I have posted WM 108: Review: Modern English Version Bible (MEV) (listen to the audio here).
In this episode I share a draft of a written review of the Modern English Version (MEV):
Here is the opening to the review, the headings, and the concluding observations:
James F. Linzey, Ed., The Holy Bible, Modern English Version (Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group, 2014): 625 pp.
The Modern English Version (MEV) is yet another contemporary
English translation of the Bible. This version is distinct, however, for
several reasons. First, and most importantly, it is a translation based on the
traditional original language texts of the Christian Scriptures (the Hebrew
Masoretic text of the Old Testament and the Greek Textus Receptus of the New Testament), rather than the modern
critical texts, which form the basis for most modern vernacular translations.
Second, it also aims to be an “updating” of the King James Version (KJV) of the
Bible, the venerable English translation that was based on these same
traditional original language texts.
The history and perspective of the MEV
MEV layout, design, and formatting
The MEV and the text of Scripture
The MEV and the translation of Scripture
Concluding observations:
Though the MEV is “yet another contemporary English
translation of the Bible,” its differences from other modern translations are
significant. This is the first widely available modern translation since the
New King James Version (completed 1982) which aims to follow the traditional
original language texts and emulate the translation style and wording of the
KJV. It is, in fact, similar in many ways to the NKJV and thus shares in some
of its strengths and weaknesses.
The MEV, no
doubt, reflects the ongoing popularity of the KJV in the English-speaking world
and the respect it continues to enjoy among evangelical Christians despite
decades of the marketing of “new and improved” translations based on the modern
critical text. The MEV could easily be
read and used in the pew in churches that ordinarily use the KJV or NKJV. It
might even enhance and further the appreciation of the Tyndale/King James
Version tradition. For these reasons it is a distinctive and even refreshing
addition to a crowded Bible market.
JTR
Hi Jeff!
ReplyDeleteI was waiting this review on MEV for a long time. I don't have a physical copy, but I have already got a look on the internet and really enjoy many parts of the translation, specially
1 John 5.7, which is one of the bests renderings of the Greek text, in my opinion. Even so, in terms of a modern TR-version, I still use the NKJV, and, of course, I use the KJV as the "Standard" version.
Thanks a lot for the review and God bless you!
P.S: Is there any chance to see a book about bible criticism having JTR as author?
VLB, thanks for your patience in waiting for the review. Hope you found it helpful. I've submitted a written version to a journal where I hope it will appear.
ReplyDeleteA book by me on text criticism? I'd love to write a popular level work defending the "Confessional Text" and feel like I have been accumulating research over the last few years toward this. Maybe I will have time to get started this winter if it snows enough. Smiles.