It is of note that the group of scholars who wrote the ESV include some great giants of evangelicalism. I wonder how important to the accurate translation of the Bible is an evangelical faith. How much does the doctrine one believes in influence the act of translation and the philosophy which lies behind it?

Watch Paul House respond (Windows Media).

We�re often asked how our evangelical convictions affect our translation principles. I would answer in the following way. Just for myself, I can say as an evangelical Christian I believe that every word in the Bible is God�s Word written. Thus any sort of efforts�and all efforts we can make�to make sure that his Word is translated accurately would be important.

We believe that God�s Word is important and sufficient for the following activities. We believe that it�s important and sufficient for preaching. So, as an evangelical, I want pastors and preachers to have a translation that clearly shows the structure of a verse, that shows the connections in a verse, that helps them explain the Bible to God�s people.

I also, as an evangelical, believe strongly in world evangelization. So I�m excited about the ESV being translated into Standard English so it can be used around the world. I�m very exited about the Worldwide Bible Society, the (Christian) Standard Bible Society trying to get the Bible into the hands of as many people around the world as possible.

As an evangelical, I think the Bible teaches us how to live. It�s very important for ethics, so we want to be as clear as we can on the ethical teachings of the Scriptures.

All this means that Christians have to read the Bible. They have to have a solid, readable, accurate translation. So as an evangelical, the best way to help God�s people hear the Word of God and live the Word of God is to have the Word of God as clear and accurate and strong as we possibly can.

My thoughts on this reply
It does seem to me that evangelical convictions are essential for a proper approach to translating the bible. I haven't examined the lists of translators for other versions of the bible, but when it comes to the ESV, some of the greatest names in modern evangelical scholarship were involved in the translation oversight committee, the advisory council and the scholarly review committe. This inspires me with great confidence about this translation as I want the people translating the bible for me to believe that its every word is inspired by God and is profitable for us. It matters to me whether the original actually said what we are led to believe it does. Whilst I do enjoy reading translations which have interprative commentary to help us catch the ideas behind the words, when I am studying the bible seriously I want to use a bible version that I can trust every word of. The weight of scholarship alone behind the ESV should make us sit up, and take notice of it. We will see that this is far from the only reason to trust the ESV, but it sure does make a good start!

Please do comment on and link to this post for your chance to win a free ESV Bible.