WHY? We're trying to read the first lesson in New Testament Catechesis. We read around the room, each child reading a verse and me interrupting and commenting and such. And one of our new students reads incorrectly. Or so I think. We all have the ESV. He has the ESV. But when we get to Acts 1:18 he reads that Judas "acquired" a field; my ESV and all the others have "bought." An odd word for a kid to come up with on his own. I look at his Bible - yes, it's ESV - AND IT HAS A DIFFERENT WORD there! This is the kind of thing that drives me absolutely BATTY. Adopt a text, fine. But then please LEAVE IT ALONE. How many other such little surprises await us this year? GRR.
Gripe mode off (maybe).
I feel your pain. Even so, I would love to have been the guy who found that 376 year old typo in the King James Bible. George R. Plagenz discovered that the comma was missing in Luke 18:13, the comma after God was left out of "God, be merciful to me a sinner."
ReplyDeleteThat was a grammar-lover/proofreader's dream come true! Sigh. . . .
Sometimes I think I'm hallucinating when I use biblegateway.com and the KJV has the same modern vocabulary as ESV or NIV. The old phrases I remember like "through a glass darkly" aren't there any more.
ReplyDeleteEph 4:11 has been changed as well.
ReplyDeleteSee: here.
It's a moving target - and it really doesn't need to be (aside from the glacial evolution of English vocabulary and grammar).
I have found a multitude of small changes between the original (2001) and updated (2007) versions of the ESV. While most of the changes have ironed out some awkward wordings, some (like this example) seem needless.
ReplyDeleteWhat's more frustrating is that Crossway failed to publicize the update adequately. A little truth in advertising...or at least being upfront...would be nice.
A blogger has summarized the changes between the 2001 version and the 2007 version at: http://homepage.mac.com/rmansfield/thislamp/files/20070621_2007_esv_genesis_deuteronomy.html
ReplyDeleteAt the bottom of the linked page you can find links to other portions of the Bible.
We must remember that every modern translation has a tendency to do these revisions. We were reading in unison from the NIV in one of the Psalms and I spoke different words than the rest of the class. You would think a "translation" would be stationary once it is translated.
ReplyDeleteI've had the same experience with New King James Version.
ReplyDelete