend the ESV. I believe it is a better translation based on better principles with a better sense of style and a better text from which to preach. I plan on using the ESV for many years in my personal study and writing and in my preaching and ministry at URC. If you already use the ESV, I hope this little booklet will bolster your confidence that the Bible you’re reading is reliable, transparent, and essentially literal. If you currently use another translation, maybe even the NIV, I hope you will at least be open to a switch like my congregation was. You might even try out the ESV in your own personal and family devotions and group Bible study. And after that, consider giving the ESV a chance in your worship services.
Choosing a Bible translation is not a life or death decision, but it’s far from a minor issue either. The Bible we study, the Bible used in our pulpits, the Bible read to our children is the Bible that will shape our vocabulary about God and even the way we think about God. The translation we choose can clarify difficult passages for us as the translators saw fit, or it can help us get closer to the world of the Bible, closer to the original languages, and closer to the figures and images of Scripture. The difference between the two approaches is not insignificant. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). So why not let these words—ancient, imaginative, and sometimes ambiguous—shine through as much as we can?