CanRef Church adopts ESV

In my two-part review of the Canadian Reformed Churches' new provisional psalter last year, I made this prediction:

The Bible translation used is the 1984 edition of the New International Version, which is a change from the Revised Standard Version used in the 1984 BOP. However, the NIV 1984 has now been updated and a new edition has just been published, the NIV 2011 (Click here to read my preliminary assessment of this new edition). Whether the CanRef Churches will adopt the update or switch to another translation remains to be seen. In any event, their Authorized Provisional Version was outdated at virtually the moment it was published. My guess is that the authorized final version will use yet another translation – possibly the English Standard Version, which is favoured in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Presbyterian Church in America.

Local pastor Wes Bredenhof has confirmed that his congregation, Providence Canadian Reformed Church, will indeed be adopting the ESV: Switching from NIV to ESV. Bredenhof:

At our last Council meeting we discussed this report and came to a decision. Since the old NIV is no longer available and the new NIV is not acceptable, we are compelled to adopt a different translation. Of the options available (NASB, NKJV, ESV), the ESV is the most attractive. We have therefore decided to adopt the ESV effective September 1, 2012.

Whether the rest of the denomination will follow suit remains to be seen.