I also recommend Martin's Accuracy of Translation and the NIV, published by Banner of Truth. Martin has also questioned whether the ESV is sufficiently literal although of course it is preferable to the NIV and the RSV of which it is a light revision.

Professor Dan Wallace has said of the NIV: "It is so readable that it has no memorable expressions, nothing that lingers in the mind. This is a serious problem for the NIV that is not always acknowledged."

I think this quality is probably the main reason why I could never really get into the NIV. Early on in my Christian life I actually used to consult a Study Bible I have that uses the Living Bible from time to time before fully moving on to more literal translations like the NASB, NKJV and KJV.

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Chris Poe
Mandeville, LA

"There are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it--the lunatic fringe in all reform movements." Theodore Roosevelt