I grew up with my Mom’s KJV, red-letter edition. It was so cool, black leather, parchment(?) pages, smelled like total holiness. I wasn’t allowed to touch it w/o Mom watching. When I got my Bible in about 3rd grade, it had a red fake leather cover, the pages felt like newspaper, and I don’t remember the version, but it was like reading a lame textbook! Not to mention that they spelled my name wrong on the inside cover. It’s in the book! Joseph, Leah and… Rachal?? No wonder I strayed.
I have several version, usually NIV.
I did, however, just get a New American Standard version for Christmas.
I did so after reading a book called
God at War This book utilized that version becasause the author felt that it was closest to the original while maintaining readability for the normal Americal public.
Everyones opinion will differ…of course.
forgive me friends, but i am a bit confused. the assumtion that we all would know these bible versions by their initials is incorrect. NIV? NRSV? NASB?
i own a new american bible (catholic), an oxford annotated king james edition, a book of mormon, a koran, a bhagavad-gita, a tao te ching, and a teachings of the buddha.
“don’t get strung out by the way that i look, don’t judge a book by it’s cover” (tim curry as dr. franknfurter in rhps)
I use the King James Version, supplanted by footnotes from the Joseph Smith Translation. Why the KJV? It’s the official translation the LDS church uses. Why the JST? Because it’s in the footnotes, and because it helps explain obscure or faulty passages in the KJV.
KJV - King James Version (Old and dear)
NIV - New International version (Un-oficial Official version of the Assemblies of God)
ASB - American Standed Bible
NASB - New American Standard
NKJV - New King James Version (Not so old and fewer thees and thous per hour)
LB - Living Bible (Not really a translation, but actually a interpratation)
IV - Intravenious
IRS - Internal Revenue Service (Illegal Government Orginization of Thieves)
The Bible I usually read for me is the JPS translation of the Tanakh. I don’t really like the translation all that much, but it’s not too bad. I’d very much like to get one with both the Hebrew and English, because whenever I read just the English, I get frustrated and wonder what the original says.
Because I’m a Religious Studies student, I have a number of other religious writings as well. I have a KJV Bible (Gideons again) and a New English Translation, too, which includes interesting apocrypha. I also have a copy of the Book of Mormon, the Qur’an, and the Bhagavad Gita. My next quest is to learn Arabic so that I can read the Qur’an properly. It is absolutely impossible to read it in English, but I understand it’s beautiful in Arabic.
Sure did! I figure that God would be keen if I decided that the book preached entire truth and got me to believe in the Chist dude.
Whereas, if I took it and did not come to that conclusion, I was wrong and another 20 lashes with (the real) Satan’s cat-o-ninee-tails in H-E-double-hockeysticks. Especially since me taking the book means that the guy who had the room aftter me couldn’t be saved from that book.
Also, I decided the Giddeons don’t like me at ALL.
Wow, talk about an assumption! Not “do you use a Bible, and if so, which one” but just “which one” assuming that I use a Bible at all! I find that rather irritating. Personally, the Bible makes me kinda queasy, so I try to avoid any version at all.
KJV because I actually prefer the language - it’s far more elegant and gives a nice once removed kind of quality to the text.
The New English Bible is great for clarification, however. My mother uses them all, she’s a bit of a scholar, so I’ve seen dozens of translations over the years.
Plenty of them available at finer Judaica stores everywhere. If there are none in your area, there’s one in NYC which has an 800 number: 1-800-EICHLER. A good one-volume Tanakh is the Artscroll Stone Edition; the Living Torah-Living Nakh series is also very good, it’s in four volumes.
Now, Opal, I think that’s overreacting a bit. I mean, when somebody starts a “What are you reading?” thread, we don’t see people getting upset because they aren’t reading anything and are pissed because of the assumption that they are and/or should be.
If you don’t use a Bible, don’t answer. Or say you don’t use any. Or put a smart-ass response like I did (and which nobody responded to < sniff >).
My great-grandmother bought a King James Bible about 1911. We’ve had it ever since. We don’t read it much, but it’s full of notes and other family history, including photos.
– Sylence
I don’t have an evil side. Just a really, really apathetic one.
What I would like to have is a Bible printed backwards, so I can swear on it and it’s not legally binding. Plus I could use when I ask Satan to make me the most powerful man on earth.
David, is that by Tolkien? I think I’ve got an unread copy somewhere. I’m not a big fantasy fan, so it’s pretty far down the reading list, if I can even find it.
Here’s another smart-ass answer for the OP. My bible is The Bible According to Mark Twain.
Yes, it is by Tolkien (thank you thank you thank you for responding ). It is, essentially, a bible for his world. If all society came to a crashing halt and were eventually rebuilt, and that book survived, I’d be willing to bet people would build a religion around it. Heck, it probably has less contradictions and errors than the “real” bible!
I have a half dozen or so different translations and interpretations, but by far my favorite is the NIV Study Bible. The top half of the page is the scripture, the bottom half is notes (historical and sciptural), references, explanations, etc. A very nice all-in-one book. The drawback is that it as a large volume, about twice as many pages as most translations, so it’s more of a pain to lug around. It is hardback, though, and makes a great sound when properly thumped ;).
The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik
Heck, it probably has less contradictions and errors than the “real” bible!
Oh please. How is it possible that Fingolfin would be able to almost defeat Morgoth in battle, when Morgoth is one of the Ainur, and Fingolfin is only an Elf?
). It is, essentially, a bible for his world. If all society came to a crashing halt and were eventually rebuilt, and that book survived, I’d be willing to bet people would build a religion around it. Heck, it probably has less contradictions and errors than the “real” bible!