It is ridiculous to have so many Bible translations. The more translations we have, the easier it is to stay divided along denominational lines. Of course, I blame Liberal theologians. They sold out the faith by making religion compatible with society instead of making the Gospel relevant to culture. There is now no bridge that can unite us (Liberal vs. Orthodox). The Liberals have denied God and they have no hope. Please note that when I use the term "liberal" in relation to theology, I do so in a technical sense and do not necessarily refer to orthodox-minded Christians who vote for social programs to serve the poor, etc.
But back on to Bible translations. I would be willing to meet on a standard if others would be willing to compromise and meet together to make an effective translation. We would all have to give something up, but I think we could find a middle ground if we were honest about serving one another. I could go for some neutral revision of the RSV. Not the NRSV with its liberal interpretive phraseology and not the ESV with its conservative reformed interpretive phraseology. Forget the gender-inclusive stuff. Forget reform theology. Forget the "majesty of the King's English." Translate based on what the text says and not what you think it means. Context is king. Strive for what the writers meant. Yet, even with this "middle of the road" idea, I still betray a theology that is incompatible with Liberal-minded theologians and culture worshippers.
While I am on the subject, the ESV is a horrible bible. The translation is good - but don't be fooled by the "essentially literal" stuff - Yes, the translation is better than most, but they do their fair share of interpreting text "in order to make it easier for the modern reader to comprehend." What I really mean by "horrible bible" is that Crossway Bibles, A Division of Good News Publishers in Wheaton, IL apparently has very low quality standards. I have two copies of the ESV (one hardback classic reference edition and one bonded leather thinline edition) and both have broken the spines in a matter of months. It won't take long before pages are falling out. No, I did not stuff a year's worth of bulletins in them. They are just low quality books. Also, the formatting is goofy so that the cross-reference bible with no study notes is as large (larger in some cases) than, say, the NIV Study Bible (with the most information ever). The thinline is as large as other version's cross-reference bibles. I am very disappointed in the quality of this company's work. They must not have had any focus groups or market research, but merely relied on the "we are right, so we must be right" mentality of so many Christian conservatives. Yes, by having crappy merchandise, and claiming that it is the best stuff that the best Christians should have, they harm the gospel message. God, please save us from ourselves.