Greetings:
I do not defend the KJV when it is in error. It is a translation, and, as a translation it has many fine points to it. I actually think the Geneva Bible is superior to the KJV - Does that make me a Geneva Bible Onlyist? No. I think the Geneva Bible has errors in it as well.
When the WCF talks about the "providential preservation" of the mss it is referring the the Hebrew and Greek and not a translation of them into English:
The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old) and the New Testament in Greek (which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations) being immediately inspired by God, and by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages; are therefore authentical, chapter 1, section 8.
There can be no doubt that the WCF is talking about the Byzantine mss as it was/is found in the Textus Receptus. The Alexandrian Variants were known by the Church since the 7th-8th Century, but were consistently rejected by the Church as corrupt.
Erasmus, for example, was well acquainted with the Vaticanus (B) mss. But he never used it in his early Greek texts. It was considered a corrupt mss, and to use a corrupt mss would be a degradation to the text. In his 5th edition he used one reading from the Vaticanus, but his 5th edition was never used by anyone.
The offense of the NIV, RSV, ESV, and NASB is that they use mss that have been considered corrupt since the 7th century. Because of this these translations are more like commentaries on the Bible rather than a reproduction of the Bible itself.
What is really offensive concerning the ESV is that it is simply a revision of the RSV - making it a translation of a translation. The copyright of both the RSV and ESV are owned by the National Council of Churches (
http://www.ncccusa.org/). The proceeds of the purchase of the ESV - even if it is a "Reformation Study Bible" - goes to an organization that encourages homosexual and women pastors, evangelicals and catholics together, and abortion. One must decide on one's own if such a thing is right or wrong.
As for me, since there are better translations in English out there, the purchase of the ESV, or any other such text, is neither expedient nor necessary.
Blessings,
-CH