# What version of Calvin's institutes



## JesusIsLord (Mar 27, 2017)

Good day guys, I see tons of versions of Calvin's institutes but I'm not sure which one to choose. Any suggestions?

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## reaganmarsh (Mar 27, 2017)

There are 3 major editions of the Institutes:

The McNeill edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0664220282/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr= This is a standard academic edition. It is a little wooden in its translation when compared to Beveridge. 

The Beveridge edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1598...=WG84Q9Q8G16Q06FHWH5S&dpPl=1&dpID=51qfyACR1iL I think this one reads much more easily than McNeill, though I wouldn't suggest using it in an academic context. 

And the new Banner of Truth edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1848...=N3Z6Z3G1HDFRCX91Q65T&dpPl=1&dpID=81IpNC5FiTL I don't have a copy of this one, so I can't speak to its usefulness; but it has received very good reviews online.

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## Guido's Brother (Mar 28, 2017)

Richard Muller recommends the older Allen translation. Not in print, but you can find it online as a pdf.

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## johnny (Mar 28, 2017)

I like "reading" McNeill-Battles version and "listening" to Beveridge version.

https://librivox.org/institutes-of-the-christian-religion-book-1-by-john-calvin/

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## reaganmarsh (Mar 28, 2017)

Guido's Brother said:


> Richard Muller recommends the older Allen translation. Not in print, but you can find it online as a pdf.



I stand corrected! If Muller recommends the Allen, listen to Muller! 




johnny said:


> I like "reading" McNeill-Battles version and "listening" to Beveridge version.
> 
> https://librivox.org/institutes-of-the-christian-religion-book-1-by-john-calvin/



Now that is pretty cool. I'd never heard of that site before! Thank you for sharing!


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## Dachaser (Mar 28, 2017)

reaganmarsh said:


> There are 3 major editions of the Institutes:
> 
> The McNeill edition, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0664220282/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr= This is a standard academic edition. It is a little wooden in its translation when compared to Beveridge.
> 
> ...


Mcneill is the 2 volume set in Logos, correct?


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## reaganmarsh (Mar 28, 2017)

Dachaser said:


> Mcneill is the 2 volume set in Logos, correct?



I don't have Logos, brother. Sorry I can't be of more help. Anyone else able to answer this one?


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## LilyG (Mar 28, 2017)

I'm listening to the Beveridge version, too. (Through audible.com) Really nice.

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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Mar 28, 2017)

Guido's Brother said:


> Richard Muller recommends the older Allen translation. Not in print, but you can find it online as a pdf.



I'm reading the Allen one right now on pdf (I picked it up from archive.org) and I have enjoyed it.


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## reaganmarsh (Mar 28, 2017)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> I'm reading the Allen one right now on pdf (I picked it up from archive.org) and I have enjoyed it.



Would you mind sharing the link?


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## Dachaser (Mar 28, 2017)

reaganmarsh said:


> I don't have Logos, brother. Sorry I can't be of more help. Anyone else able to answer this one?


That is all right... Think that the 2 volume set is the one most found being sold then, correct?


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Mar 28, 2017)

reaganmarsh said:


> Would you mind sharing the link?



https://archive.org/details/institutesofchr01calv

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## reaganmarsh (Mar 28, 2017)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> https://archive.org/details/institutesofchr01calv



Thank you, sir!



Dachaser said:


> That is all right... Think that the 2 volume set is the one most found being sold then, correct?



I don't know if it's the most common one around, but it's the most common one _I've_ seen...


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## johnny (Mar 28, 2017)

Dachaser said:


> That is all right... Think that the 2 volume set is the one most found being sold then, correct?



That's correct, but both versions are on logos.

Battles McNeil
https://www.logos.com/product/16036/institutes-of-the-christian-religion

Beveridge
https://www.logos.com/product/9472/institutes-of-the-christian-religion

And this one which I didn't know existed, Battles version of Calvins "little book" or the early institutes 
https://www.logos.com/product/54172/institutes-of-the-christian-religion-1536-and-1541


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## Berean by Grace (Mar 28, 2017)

I personally have the Beveridge Edition, but an easier one to read is entitled "An Abridgment of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion" by Timothy Tow. Tow's abridged edition is not as cut up as most of the abridged editions. You can get a free pdf edition from Far Eastern Bible College..... http://www.febc.edu.sg/v15/assets/pdfs/febc_press/An Abridgment Of Calvin's Institutes.pdf


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## bookslover (Mar 29, 2017)

Here's J. I. Packer, who has, apparently, read all four of the major English translations:

"No English translation fully matches Calvin's Latin. That of the Elizabethan, Thomas Norton [the first English translation - RZ], perhaps gets closest. [Henry] Beveridge gives us Calvin's feistiness, but not always his precision. [Ford Lewis] Battles gives us the precision, but not always the punchiness and fleetness of foot. Allen is smooth and clear, but low key."

*From:* _A Theological Guide to Calvin's Institutes: Essays and Analysis_, edited by David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback; The Calvin 500 Series (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008), p. x. From Packer's "Forward."

For what it's worth, Richard Muller is suspicious of the Battles translation, there being an (alleged) liberal bias in the notes (and maybe in the translation itself?). Battles taught at Hartford Theological Seminary. The editor of that edition, John T. McNeill, taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York. As someone noted earlier, Muller himself prefers the Allen translation (which, by the way, as a bonus, has a lengthy introduction by B. B. Warfield, no less).

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## Silas22 (Mar 29, 2017)

I would recommend the Beveridge edition for beginners. I know this because I'm a rookie!

That Packer quote though! that guy is an absolute giant.


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## JesusIsLord (Mar 29, 2017)

Thank you for all your help guys. I have heard some of the audio version and it's quite helpful. 

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## Stephen L Smith (Apr 2, 2017)

I use the McNeill-Battles edition and find it helpful. Either way there are 2 excellent study resources.
1. Theological guide to Calvin's institutes edited by David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback.
2. Knowing God and Ourselves: Reading Calvin's Institutes Devotionally by David Calhoun


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## Logan (Apr 3, 2017)

I spent way too much time trying to decide what was the "best" version of the Institutes to read. I was so undecided that I delayed actually reading it, which I regret. I don't think you'll really suffer a loss no matter which version you pick, but don't delay reading it.

I went with Beveridge because it was convenient, but have read portions of Battles and Norton.

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