ESV: The search is over

After nearly thirty years of seeking my "perfect" Bible translation, I can now declare "Success!". As a new Christian in the late 1970's my first Bible was an NIV. A local pastor who was instrumental in my conversion recommended it and it was the "new, happening" translation which had great potential to become widely used by the Church, which it did. Then, just as I was becoming familiar with the NIV, I became involved in what would be considered the more "fundamentalist" wing of Christianity and was gently exhorted to use the King James Version. During those years my two main Bibles were a New Scofield Reference Bible and a KJV Open Study Bible. Also during the decade of the 1980's I became aware of and purchased my first New American Standard Bible, having learned of it being touted as the best "word-for-word" translation.

Moving ahead to the late 80's and the 1990's, finding myself in an evangelical church, I dusted off my New International Version and used it as my primary Bible for the next several years. I collected many different Bibles over the years....looking for that "perfect" one in size, feel, color, binding, and most of all...translation. I never was totally satisfied. Ultimately I always seemed to come back to the literal, word-for-word NASB, though I never found a local church where this version was used from the pulpit.

Then out of nowhere into my life in 2007 comes the English Standard Version. It had been around for six years, but I had not heard of it. I investigated this "essentially literal" translation and was blown away. Finally, a Bible had arrived on the scene that was very accurate like the NASB, but more readable, and had the poetic flow of the KJV. In the past year I have purchased five ESV Bibles, all in different sizes, shapes, colors and formats, and have already given one away. It is the version used by our pastor and appears to be used by the majority of our denomination. The English Standard Version is right on and I hope it becomes the standard for the body of Christ.