Mars Hill Church Switches to the ESV

Mark Driscoll explains why he’s now preaching from the ESV.

The conclusion contains some wisdom about avoiding division over Bible translations:

In the history of Mars Hill Church we have never divided over the issue of Bible translations. We have always maintained that various translations have various strengths and weaknesses and that the student of Scripture benefits from enjoying multiple translations. Furthermore, we have always praised God for every good English translation and trust God the Holy Spirit to use them to transform our lives.

Therefore, we would not discourage our people from enjoying multiple good English translations of Scripture. However, we would encourage them to use the English Standard Version or another good word-for-word translation as their primary study tool while also using other translations as secondary resources for their studies.

Lastly, while purchasing a study Bible can be quite expensive, it is imperative that every serious student of the Bible invest some money purchasing at least one nice Bible with some helps (footnotes, cross-references, etc.) and room for their notes. When buying a Bible, the general rule is that the more money you spend, the better the quality of paper, binding, and leather you will receive. If you are planning to read your primary Bible a lot, fill it with notes, and keep it for a long time, you will want to invest in a good Bible so that it lasts.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 at 10:28 am and is filed under General. Both comments and pings are currently closed.