My long waited NCV-ESV Bible has finally arrived! The first time I heard about it was from an ICQ conversation with Joel from Singapore last April. It was actually quite exciting to hear a publisher combining probably two of the finest translation to date – New Chinese Version 新譯本 and English Standard Version – into a Chinese-English bilingual Bible. The release date was initially July last year, but due to various reasons there were delay after delay. We have made our order late last year, directly from Hong Kong, and today 3 boxes containing 60 Bibles, which we have ordered on behalf of FOCUS, have finally been delivered.
I myself took a compact hardcover copy. First impression – very very thin pages. It has Chinese on one side and English on another side of page, which is obvious for a bilingual Bible. It contains NCV and ESV introduction for each of the book before the first chapter, and it also contains introduction on groups of books, for example before the Law, the Major/Minor Prophets, etc. I found the NCV introduction is quite comprehensive, as it includes sections on the date, author, main themes, section break downs, etc. At the end of the Bible, it also includes the ESV concordance, which would be very useful searching for related passages around a key word. ESV cross reference is not included though, but I doubt it would fit as it already tried to squeeze in two translations.
At the back it also includes some full colour maps – they are actually good quality maps from the days of the Patriarchs to the spread of Christianity. The binding is okay – I hope it will not be as disastrous as Crossway’s ESV binding, which Vivian’s died within a year. I guess only time will tell.
I have not tried to compare much of NCV to the older CUV (Chinese Union Version of 1919) yet. I opened both of them to 2 Timothy 3:15-16, which I used in the Bible study last Sunday.
… the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, … (English Standard Version)
… 這聖經能夠使你有智慧，可以因信基督耶穌得著救恩。全部聖經都是 神所默示的，在教訓、責備、矯正和公義的訓練各方面，都是有益的，(New Chinese Version)
… 這聖經能使你因信基督耶穌有得救的智慧。聖經都是神所默示的、於教訓、督責、使人歸正、教導人學義、都是有益的．(Chinese Union Version)
The Mandarin group I had yesterday had trouble understanding verse 15b on the relationship between the scripture, salvation and faith in Christ Jesus. The CUV is a bit confusing, or misleading I’ll say. ESV is clear, and so is the NCV. So far so good…
Another feature of NCV is that dotted underline, which means these words/phrases were not in the original but added by the translators so that the sentence won’t sound too awkward. I’ll take that famous passage of John 3:16.
神愛世人，甚至把他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的，不至滅亡，反得永生。
The word “他們” can be clearly seen that it has been added by the translator (and it is not in ESV). The same word exists in CUV, but there is no way for readers to know that it is actually not in the original manuscript.
That’s it for today. I believe there will be more discovery for the days to come.
I disagree with the above statement stating that CNT is more clear than CUV when 2 Tim 3-15b-16 was compared. I found CUV is more clear to communicate what the ESV (ESV is close to GREEK) tries to communicate.
In 2 Tim 3:15b-16, ESV said, “… make you wise for salvation through faith …” It refers to the “wisdom for salvation” not “wisdom” in general
But CNT translated it to “wisdom” without pointing to salvation. The CUV is lengthy on that because it is trying to communicate “wisdom for salvation”. I’ve read and read again and it is clear to me that CUV is close to the ESV and CNT has changed the meaning.
In Christ,
Joel
Joel,
If you take word for word comparison between the Chinese and ESV, then I agree that CUV is probably closer to ESV in terms of sentence structure. And yes, the original greek has one single sentence instead of breaking into two like NCV. However, expression in Chinese is difficult than English, which you can easily construct a very long sentence. Personally I found the Chinese in CUV difficult to capture that the salvation is actually through faith in Christ Jesus. It sounds like faith in Jesus results in wisedom, instead of in salvation.
To be safe, I will continue to reference different translation or even greek linear Bible in preparing for the Bible studies. But just for that 2 Timothy 3 verse, I found it is easier for a Chinese to understand with NCV than CUV.
Scott,
CUV literally said with this word order: “This Holy Scripture can make you, because of believing Jesus Christ, to have the wisdom for salvation …” The purpose of the Holy Scripture is to provide wisdom for salvation. The mean (for salvation) is to believe in Jesus Christ (by faith), which is the result of reading the Holy Scripture. The ultimate goal is NOT widsom but SALVATION. CUV does create the difficulty but it is clearer.
CNT literally said with the word order, “This Holy Scripture can make you to have wisdom, because of believing in Jesus Christ to have salvation.” It is easier to read and communicate salvation by faith. However, it creates a missing link between wisdom provided by the Holy Scripture and the purpose which is “salvation by faith”. The reason is that “wisdom for salvation” is not translated in CNT. If “wisdom for salvatoin” (or in Chinese word order: salvation’s wisdom), it will be perfect.
Joel
Joel,
As of the New Chinese Version, instead of “because of” after the comma, I interpret it as “that is”. Well, it does not exist in the Chinese either, but when I read it the sentence becomes:
“This Holy Scripture can make you to have wisdom, (that is) believing in Jesus Christ to have salvation.”
Second half of the sentence is describing what “wisdom” is, i.e. the salvation through faith in Jesus. And that was the reason that I concluded in my blog entry that NCV is clearer.
Well, it turns out that different people might read one translation differently, due to different background or understanding of the language. But fortunately we are blessed with different translations that we can compare, as well as heavily analysed manuscripts in greek that are closed to the original.
In Christ,
Help,
We have a non beliver who would like a chinese/english bible. I heard there is a CU – NIV version out there. Would any of you know where I can order and how much it is?
Thankful,
Michael
Michael,
Chinese Union/New International Version (probably most popular amongst Chinese churches) can be purchased through the International Bible Society @ Hong Kong.
http://www.ibs.org.hk/
Anyone know where i can find other asian side by side translations, especially vietnamese and cambodian?
Hello Scotty,
I just found your site while randomly searching google for the NCV/ESV Bible. I was wondering if I could get more information about the bible from you. If you could email me back, that’d be great. Thanks.
Justin
Scott,
Do you know if a NCV/ESV Bible can be purchased in the Sydney area at a bookstore? I’m trying to find a good Bible for my mother-in-law who is originally from HK and lives in Winston Hills NSW. I can order a copy from Amazon.com, but I live in the U.S. and was hoping there was a local resource for her. Any insight would be appreciated.
Isaac
Hi Scott,
I’d love some more info on how your NCV/ESV bible is working out with your focus students. Is it better for a beginner christian than the CU/NIV?? Because in my quick reading on the internet I’ve found that many people mention that the CU is difficult for many to read. My friend is from Taiwan and I’m looking into what would be good to get for her. please send me an email or reply to this post to let me know and I would much appreciate it! :)
thanks
Sally
Sally,
After using it for almost 3 years, I reckon NCV is definitely easier to read, for non-Christians or new Christians. However it does have some issues. There are numerous times that I found Chinese Union Version having better translation, but the same can be said vice versa.
However the biggest issue I’ve encountered is the resistance from Chinese Christians who are already familiar with CUV. Well, that includes most Chinese churches I am afraid.
Currently in FOCUS we are still selling/giving away the NCV/ESV to new Christians, but many new students, especially those who are already Christians, usually bring along their CUV/NIV Bibles. We are “okay” having two translations during Bible study discussions. Having ESV next to it certainly helps to clarify certain ambiguities.
Scott
I would like to send you a booklet (眾裏尋它)，published by Worldwide Bible Society，which lists some major differences between CUV & CNV (xinyiben) with explanations, if you do not already have one.
Kindly let me know your address.
We have changed the abbreviation of our bible from NCV to CNV, as the other English bible, New Century Version, is also using NCV.
We have also published CNV / NIV parallel in both traditional & simplified script, even though ESV is indeed a new & very good version.
Blessings
Jack Hong
Worldwide Bible Society
Yes, the 新譯本聖經 published by the Worldwide Bible Society has changed its abbreviate NCV (New Chinese Version) to CNV due to NCV has been used by other organizations. But even CNV has been populated by other sites so well making the job to search for Worldwide Bible sites a tough one. Here are links to local CNV sites that might ease the situation:
北美辦事處: 10883-B South Blaney Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA
Tel: 408 996 8388
Fax: 408 996 2838
Web: http://wwbibleus.org
資料查詢：usa@wwbible.org
香港辦事處:
香港九龍土瓜灣貴州街6號東方報業大廈6字樓
6/F, Oriental Daily News Building, 6 Kwei Chow Street, Tokwawan,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2356 7234
Fax: (852) 2356 7389
Web: http://wwbible.org
資料查詢：Info@wwbible.org
新加坡辦事處:
51 Penjuru Road #02-00, Freight Links Express Logisticentre, Singapore 609143
Tel: (65) 6267 4678
Fax: (65) 6264 2422
資料查詢：singapore@wwbible.org
台灣辦事處:
台灣台北南昌路2段31號9樓之一
Tel: (886) 2 2395 6191
Fax:(886) 2 2395 8137
資料查詢：taiwan@wwbible.org
菲律賓聯絡處:
c/o #13 Denver St., Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines
Tel: (63-915) 699 8131
Fax: (63-2) 410 0329
資料查詢：philippines@wwbible.org
加拿大聯絡處:
# 61-8868, 16th Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA
Tel: (1604) 307 8773
Fax: (1604) 526 8011
資料查詢：canada@wwbible.org
God bless. Hope this will help.
Meng Wang
Tien Dao Christian Media Center(US)/Worldwide Bible Society(US)
弟兄姐妹平安。
我正在讀新版聖經，對各位多年的心力十分敬佩，新版好讀多了，但仍有討論空間，茲略舉一二。
Ezekiel 7：10 The day is here! It has come! Doom has burst forth, the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed.”
““‘看哪，這日子到了！災害已經發出，杖已經開花，狂傲已經發芽。”
問題：「開花」與「發芽」 譯顛倒。應是’’杖已經發芽、驕傲已經開花。’’ (新版未注意到)
7：19 They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomach with it (指金銀),
for it has made them stumble into sin.” (KJV: the stumblingblock of their iniquity。stumblingblock在3:20也用一次，英文STANDARD版已注意到此字易引起誤解，而改為stumble into sin)
“他們要把自己的銀子拋在街上，把自己的金子當作污穢之物。在耶和華發怒的日子，他們的金銀不能拯救他們，不能滿足他們的心，也不能填滿他們的肚腹，因為這些金銀都成了叫他們落在罪孽裡的絆腳石。”
這裡比和合本好一點，和合本：”因為這些金銀作了他們罪孽的絆腳石”
問題： 這裡的翻譯有點問題，stumble (不及物動詞)是墮落、絆倒、失足、犯錯誤的 意思，「stumble into sin」就是墮落犯罪，是引起犯罪的因素。
如說是「罪孽的絆腳石」，等於說「阻礙犯罪」，意思相反。所以stumblingblock應不用才好。
22：10 In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed; in you are those who violet women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean.”
“ 在你裡面有暴露父親下體的；有污辱在經期中不潔的婦人的。”
問題：此段經文是主耶穌對淫亂的遣責，第二句説的和第一句的，做的都是同一 種事。第二句明講，但第一句講到自己的父親，所以比較含蓄。說是”羞辱父親的床。” 父親的床上有誰？當然是母親或繼母。
”蒸母”可能性較小，而繼母年輕貌美，或強暴，或通姦，比較有可能。新版從忠於原文此一出發點，改為露父親的下體，他露父親的下體幹嗎？
26：16 “clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.”(KJV: astonished at thee)
“披上戰兢，坐在地上，時刻發抖，為你驚駭。”
問題： 這裡「clothed with terror」在英文是很有詩意的，是說「把’’恐怖’’像衣服一樣穿在身上」，譯為「披上戰兢」，別人如何能懂？所以clothed何必譯出? “戰戰兢兢，坐在地上，….。” 不是更好嗎？ ” 為你驚駭”中文不是很好，”見人就怕”才是這句話的意思。
Acts 3:6
“In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. “
彼得卻說：“金銀我都沒有，只把我有的給你：我奉拿撒勒人耶穌基督的名，吩咐你行走！”
這個”奉”字，沿用已久，每日祈禱，也如此說。其實在中文裡，只聽說
“奉 xxx之命， “奉 xxx 之名” ，只在基督教才有。
”憑著耶穌基督的聖名？” 如何？
願神祝福你們。
鍾 博
Dr. Po Chung
2801 E 2nd St, Apt 229
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Tel 323 980 5086
where can i order a simplified character version of this bible?
yeah, i would like to know where to order it too. i just lost mine last week and felt so sad about it.
Yun and Aileen
Are you both in Sydney? You can try ti contact “Glory Bookstore” in Hurstville, I got very Traditional Chinese version from them. I remember they also carry the Simplified version.
http://www.glorybookstore.com.au/default.asp
I do not like the NIV Chinese Union Bible Translation for my wife. Is their a New American Standard English/Taiwan and or Chinese ? Leather Thumb Indexed ?
The New American Standard is more close to the Greek. These Chinese /English Bibles need more pictures and maps and concordence .
Let me know ,,, sgiuliano51@gmail.com
ALL in the Name Rabbi Yeshua the Messiah (John 1:49 )
Please could you tell me where I could obtain a bi-lingual bible, English and Taiwanese? There is one advertised on Amazon by the Worldwide Bible Society, but it is currently out of print.
What would be the price of such a book?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely, Rosanne Lawrence`
Any way to load ncv simplified onto an ereader? I think it will make a great Christmas gift for my friend in China. And, which ereader is best for buying chinese books in general (from within china)?
I have a 17 yr old Chinese young man living with us for at least a year and going to school. He came from China in September. He is curious to know more about the Bbile. I would like to get him the new ESV Chinese Bible, with study helps. Where can we find one that is not expensive. Amazon sells one for about $70….this is too much for us right now.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Leslie