Bible Translation and Reading Habits
The Lutheran Chruch – Missouri Synod has put the Synod’s in house publisher (CPH) on a course to the exclusive use of the ESV – English Standard Version. This is the translation of the Bible that has been embedded in LSB and that we have been reading in the lectionary readings of the week. All translations have their positive and negative aspects. The ESV has significant scholarly support, it maintains continuity with the NRSV, RSV and KJV translation streams, and it would be considered very faithful on a word by word basis to the original languages. That said, to those who are not used to that tradition, or who are not consistant readers of the Bible, the grammar and syntax can be clumsy. Other translations will attempt something called dynamic equivalence. That is a fancy term for getting the meaning of a sentence or paragraph accurate, but putting the syntax in more modern wording and cadence.
This survey is intended for your pastor: to get a read on the type of translation most at use among the congregation, to provide a spot for feedback on the use of the ESV in worship and to gather some insight into personal bible reading and background. None of the fields are required, so you can leave off your name and fill in everything anonymously. You can also just answer the early questions but not the later one. Thank you for taking the time to read and answer the survey.
Mark
