2:37PM - Measuring out my life with Bible versions
The concept (and title) post is brazenly plagiarised from John Halton at Confessing Evangelical. My story, however, is somewhat different to his...
1. Authorised Version (1985 to 1994)
This is also known as the "King James Version", if you don't mind using a Bible named after a homosexual. My parents gave me my first Bible when I was seven years old. I didn't read the Bible much by myself as a child, and perhaps the difficulty of the translation contributed to this. We had family Bible readings every day (from the NKJV, in fact) and I learned the Scriptures quite well, but I was not at this stage in the habit of personal Bible reading.
2. New King James Version (1994 to 1996)
This was a time of real spiritual growth, leading to and resulting from disciplined personal Bible reading. I received a NKJV Bible from my parents, and I think it really helped me. I found the Bible much easier to read and to understand, but I don't know how much that was the translation, and how much resulted from an inward change in me.
3. New Geneva Study Bible (1996 to 2004)
This is also a NKJV translation, but having a study Bible does affect the way one reads – my Bible reading became Bible study. This was the Bible I used through my university years, which are almost always formative.
4. English Standard Version (2004 to 2007)
When I commenced study at Theological College, I bought an ESV, which is the Bible I use almost exclusively now. Since I started reading it at the same time I started learning Hebrew, I quickly became aware of its translational shortcomings. Having said that, it is probably best translation around.
5. Towards the future
I remain convinced that every educated, intelligent, mature Christian who speaks English as a first language should read an essentially literal translation like the NKJV, NASB or ESV. The Holman Christian Standard Bible also falls into this category, and I'm thinking about buying a copy. But really, I want to get both my Hebrew and Greek to a level where I can read Scripture devotionally in the orignal languages.