I’ve been meaning to ask this for a while. I hope I am not repeating anything, though I assume that various thoughts on this are spread throughout various other treads. Lots of versions of the Bible out there. Which do you use and why? If you believe in the literal truth of the Bible, why is the version you read better (or more accurate, etc.) than the others?
Thanks.
Once in a while you can get shown the light
in the strangest of places
if you look at it right…
I keep a number of versions and a number of different commentaries. I think often times you need different reference points to understand what scripture is talking about. I even often times find myself re-reading and attempting to understand the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic text to get a full understanding.
For anyone interested, there is a free on-line intralinear Greek/Hebrew - English text with Strong’s Concordance by theBlue Letter Bible Project. The Greek and Hebrew are rendered both in original characters and as English transliterations.
“It is lucky for rulers that men do not think.” — Adolf Hitler
Oh, as to why the “King James” version, because it was given to me by a minister and I definitely couldn’t be bothered to go and buy any different copy. It suffices for my needs if I need to look anything up for some reason. I also fulfilled its purpose during my “Christian Challenge”.
I have several that were all given as gifts.
I have the KJV which I got from my church when I was baptized. The NIV, which is what I use most of the time. New Living Translation:New Testament. This is another favorite of mine. I don’t know that one is better than the other. I like the last one because it has in the front of it a page called verse finder. Just about anything you will deal with in your daily life and have quesitons on are listed there. Behind each topic it has several different verses in the Bible referring to the situation for you to look up. Which is very helpful, because I don’t know where anything is.
“Sherlock Holmes once said that once you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be
the answer. I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible.
The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it that the merely improbable lacks.”
– Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective
Before this gets shuttled off to GQ (which is fine, my curiosity is still being satisfied) I am still wondering why you use what you use. Not so much for the commentaries, but the actual translation itself. Unless, of course, the translations from the Greek, etc. remain the same. I would think this would be a very important distinction for those who accept the Bible as a literal truth.
Thanks again.
Once in a while you can get shown the light
in the strangest of places
if you look at it right…
King James and NIV. King James because I think it’s great literature and great language and because it’s the version I was raised on. NIV with notes to try to get a better handle on what the various passages may mean, and because it’s a more faithful (no pun intended) translation of the original texts. I do not believe the Bible is the literal word of God, BTW, and since you asked.
For study purposes, I always use the New Jerusalem Bible, which is copiously annotated and eminently readable. For home worship, at her preference, my wife and I use the New King James Version.
Our church uses the New Revised Standard Version, which combines the incomprehensibility of the King James text with the pedestrian-ness of a modern translation.
Hey, Glitch.
Have you tried Moving Zen or Iron and Silk? They are both biographical rather than expositions of a philosphy/art, but I found them both inspirational.
Oh. That Bible.
I have a couple of different concordances, an old family KJV, a NWB and an NIV. (I think, a couple of them are still packed away from the move. I use th econcordances and online resources most often.)
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity.
*
Whatever the Giddeons were fine enough to leave in the hotel room I snatched it from.
I asked my youth minister brother: Would God like that I was taking His word, which should be free for the taking, or would He condemn the act of stealing no matter what it was?
His answer, which I thought was a good one even though it was a cop-out: “Read it and you tell me.”
Yer pal,
Satan
First Place
Most Popular Poster of the 20th Century Competition
As overseen by Coldfire
As Rhythmdvl noted, this is looking right now like an MPSIMS thread (not GQ). Just wanted to let you all know that I’ll be moving it if it stays in this vein rather than moving to discuss more of the whys relating to literalism and the like. I mean, it’s fine if you don’t want to, it’s just more MPSIMSish than GDish.
Spiritus: I have read Moving Zen, but not Iron and Silk. I looked it up on Amazon.com and looks pretty interesting. I’ll put in on my list of books to read just because you recommend it.
That would be the KJV. I’ve never seen a Gideons’ Bible that wasn’t.
I prefer the “Good News Bible”, more formally known as the Today’s English Version or TEV. It uses a vocabulary designed for a fifth-grader could understand. (Well, okay, in a modern public school, that would be about a tenth-grade vocabulary. But I digress.) A music composition classmate of mine recommended it as a good “accurate translation” of the Bible into modern English – however, he was only comparing its accuracy to that of The Book, so that’s not saying much.
The truth, as always, is more complicated than that.
I’m surprised David hasn’t kicked this to MPSIMS yet. My favorite translation is the NIV. The KJ is good, and sometimes the old English, and poetic style gives more “kick” to a verse. But, the NIV is much easier to memorize, and that’s why I like it better.
