Comments on: Top 10 Reasons to Really Like the HCSB

By: Lane Keister

Lane Keister — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:11:18 +0000

I agree with all your reasons and prefer the HCSB to the ESV, although I also really like the ESV.

By: Kevin Sam

Kevin Sam — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:08:19 +0000

I like all your ten reasons except for #10. But the most unique thing I like about the HCSB is “Yahweh”. It might make discussions with JWs a little easier.

By: Will

Will — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:19:52 +0000

Thanks, Ed!

By: Another Proponent for the HCSB « Jeff's Thoughts

Another Proponent for the HCSB « Jeff's Thoughts — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:03:14 +0000

[...] Proponent for the HCSB By Jeff Will Lee over at the Anwoth blog has written about the Top 10 Reasons to Really Like the HCSB. As a supporter of the HCSB, I just wanted to point this [...]

By: Ed Berry

Ed Berry — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:02:41 +0000

Will, I have been a HCSB lover since the Gospel Of John in the HCSB came out in 1999.I really like your site and excellant comments on the HCSB.Keep up the excellant work on spreading all the positives of this most excellant translation. Ed B.

By: T.C. R

T.C. R — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:02:14 +0000

Will,
The marketing is even more impressive.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:50:08 +0000

Definitely not too late. Just subscribe to updates via RSS or Email (if you haven’t already done so) for instructions on entering.

By: Douglas K. Adu-Boahen

Douglas K. Adu-Boahen — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:48:36 +0000

I’m hoping I’m not too late for the giveaway. Trying to find an alternative to the ESV, which I use regularly, and think the HCSB might be it.

By: Will

Will — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:39:03 +0000

Thanks, Chris. I’m glad you like it. Tell your friends.

By: Will

Will — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:38:38 +0000

Thanks, Mitchell, for the example. I agree that a translation like, “Now listen to this” is indeed cumbersome. I’m just not a fan of “Behold” either. Sometimes it seems like idou just serves as a grammatical marker, something we don’t have much of English.

Here’s an option: “Listen, check this out! A farmer went out to plant seeds.”

By: Will

Will — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:35:15 +0000

The current edition has Yahweh in a little under 80 places; the new edition coming out this year has it in something like over 400 places!

The current edition uses Messiah in the NT in particularly Jewish contexts, but keeps Christ as well.

Look for the new edition coming out this year.

By: chris terry

chris terry — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:36:41 +0000

Will,

thanks for your promotion of the HCSB. I also appreciate the HCSB and I am anxiously anticipating the release of the revision this year. The Minister’s Bible is truly an excellent edition of the HCSB. I love the formatting and size. Thanks for your blog.

By: Mitchell Powell

Mitchell Powell — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:19:54 +0000

If I may take the liberty of chiming in on why someone might prefer “Behold” to “Now, listen to this,” I would suggest two principle reasons, that (1) “Behold” expresses the same thought in a single word just as the original text does, without quite the distractive quality of throwing “Now, listen to this” into a sentence, and (2) it fits with tradition (which in my opinion is the weaker of the two).

Here’s an example of somewhere that “Now, listen to this” would not work at all (Mark 4:3): “Listen, now, listen to this: a sower went out to sow.”

That being said, I’m all in favor of using “Look,” “See,” or any other substitute that is both reasonable English usage and approximates the original intent.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:11:58 +0000

I love the HCSB and am anxious for the 2d edition to come out. I have been preaching from it for several years and will continue to do so. My wife loves it, too, and if I won the minister’s bible, I could give her my HCSB. Either way, I’ll get her one!

By: Daniel Doleys

Daniel Doleys — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:50:41 +0000

I am confused about #1 and #2. My HCSB has Lord and Christ, not Yahweh and Messiah. Is there an update that you are talking about that I am unaware of? I love both of those ideas and it would be a great consideration in switching my main reading Bible if I could find a translation that had Yahweh/Messiah. Thanks!

By: Top 10 Reasons to Really Like the HCSB | Scripture Zealot

Top 10 Reasons to Really Like the HCSB | Scripture Zealot — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:52:35 +0000

[...] Top 10 Reasons To Like the HCSB at Anwoth [...]

By: Will

Will — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:55:22 +0000

So, just out of curiosity, why not say, “Now, listen to this,” instead of using a word that is really not a part of contemporary language?

By: Ben Mordecai

Ben Mordecai — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:57:41 +0000

I actually like the beholds. They serve an interpretive purpose as if to say, “now, listen to this.”

By: Robert Gibbs

Robert Gibbs — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:09:55 +0000

I’m still not entirely sure how I discovered the HCSB, but I am glad I did. As far as #10, I have to be honest: I suspect that one reason the HCSB is doing so well is because Lifeway constantly has various versions of the HCSB on sale for dirt cheap ($5-10), probably inflating sales a little bit. Nonetheless, I hope it continues to grow in usage. I teach Bible at a Christian school, and I’ve slowly been trying to sway more kids towards it. A lot of them do certainly appreciate it when it comes to verse memorization, because it tends to be pithier than the KJV, NIV, or (especially) NASB.