Bible Question:
This is just a general question and I hope that someone can help me with this. After a rather long lapse from church and bible study, I have "re-entered" bible study. With so many different versions out there, what would be a good version to begin with? Our group at work all have different versions. Some I find hard to follow and others make more sense. Is a living translation sufficient enough for study? Thanks for taking the time to answer. Yours in Christ....Myra |
Bible Answer: Hi,Myra; Good for you. A translation that gets in the way of your understanding won't do much to enhance your study. Take some time to find a version that is readable and understandable - keeping in mind that some parts of the Bible are just plain hard to understand. For pure readability, I like the New Living Translation; for serious study, I always reach for my NIV Study Bible (lots of notes, maps, historical information and such). I keep a Good News (Today's English) handy and find myself checking the NKJV online. Maybe your best bet would be a parallel Bible. Personally, I would look for one with the NIV, NKJV, either Good News or New Living, and one other older version - RSV, ASV, something like that. I also find a "complete" concordance very helpful for tracking down verses when I remember some of the words but not the source. An "exhaustive" concordance indexes every single word in the Bible while a complete concordance leaves out articles, (a, an, the), pronouns and such. A "brief" concordance leaves out lots of other words too. Concordances are version-specific, so wait until you settle on the version you refer to most often. Then, of course, there are computer Bibles.... One other thought - you might try a "read through the Bible in a year" booklet. You can find one to guide you straight through from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. The one I used listed the passages in chronological order. It took a lot more than a year (lack of commitment on my part), but I'm very glad I did it. Happy "re-entry"! Peace and grace, Steve |