Wesley blog picks up on what he is calling the Warnock Wars whilst English Bibles disagrees with my postion on literal translations.

Wayne has been added to my list of blogs that turned my eye (see my left hand sidebar) it is time I acknowledged that blog. I often disagree with him but there is no doubt his site is the best resource on bible translation on the net. As an example of the sort of fantastic post often available there, try this one on 1 Tim 2

In another post he links to the latest top ten list of bible translations by sales and charitably congratulates the ESV on breaking into the top ten. A commentator on his site takes issue with this, and then Wayne writes the following which I found very commendable in attitude:

I will continue to point out issues with the ESV, which is, IMO, the most problematical version to be published in recent times. But I want to do so charitably. I'd rather help someone with whom I disagree become my friend, so that as a friend, they might be led to see where changes are needed. Yes, this approach to controversy takes more time and energy, and sometimes I may be naive, but it's at the core of my being to try to demonstrate as much love as possible toward everyone, including those with whom I may disagree. It often turns out that I may disagree on specifics but agree on intent, such as intention to be "accurate" in translation. We can find common ground there and maybe I can help them discover how they can increase accuracy by revising problem wordings.To tell the truth, I've tried both ways during my lifetime. I've been more direct and acerbic and it hasn't benefitted very much, and I have not been viewed as a loving person. I have been convicted about my quick tongue and am trying to walk a different road, one where I try to speak the truth lovingly (or "in love" as the ESV and other traditional translations would word it).

I wish all bloggers would read and digest those words.

Interestingly, of the top ten, four are literal versions-

1 New King James Version
3 King James Version
8 New American Standard Bible update
10 English Standard Version

The TNIV doesnt appear, whilst the New International Version is 2nd

There is clearly still a marketplace out there for a relatively literal version. I suspect that this is mainly about familiarity with English wordings people have grown up with. This would also help to explain the NIVs enduring popularity - for many it is the only bible they have known for decades. Certainly for me, what put me off the Holman Christian Bible (5 in this list) was the fact that it so often uses different wordings to the older translations even when the more familiar wordings are similar in meaning.

One of the nice things about the English Standard Version is that it is similar enough to both the NIV and the KJVB/NASB/NKJV/RSV families of translations that it will feel familiar to readers from both sides of that particular divide. The many who still read from the older literal translations would benefit in my view from a switch to the ESV. Ironically the NIV readers would probably find the ESV feels closer to that translation than some of its newer dynamic replacements.

To follow the bible translation debates I have created a blogsearch