10-10-2010, 07:26 PM
Shlama,
i've used this version for my English reading since 2003. it has a good "flavor" for the Hebrew side of things, and the choice to leave the "Names" in Hebrew is a welcome one, as well. i've found that for the most part, it seems to read very well in the "OT" parts. the NT does seem to take some liberty at times, and it is indeed translated mainly from the Greek manuscripts, so you will have some lack of nuance that is only going to be found in the Peshitta.
regarding translation accuracy, it does have some places where it is deficient. one is an absolute error which contacted the publishers/translators about, and received a reply that it would be looked into. the reading usually goes along close to the KJV, so if you are familiar with that, you should have no real problem with the ISR version.
as you mentioned, most SN people use this, for the reasons you've stated. in that regard, you may wish to do some more study and research into the validity of those "pagan names" claims, because that is one area that suffers horribly from extremely poor scholarship. if you're interested in some information that is actually accurate in that area, pm me and i can give you resources to aide in your study.
in the end, every person should use the version they feel best about, because that is the one you will actually read. if you can learn Hebrew and Aramaic, i highly recommend doing so, even if it takes years to get it, because then you have at your fingertips the unadulterated WORD, and everything opens up in a whole new way from that point. you will have access to knowing when a translation is biased in a negative, inappropriate way, and so you will be able to rightly divide the Word much better, instead of relying on translators to do it for you, who may not even be believers themselves.
Chayim b'Moshiach,
Jeremy
i've used this version for my English reading since 2003. it has a good "flavor" for the Hebrew side of things, and the choice to leave the "Names" in Hebrew is a welcome one, as well. i've found that for the most part, it seems to read very well in the "OT" parts. the NT does seem to take some liberty at times, and it is indeed translated mainly from the Greek manuscripts, so you will have some lack of nuance that is only going to be found in the Peshitta.
regarding translation accuracy, it does have some places where it is deficient. one is an absolute error which contacted the publishers/translators about, and received a reply that it would be looked into. the reading usually goes along close to the KJV, so if you are familiar with that, you should have no real problem with the ISR version.
as you mentioned, most SN people use this, for the reasons you've stated. in that regard, you may wish to do some more study and research into the validity of those "pagan names" claims, because that is one area that suffers horribly from extremely poor scholarship. if you're interested in some information that is actually accurate in that area, pm me and i can give you resources to aide in your study.
in the end, every person should use the version they feel best about, because that is the one you will actually read. if you can learn Hebrew and Aramaic, i highly recommend doing so, even if it takes years to get it, because then you have at your fingertips the unadulterated WORD, and everything opens up in a whole new way from that point. you will have access to knowing when a translation is biased in a negative, inappropriate way, and so you will be able to rightly divide the Word much better, instead of relying on translators to do it for you, who may not even be believers themselves.
Chayim b'Moshiach,
Jeremy