# What Pulpit Bible Translation Does Your Church Use?



## WrittenFromUtopia (Jul 17, 2005)

What is the pulpit/preaching Bible translation your local congregation uses? We use the NIV.


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## Peter (Jul 17, 2005)

We use the ESV.


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## Solo Christo (Jul 17, 2005)

NKJV from the pulpit. I follow along with my ESV.


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## Scott Bushey (Jul 17, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Solo Christo_
> NKJV from the pulpit. I follow along with my ESV.



ESV from the pulpit; I follow along w/ the NKJV.


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## Poimen (Jul 17, 2005)

KJV here. We are one of two churches in our federation that still uses it; all the others use NKJV.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jul 17, 2005)

KJV here.

[Edited on 8-2-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]


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## lkjohnson (Jul 17, 2005)

Reina Valera 1960

English is so limiting.


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Jul 17, 2005)

I believe we use the ESV. I could be wrong but I am reasonably certain about it.


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## BrianBowman (Jul 17, 2005)

The PCA congregation that we attend uses the NIV from the Pulpit, I read the ESV. There is some talk that we are "moving toward" the ESV as the Pulpit Bible.


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## Peter (Jul 17, 2005)

I like to follow from the same version that is being preached (ESV) but since the preacher is going to begin preaching from the NT (Galatians) I will have to start bringing my KJV regularly.


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## alwaysreforming (Jul 17, 2005)

I use the NIV personally, but I'm surprised to hear it being used in the pulpit. It seems only a "word for word" would do to preach from if its going to be expositional....


I'm not sure what version my church is using, but since I follow along in my "Pocket E-Sword" (PDA), I use the Holman Christian Standard.


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## jfschultz (Jul 17, 2005)

We still use the NIV from the pulpit and in the pew racks. There are a number of members who have gotten the ESV Reformation Study Bible. Also the gift Bibles for the graduating seniors this year were ESV.


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## daveb (Jul 17, 2005)

NKJV from the pulpit.


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## NaphtaliPress (Jul 17, 2005)

KJV. Pulpit; Pew.


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Jul 17, 2005)

I'm still not sure how I feel about the NIV in the pulpit. I don't know if it is appropriate for me to approach my Pastor concerning it.


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## fredtgreco (Jul 17, 2005)

NKJV.

Many of our members have NASB


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## cupotea (Jul 17, 2005)

Isn't NIV the most literal translation? I'm not trying to correct you; I'm asking. My prof said it is, that's why I'm wondering. Or do you think it's translated from the wrong version?


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Jul 17, 2005)

I'm (currently) in favor of the CT (the text the NIV uses), but I prefer the ESV as a Bible translation in English, personally. I'm just not sure about the translation philosophy behind the NIV as being suitable for ministry of the Word.


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## Arch2k (Jul 17, 2005)

NASB


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## Puritan Sailor (Jul 17, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Cottonball_
> Isn't NIV the most literal translation? I'm not trying to correct you; I'm asking. My prof said it is, that's why I'm wondering. Or do you think it's translated from the wrong version?



No the NIV is a more dynamic equivalent version. It attempts to translate thought for thought rather than word for word. And it messes up often too. Hence, why it is being fast replaced by the ESV.


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## JohnV (Jul 17, 2005)

The church I attend uses the NIV. 

I've chatted with a few people, and it seems that the young people tend to think it the official translation, and I even had one person express concerns about my ESV almost as if it were untrustworthy. The older people, who have seen the RSV and the KJV used in church don't have that same opinion. There are a lot of different versions being carried into churh every worship service by them, it seems. 

The pastor uses the NIV to read, but he seems to use either the original language or a wide variety of versions to make his sermons. In other words, the NIV does not control the Scripture that is preached.


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Jul 17, 2005)

The NIV is very ... personal ... sounding from the pulpit. I like it a lot on the one hand, but on the other hand, when I see in the ESV how it (the NIV) has slightly fudged with the true meaning of a text in the name of "ease of understanding" I get a little annoyed.


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## Abd_Yesua_alMasih (Jul 18, 2005)

My pastor explained to me one day that he used to use the NIV for preaching. He got sick of having to read the verse out in NIV and then having to tell everyone where it went wrong and say what the verse 'really meant'. I am fairly certain we have used the ESV ever since. It never sounds good if you have to rewrite the Bible in front of your congregation to get your point across


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## Poimen (Jul 18, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Abd_Yesua_alMasih_
> My pastor explained to me one day that he used to use the NIV for preaching. He got sick of having to read the verse out in NIV and then having to tell everyone where it went wrong and say what the verse 'really meant'. I am fairly certain we have used the ESV ever since. It never sounds good if you have to rewrite the Bible in front of your congregation to get your point across



It's ironic that I have the same problem because we use an antiquated version as our church Bible: KJV. There are so many archaic words in there, let alone the ths added on to everything, that I stumble all over the place. 

My apologies to those who prefer the KJV. I grew up with the NKJV and the NIV and I think the KJV is needlessly complicated.

[Edited on 7-18-2005 by poimen]


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## satz (Jul 18, 2005)

to be honest, these discussions unnerve me a little. Its frightening to think we can not even be sure if our bible is really the bible... 

for the record i prefer the KJV, though its more my habit than anything else.


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## larryjf (Jul 18, 2005)

I put ESV in the poll because that's what we have voted to move to.
Here's how our church does things now...
NIV bibles in the pews and used for some sermons.
Most sermons done from NASB(u) imprinted on the order of worship.
ESV once we have the $$ to order them - we will then use for all church activity.


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## sastark (Jul 18, 2005)

NKJV in the pulpit and the pew. 

No option for the old Geneva Bible in the survey? :-D


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## JOwen (Jul 19, 2005)

We use the AV (KJV) pulpit and pew.


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## Ivan (Jul 19, 2005)

My pastor uses the NIV...one of the very few things I don't like that he does!


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## Peters (Jul 27, 2005)

We're moving to either the NASB or the ESV from the NIV. It will most probably be the ESV. I use the NASB or the NKJV. 

I feel like i'm speaking in tongues here.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jul 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Peters_
> I feel like i'm speaking in tongues here.



I learned long ago that we in the Reformed community tend to communicate by means of a code based on Campbell's alphabet soup...(PCA, OPC, PRC, RPCNA, URC, HNRC, ARC, ARPC, FPCS, FCS, FCSC, KJV, AV, ESV, NKJV, EP, CT, RP, TR, RPW, ...). Somebody ought to write a glossary of Reformed abbreviations!


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## toddpedlar (Jul 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Cottonball_
> Isn't NIV the most literal translation? I'm not trying to correct you; I'm asking. My prof said it is, that's why I'm wondering. Or do you think it's translated from the wrong version?



That's very interesting... I'm quite certain that I've never heard of anyone claiming the NIV to be literal, let alone the MOST literal. As has already been mentioned, it's a relatively loose translation in a word-for-word sense, and is aimed at a so-called 'dynamic equivalence', i.e. thought-for-thought method. Of course part of the problem there is that one has to make decisions about the thoughts in the mind of the author when making such a translation effort. 

I've always found it to be very loosy-goosey, and much prefer the NKJV or NASB (and the ESV is pretty good too, which is what I use most often now) Our pulpit and pew bibles are NASB.

Todd


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## toddpedlar (Jul 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by satz_
> to be honest, these discussions unnerve me a little. Its frightening to think we can not even be sure if our bible is really the bible...
> 
> for the record i prefer the KJV, though its more my habit than anything else.



Can you explain? I don't personally like the fact that there are so many translations, but never has it concerned me that we 'don't know if our bible is really the bible.' 

Todd


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## crhoades (Jul 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by Peters_
> ...



You mean a wirte a GRA? Of course my favorite is a TLA.


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## kevin.carroll (Jul 27, 2005)

I can't believe how many non-TR heretics there are on this board! Oh, wait, I'm one of them. 

We use the NIV. When asked if I would preach from the KJV, I flatly refused. I probably would move to ESV if I didn't have so many $$ invested in NIV materials.

In the end ministers need to be savvy in the original so they are not slaves to any English translation.


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## kevin.carroll (Jul 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by poimen_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by Abd_Yesua_alMasih_
> ...



 I think even the Divines would agree with that.


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## Ex Nihilo (Jul 27, 2005)

NASB(u) from the pulpit, NKJV on the chairs (we don't have pews), and ESV for me (and many other individuals). I think if the pastor switched to the ESV from the pulpit, I might bring a NASB to church; I like having both for comparison.


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## Authorised (Jul 27, 2005)

NKJV in pulpit, sometimes a reading from the ESV. I prefer the KJV, for mostly good reasons and because old habits die hard.


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## just_grace (Jul 27, 2005)

*NIV..*

NIV was Elder David Juliff's and GNB was Elder Howard Morgan's Bible, both very much 'men of God'.

My first Bible purchased was the King James, still have it with lots of underlined scripture


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## Peccant (Jul 30, 2005)

*Word of God*

Looking for a KJV/AV in Pulpit!

My Bible is KJV/AV

The problem with NIV/ESV(RSV) and Co. is that they come from the dubious Greek text source of the Eclectic - Westcott and Hort - Vaticanus/Sanaiticus texts. This has introduced many euphemistic and erroneous interpretations onto the modern Church scene.

Sorry if this upsets some modern version users. But I think it is a very important issue.





L


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## SRoper (Jul 30, 2005)

My church uses NIV from the pulpit, but there are some who want to switch to ESV.

"Sorry if this upsets some modern version users."

Terribly upsetting! I had no idea that my ESV translation has introduced "euphemistic and erroneous interpretations!" I better switch to a translation based on the Byzantine text type sprinkled with a little Vulgate for good measure.


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## kevin.carroll (Jul 30, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Peccant_
> Looking for a KJV/AV in Pulpit!
> 
> My Bible is KJV/AV
> ...



You're right, however your estimation of the CT remains a point of debate. It is both my and other's contention that the CT is superior to the TR. I wonder what euphemistic and erroneous interpretations you think the CT has foisted on the Church? And what, pray, did the Church use before Erasmus created the TR (in some cases, quite literally) in the 16th century?

But hey, these points have been argued on numerous threads. Welcome to the board! :bigsmile:


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## Puddleglum (Jul 30, 2005)

Our church has been using NASB for years. But one of our pastors has been switching to using ESV, and when they give out the Reformation Study Bibles to all the HS grads they've switched to giving out ESVs . . . so I think we're slowly moving in that direction. Not sure if the goal is to totally switch to ESV, or to use a combination of NAS & ESV. (Personally, I normally use the NKJV).


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## LauridsenL (Jul 31, 2005)

Our pastor switched from NIV to ESV about a year ago from the pulpit; we still have some NIV pew Bibles, but also have ESV available.

I read from NASB.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Aug 2, 2005)

> _Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot_
> KJV here.
> 
> [Edited on 8-2-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]



I learned how to understand "thee" and "thou" language in my younger years not from the KJV but from reading _Thor_ comics!


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## kevin.carroll (Aug 3, 2005)

> _Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot_
> ...



You strike me as more of a Beowulf kinda guy!


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Aug 3, 2005)

> _Originally posted by kevin.carroll_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by VirginiaHuguenot_
> ...



Hey, I resemble that remark!


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## nonconformist (Aug 12, 2005)

> _Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia_
> I'm still not sure how I feel about the NIV in the pulpit. I don't know if it is appropriate for me to approach my Pastor concerning it.


 Gabe, I am in the same denomination as you, and I am not happy about the NIV either, but I like everything else about my church


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