Liz Dodd and Sebastian Milbank (News from Britain and Ireland, 30 January) condemn our bishops for choosing the English Standard Version for our new lectionary. The ESV is “as literal as possible”, produced by “conservative Evangelical scholars”. It is guilty, too, of using “gender-exclusive language”.

The article by John Barton (“Hearing the right Word”, 30 January) explains the difference between “functional translation” (expressing the ancient texts in modern idiom) and “formal equivalence” that is faithful to the original languages.

“Functional translation” denies that the Bible is a collection of ancient texts.
It nullifies the theologies inherent in books from long ago and far away. For example, the Jerusalem Bible relates that a leper asked Jesus to be cured. Jesus, “feeling sorry for him”, said “Be cured” (Mark 1:40-45). But that never happened. The man asked to be made clean and Jesus cleanses him.