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    Why Our Church Switched to the ESV
    Why Our Church Switched to the ESV
    Why Our Church Switched to the ESV
    Ebook32 pages24 minutes

    Why Our Church Switched to the ESV

    By Kevin DeYoung

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    About this ebook

    A few years into his current pastoral role, Kevin DeYoung was faced with a church that needed to replace its well-worn pew Bibles. DeYoung wrote to his congregation, outlining seven reasons why he preferred the English Standard Version (ESV) and was proposing its adoption. Among his top reasons for switching to the ESV DeYoung noted its essentially literal translation philosophy, avoidance of over- and under-translation, consistency in translating important Greek and Hebrew words, and retention of important literary features.
    DeYoung's letter has been newly edited and put into booklet form. Sold individually or in packs of ten, Why Our Church Switched to the ESV is an excellent tool for pastors or lay leaders seeking to learn more about the English Standard Version. 
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrossway Books
    Release dateJul 7, 2011
    ISBN9781433527470
    Why Our Church Switched to the ESV
    Author

    Kevin DeYoung

    Kevin DeYoung (PhD, University of Leicester) is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte. He has written books for children, adults, and academics, including Just Do Something; Impossible Christianity; and The Biggest Story Bible Storybook. Kevin’s work can be found on clearlyreformed.org. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children.

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      Book preview

      Why Our Church Switched to the ESV - Kevin DeYoung

      INTRODUCTION

      I have been the Senior Pastor at University Reformed Church (URC) in East Lansing, Michigan, since the summer of 2004. Almost as soon as arrived I began hearing, We need to replace the Bibles we use for worship. They are falling apart! At the same time, and mostly unrelated, members of the congregation were asking me as their new pastor, What Bible translation do you recommend? Since we had the New International Version (NIV) in the pews at the time (actually for us, on the chairs), I usually said something like, You know, there are a number of good translations. God can use almost all of them. Personally, I like the English Standard Version the best. I think it does the best job of being readable and as literal as possible.

      Naturally, a second question would sometimes follow: So why do we use the NIV in our services? Not wanting to upset too many apple carts, I would explain that at some point in the future we would need to order new Bibles for worship, and at that time the elders would take a look at what translation could serve us best.

      It took a few years, but eventually we had no choice but to replace our well-worn pew Bibles. And when the time came I did my best to gently persuade the elders, and the congregation after them, that the ESV was the best choice. This booklet explains why I wanted our church to switch to the ESV and why, with virtually no controversy, we eventually did.

      Thousands of pages have been written about Bible translation theory and the merits and demerits of particular English translations of the Bible. Obviously, in this short space I can’t begin to do justice to all the arguments and examples scholars have offered for one approach or another. My goal is much more modest. I want to give

      several reasons why I use the English Standard Version (ESV) in my own personal study and devotions and why we

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