ESV Bible Interview: Footnoted verses?
Another good Q/A from the ESV Bible Translastion Oversite Committee Interview, on the subject of Footnoted Verses
There are several places where “extra” verses are placed in the footnotes, e.g., Matthew 12:47, and others like Mark 16 where the “extra” verses are bracketed out but in the main text. How did you make decisions like that and why have you differed from other translations in some places?
I LOVE the fact that the committee is taking this avenue of transparency and open-ness. A snip from their reply:
When the ESV was done, we wanted not simply the familiar thing, but the best thing—the thing was closest to what God actually said.
I love the admission in their reply that what is “original” to the text isn’t always cut-and-dried. There IS some question out there about what belongs and what doesn’t (granted, they are very small, and relatively inconsequential sections).
It is important to note that these “questionable” sections (a few verses here and there) do not affect the message or meaning of ANY of the scriptures.
update They have added a second post about this question. A different member of the committee answers the unspoken question “Why does this happen?”
It happens because we do not possess the original writings that the Apostle Paul or Luke the Evangelist wrote. They wrote one copy of what they wrote, and then that one copy became the source of many copies. And those copies in turn were copied. And in the course of that copying, errors sometimes crept in. The endeavor for the ESV was to present to the English reader as closely as possible what the Apostle Paul actually wrote, what Luke the Evangelist actually wrote, and so on. The fact is that there is very little difference between all these various copies. It’s only in a very few places that there are significant or noticeable differences. We can thank the Lord that that is so.
Amen.
Could you provide a link to this wonderful Q & A. While I am sure that there is a similar link somewhere on your page, I am lazy.
Doh, thanks! Forgot to put that in.