My NAS Bible fell apart the other day, the troubles of getting a hardback bible I suppose. But it brought to a head some of the issues I've been wrestling with with my Bible. The translation is very very close to the original Greek and Hebrew in language and grammar which while nice for studying makes it nigh on un-readable over any period of time. There's a point about two paragraphs in when the part of the brain not frantically re-arranging words into an understandable order starts to tell you that maybe, just maybe it'd be nice to have a Bible that you can read. Also, I have some issue that while the NASB may capture the meaning of the words, it misses out on the tone of it, which I suppose means it misses out on the meaning.
After some deliberation and reading 1 John in a bunch of translations, I'm buying an ESV with some Amazon vouchers. I know this is a sell out, because all the cool reformed kids have ESV's and it's the fashion (it's the Converse hi-tops for the truly reformed) but it's a very nice translation and actually surprisingly readable. It's a slippery slope though, If I start buying "I ♥ J I Packer" t-shirts and going to seminars entitled "Why Paul never explicitly stated the 5 points1 and other awkward questions" feel free to push me down some stairs and claim divine sovereignty on it.
1 Don't ask. Really.
(8) Made-Up Love Song #43 - The Guillemots
Yes. Although you'd have a strange amount of leniency in deciding whether or not someone could pray for you to come back to life or not(*).
* Strange amount in a cessationist sense, not in a being able to decide things while dead sense.
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Matthew
With my ESV "Reformation Study Bible" I guess I should jump out of a window then? :)