The NET Bible

This is an exciting discovery. I have just come across a version of the Bible that is modern and free.

The NET bible (New English Translation / (Inter)NET Bible) is not only available for free viewing online (as most versions are these days) but can also be downloaded in its entirety for free, and may be quoted without restriction in non-commercial writings. In fact you can give away upto 100 complete copies before you have to ask for permission; compare that with the 500 verses, no complete book and no more than 25% of total work that applies to the other versions. [These same restrictions apply if you use it for commercial purposes.]

What got my attention though were the copious study notes that come with it. There are reams and reams of translation notes for the text, so you can get some insight into the translation difficulties of a particular passage; what the Greek words actually mean, what the tenses are, where the actual sentences begin and end (significant for much of Paul's writings) and why they chose the translation they did. It's like a transparent translation where you can still see all the nuts and bolts underneath. A great reference tool for checking out dubious exegesis!

I'm definitely going to be using it regularly in the future. I may have to start quoting from it if the 500 verse rule is ever enforced for complete blogs, as you are going to reach that limit sooner or later!

Which Version?

I have nearly finished reading the Bible through in two years. I have often over the years tried to read the Bible through in one year, and even succeeded a couple of times, but my success rate at this has been around 30%, and I think I'm not alone at finding it a challenge. But reading the Bible through in two years I have found much more achievable and more rewarding — you have more time to reflect on what you are reading.

I want to do the same over the next two years. And with my birthday approaching at the right time, I have asked for a Two-Year Bible. The only question I have is what version? I did a scary calculation today, and realised that I have been reading the NIV almost exclusively now for over seventeen years! Time for a change methinks.

I had thought of going to the New Living translation, because they have a two-year version, and because Keri Jones, our apostle always recommends it so highly. But my recent meditations in Amos have made me think twice. The layers of symbolism in Amos 1:3 and similar verses is an excellent place to compare versions:

ESV: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment

NIV: For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath.

NLT: The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not let them go unpunished any longer!

In the ESV (which is a recent discovery I am appreciating more and more) the NKJV and NASB the word and is preserved which allows an exploration of all the layers of significance. In the NIV the dynamic equivalence has obviously picked up on the tetrad and translated it to fit better with this form using even instead, but you miss the possibility that this is actually a seven split into 3 and 4. Whilst in the NLT you are completely oblivious to any levels of prophetic symbolism at all!

What to do? Am I splitting hairs (and numbers) and could do with just taking in the broad-brushstrokes? Should I stick with the ol' faithful NIV and aim for 20 years!? Or should I go to the ESV and really dig down deep!?

Any comments or advice appreciated. Two years is a long time so I want to get the right version before I set out!!

Lost in translation?

I'm still loving my new ESV Bible. I spotted something while I was reading Isaiah that I had never seen before; because the NIV translates the verse slightly differently.

Here's Isaiah 11:8 in the NIV

The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.


And here it is in the ESV:

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
[bold face my addition]


Spot the difference? It's subtle, but it makes a big difference. If you are only reading the verse for the immediate meaning, there is little or no difference between the two, and the NIV is making the immediate meaning more accessible... but... in the context of the rest of Isaiah that has come before, particularly chapter 7, "the weaned child" is very significant. It relates to the sign of Immanuel!

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. (Isa 8:14-16)

The virgin being with child and giving birth to a son named Immanuel is of course a prophecy that not only had immediate significance, but pointed forwards to Christ. The child was to be weaned on curds and honey (also significant -- think milk and honey -- promised blessings) when it knew good and evil, and before this time there would be deliverance from the enemies that threatened. The weaned child thus represents the fulfilment of the sign of Immanuel.

The wording could thus make the difference from a nice verse about peace and security, to being a messianic prophecy about Christ subduing the power of the serpent.

So is this verse a messianic prophecy? I'm not a Hebrew scholar, so I can't make a definitive comment -- but the wording of the ESV certainly makes it a strong possibility; a possibility that you totally overlook in the NIV. I don't want to decry the NIV, I love that version too, and have read it for years, but it does illustrate the importance for serious Bible Study of getting a version that's as close to the original wording as possible. Often words are laden with significance and chosen deliberately to convey more than just one layer of meaning.

Delight in the Law of the Lord

I got a new Bible yesterday. It's an ESV Classic Reference Bible. The ESV (English Standard Version) is a relatively new (2001) translation which is a Literal Translation (word for word) in the tradition of the ASV and RSV (NASB, and NKJV also fit into this category). Rather than a dynamic equivalence (idea for idea) like the NIV, or a paraphrase (verse for verse) like the NLT. I already have many copies of the NIV, a NLT, a NKJV, and various others. I decided on the ESV because it comes highly recommended, and has had scholars such as Wayne Grudem (whose systematic theology I find very helpful) on the oversight committee. I have also been reading it online and found it good to read. For in-depth study of the word, I want a version that is as close as possible to the original text whilst still flowing well in modern English.

I love the word of God! Whatever version of the Bible you read - it's good to delight in the Law of the Lord. Here's a passage from the ESV I read this morning that highlights the importance and blessings that come from delighting in God's word.



Psalm 1

¹Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
²but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.



³He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.



⁵Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.