Bible scholars: What do you think of the ISV?

Question

They have attempted to bring original meaning and poetry into the English. An example:

Philippians 2:6-11

In God's own form existed he,
And shared with God equality,
Deemed nothing needed grasping.
Instead, poured out in emptiness,
A servant's form did he possess,
A mortal man becoming.
In human form he chose to be,
And lived in all humility,
Death on a cross obeying.
Now lifted up by God to heaven,
A name above all others given,
This matchless name possessing.
And so, when Jesus' name is called,
The knees of everyone should fall
Where'er they are residing.
Then every tongue in one accord,
Will say that Jesus Christ is Lord,
While God the Father praising.

This passage originally was a poem in the Greek NT.

To my understanding.

Answer 1

It sounds like someone is trying to "poeticize" the verses as you mentioned. While that may be okay as a fun exercise or something like that, I think that it is not useful for a person who is unfamiliar with the original rendering because God used poetry throughout the Bible where He wanted to communicate to us in that way, and He chose not to use poetry in other portions of the Scriptures. Since the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture translators should do their best to render a passage in another language as close as possible to how it would read in the original.

When I look at the Greek text, I don't see that rhyme scheme...

Php 2:6 ὃς ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχων οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ,
Php 2:7 ἀλλὰ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος, καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος
Php 2:8 ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν γενόμενος ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ.
Php 2:9 διὸ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὸν ὑπερύψωσε καὶ ἐχαρίσατο αὐτῷ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα,
Php 2:10 ἵνα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι ᾿Ιησοῦ πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων,
Php 2:11 καὶ πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσηται ὅτι Κύριος ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστὸς εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ πατρός.

...but then again, I'm not all that good at reading Greek fluently so maybe it's there and I just need more practice.

Answer 2

The ISV? You mean the International Standard Version? It is being published by ISV Foundation.

When the whole ISV Bible comes out, I will likely purchase one. I already have the New Testament, and I like the way it reads.

Chuck Missler spoke favorably about it, which is why I checked it out. The only thing I don't care for is the use of the controversial primary source text for the New Testament. (Yes, I know the footnotes are listed for variants in the text, but I hate going to footnotes.)

Otherwise, I love the ISV.

Answer 3

if that is an example of the rest of it... not much... like most so-called"modern" versions...it weakens the message... I only recomend the KJV authorized translation, and if one just has to have a "modern" one then The New American Standard(uipdated)... I would not concider reading further in the ISv based on waht you have shown... I have a test for each "version" I pick up... I look at one passage... if the meaning of it has been altered then I do not read further... that is not the passage I use... but it served the same purpose for me.

Answer 4

That's pretty cool, but some of the words are hard to understand.

Answer 5

do I have to guitar and sing praise songs like this to get rewards in heaven?