The Voice<\/em>)<\/p>\nThis poetic addition is completely unjustifiable, and again has no roots in the actual Bible that God inspired! Unless we think we dare improve upon God\u2019s Word, what business do we have in producing such drivel and labeling it as a new Bible translation?<\/p>\n
I wanted to close this post with a single verse taken from each of several versions to illustrate their differences. You will see that there is a lot of similarity in how most of the translations handle this verse. The ESV text has almost direct word-for-word correspondence with the underlying Greek. Some of the more interpretative or paraphrase translations do replace the phrase \u201cbearing the sword\u201d with some kind of explanation of an expectation of punishment. This could help an English reader who could not understand that concept. But, shockingly, as we can see merely from looking at the length of the paragraph, The Voice<\/span> adds a lot of material to the text, only one phrase of which is italicized. This is unnecessary, unhelpful, and examining this verse on its own would be enough to make me disinclined to recommend the purchase of this new translation. Each of the other translations listed below have something to contribute to our understanding of this passage.<\/p>\nROMANS 13:3-4<\/p>\n
ESV<\/span> <\/span>
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God\u2019s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God\u2019s wrath on the wrongdoer.<\/p>\nTNIV<\/span> <\/span>
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. <\/sup>For the one in authority is God\u2019s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God\u2019s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.<\/p>\nNLT<\/span>
<\/span>For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God\u2019s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God\u2019s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.<\/p>\nNCV<\/span> <\/span>
Those who do right do not have to fear the rulers; only those who do wrong fear them. Do you want to be unafraid of the rulers? Then do what is right, and they will praise you. The ruler is God\u2019s servant to help you. But if you do wrong, then be afraid. He has the power to punish; he is God\u2019s servant to punish those who do wrong.<\/p>\nTHE MESSAGE<\/span>
Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you\u2019re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear. Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you\u2019ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you\u2019re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren\u2019t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it.<\/p>\nTHE VOICE<\/span>
<\/span>You see, if you do the right thing, you have nothing to be worried about from the rulers; but if you do what you know is wrong, the rulers will surely make you pay a price. Would you not rather live with a clear conscience than always have to be looking over your shoulder? Then keep doing what you know to be good and right, and they will publicly honor you. Look at it this way:<\/span> The ruler is a minister of God called to serve and benefit you. But he is also a minister of God executing wrath upon those who practice evil. If you do what is wrong, then you better be afraid because he wields the power of the sword and doesn\u2019t make empty threats.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Christmas seems like it\u2019s just around the corner. In these times of financial pressure, surely we all feel the need to make good choices in our gifts this year and not be wasteful. A new Bible for a loved one (or dare I say for yourself?) is certainly an excellent investment. But what Bible? And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,39,132],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-translation","category-hebrews","category-romans"],"yoast_head":"\n
A Bible is For Life, Not Just For Christmas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Christmas seems like it's just around the corner. In these times of financial pressure, surely we all feel the need to make good choices in our gifts this\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2008\/11\/bible-is-for-life-not-just-for\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Bible is For Life, Not Just For Christmas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Christmas seems like it's just around the corner. 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<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/298\/2008\/11\/P15052d-709492.jpg\")
If you live in the UK, you may be struggling to get a copy of the ESV Study Bible<\/span>. Your best option is Amazon.co.uk<\/a>, which is usually the cheapest, but is having some problems with fulfilling orders from what I hear. Certainly many editions are out of stock.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/298\/2008\/11\/310852_1_ftc_dp-740701.jpg\")
The NCV translation is also marketed as the International Children\u2019s Bible<\/span> and is worthy of special mention. It\u2019s important to introduce children to the Bible from a young age. I find that this translation is very accessible to young children and, as such, have recently given a copy to my 7 year old. She has since developed a voracious appetite for reading it to herself, so I\u2019m very happy. We looked together at the NLT and the ESV, and she explained to me that both of those versions had words in them she could not understand, whereas the NCV\/ICB did not. So, as an introductory Bible, I\u2019m obviously quite pleased with it.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/298\/2008\/11\/61GBkFJQV6L._SL500_AA240_-785019.jpg\")
I am all in favor of helpful explanations, but to p