I know that this has been asked on the Puritan Board before, but it's been almost two years since it was last asked and many new Bibles have come out since that time.
I enjoy the ESV Thompson Chain, and the ESV single column large print journaling Bible. I can't wait till Crossway comes out with their ESV Credo Bible, it will be much more affordable than the other credo Bible
What is my favorite Bible?
Why the ESV of course.
It has so many redeeming qualities. I love the gender-neutral approach. It's about time we got these girls as involved as boys in religion.
Plus, or should I say minus, there's a bunch of scary verses in the King James Bible that are not in the ESV. So I just plain sleep better at night.
Think how scary Mark 6:11 is with the following phrase, "
Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city." Pretty scary stuff
.
Then there's Mark 9 verses 44 and 46 where the warning adds these really scary words,
"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
The phrase is repeated twice as if once wasn't enough. Scary.
Consider also Matthew 18:11. Oh, I forgot there is no verse 11 in the ESV. I'm glad to get some of this false teaching out of my head. In the King James version, verse 11 says, "
For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." And to think I liked that verse for so long.
In the good old days, Matthew 27:35 included the phrase, "
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots." Man, it's good to get some of this false teaching out of my mind where it's been bouncing around for 45 years.
Let's look at Luke 17:36. Oops, I forgot there is no more verse 36. It used to say, "
Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." I sleep a lot better at night these days knowing that that verse is not part of the Bible.
Well, that's just a brief sample of why I like the ESV so much.
All joking aside, I am now reading the ESV cover to cover for the second time. It definitely has some benefits and explanations of some of the more obscure verses in the King James version. But every time I open it up, I mumble under my breath,
"I really don't like this translation."