Hey, ecidnac! Sorry, but your sarcasm missed the mark. This translation is the NIV, and doesn't contain the word "begat", no, not even once.

I seriously give this a four (compared to the five I give the NRSV translation) because I believe the NIV loses some of the nuances in the Greek in favoring a simpler English vocabulary. It is written at about an early high school level, so this characteristic would be an advantage for younger readers. Another advantage of this translation is that in my experience it is the most commonly used among today's Christian churches. If you like to memorize verses, at least with this text you can memorize the same thing other people are memorizing. ( )