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N
[size=+1]Well , I could say whatever helps you read. But;Then I couldn't sleep at night.
So I would use a King James version , you know, the one comparable to the 1611. Why ? Because You can use a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with it, it's numbers are keys to the King James version ( Not the new king James )...
That will help you look up words in the Hebrew and Greek , etc. Those are the languages the old bible manuscripts are written in. And it will let you look up those meanings. Those languages didn't always carry well over into the English, so some meaning was mixed up here an there. The Strong's concordance is useful ...
If you want some help with following the subject of what your reading, and some very good outlines with detailed information. I would really recommend a Companion Bible by E W Bullinger , also. The Companion Bible is a King James versions Bible with scholarly notes ( it's Not ;a commentary Bible ).
It has scholarly notes on a separate side column. This might not mean much to you, but, The Companion Bible's notes were put together using The Massorah.
The Massorah, is the original footnotes to the Biblical manuscripts. It helps to lock in meanings of words used in God's Words. So it helped make sure that when the Bible was copied , that every letter was in place and every word meant what it meant.
Real Bible scholars ; if they have a doubt about anything in the manuscripts , they use the Massorah to help them.
For some reason, I hear the King James translators, did not know the Massorah existed . And I doubt any modern translation of the Bible today used the Massorah either . It will be a very good idea to buy a companion Bible; because they used the Massorah to help them with their scholarly notes.... There are PDF scans of it online .( I have a few PDF files )
The The Apocrypha are books that were not considered to be authoritative scripture . For whatever the reason.
The word Apocrypha is Greek and means "those hidden away".
Books that are in the Apocrypha like : 1st & 2nd Esdras I would consider good books . I think they aline with the Bible we have. Also the story of Susanna. I don't know about the other books in there ; i haven't read all of them.
Whatever you read let the Word of God we have lead you to whats good or not. If you do read it ; get The Apocrypha translated by Edgar J. Goodspeed...
The translation you have should be fine for the moment, but I would not stay with it very long.
Here is a King James version Online : http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/kjv/browse.htm if you have a comfortable computer screen to read from.
Here is a Companion Bible you can read online ( it might take some getting used to , have to use the small blue arrows to change pages in the Bible, :
'The Book of Job:' by Bullinger, E. W. (Ethelbert William), 1837-1913 - Page %CURPAGENUM% of %LASTPAGENUM%
You can also find a Strong's Concordance; at the same site.
etc . [/size]
So I would use a King James version , you know, the one comparable to the 1611. Why ? Because You can use a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with it, it's numbers are keys to the King James version ( Not the new king James )...
That will help you look up words in the Hebrew and Greek , etc. Those are the languages the old bible manuscripts are written in. And it will let you look up those meanings. Those languages didn't always carry well over into the English, so some meaning was mixed up here an there. The Strong's concordance is useful ...
If you want some help with following the subject of what your reading, and some very good outlines with detailed information. I would really recommend a Companion Bible by E W Bullinger , also. The Companion Bible is a King James versions Bible with scholarly notes ( it's Not ;a commentary Bible ).
It has scholarly notes on a separate side column. This might not mean much to you, but, The Companion Bible's notes were put together using The Massorah.
The Massorah, is the original footnotes to the Biblical manuscripts. It helps to lock in meanings of words used in God's Words. So it helped make sure that when the Bible was copied , that every letter was in place and every word meant what it meant.
Real Bible scholars ; if they have a doubt about anything in the manuscripts , they use the Massorah to help them.
For some reason, I hear the King James translators, did not know the Massorah existed . And I doubt any modern translation of the Bible today used the Massorah either . It will be a very good idea to buy a companion Bible; because they used the Massorah to help them with their scholarly notes.... There are PDF scans of it online .( I have a few PDF files )
The The Apocrypha are books that were not considered to be authoritative scripture . For whatever the reason.
The word Apocrypha is Greek and means "those hidden away".
Books that are in the Apocrypha like : 1st & 2nd Esdras I would consider good books . I think they aline with the Bible we have. Also the story of Susanna. I don't know about the other books in there ; i haven't read all of them.
Whatever you read let the Word of God we have lead you to whats good or not. If you do read it ; get The Apocrypha translated by Edgar J. Goodspeed...
The translation you have should be fine for the moment, but I would not stay with it very long.
Here is a King James version Online : http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/kjv/browse.htm if you have a comfortable computer screen to read from.
Here is a Companion Bible you can read online ( it might take some getting used to , have to use the small blue arrows to change pages in the Bible, :
'The Book of Job:' by Bullinger, E. W. (Ethelbert William), 1837-1913 - Page %CURPAGENUM% of %LASTPAGENUM%
You can also find a Strong's Concordance; at the same site.
etc . [/size]
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R
I have a "Today's English Version" bible, is that one good enough? I hope so because it's the only one I got. 
It has also a section between the old and new testaments called Deuteronomy and Apocrypha, should I skip those?
It has also a section between the old and new testaments called Deuteronomy and Apocrypha, should I skip those?
That one is decent. I do think however that i sense a bit of sarcasm in this post, I could be wrong. Having said that, the apocry[ha aka the deuteronocanicals are catholic books of the Bible. Some adhere to them, and most here to do not.
As far as translations..many here like the ESV(not my fav),the amplified(I recommend),the NASB,HSCB,NRSV,NKJV,KJV(fundamentalists love this,and only this), I have also peeked into the Expanded Bible,and its quite similar to the Amplified so i would recommend this for a translation as well.
I have a "Today's English Version" bible, is that one good enough? I hope so because it's the only one I got. It has also a section between the old and new testaments called Deuteronomy and Apocrypha, should I skip those?
It has also a section between the old and new testaments called Deuteronomy and Apocrypha, should I skip those?
So stick with the King James Version. BibleGateway has it available to peruse while you are online.
BibleGateway.com: Search for a Bible passage in 60 languages and 160 versions.
What Today's English Version are you using? I do not see that version listed at BibleGateway.
If it is not listed, then print out these three references for me to compare with the KJV. 1 Peter 4:19 & 2 Corinthians 3:6 & Romans 8:26-27 so that with His help as my Good Shepherd, I can see the difference. You can too with His help in knowing the real message given.
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lol implying a bible written under the orders of a king and written in a way to reflect positively on englands church and form of government is that greatest version of the word of God. All you KJV onlyists can preach your little 'this is the only bible' but its just lies. Most bibles are fine. Its not like one bible vs another is going to destroy your chance of salvation
Youre better off picking a bible you can easily understand and not listening to those hear telling you that you need to have a certain version.
Youre better off picking a bible you can easily understand and not listening to those hear telling you that you need to have a certain version.
I have a "Today's English Version" bible, is that one good enough? I hope so because it's the only one I got. It has also a section between the old and new testaments called Deuteronomy and Apocrypha, should I skip those?
It has also a section between the old and new testaments called Deuteronomy and Apocrypha, should I skip those?
Bottom line is: as long as you are seeking out to know God personally period then God who knows this will reveal himself through his Son Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost that you are sealed with the day of your first belief Ephesians 1:13
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise
Homwardbound
Ok, the King James Version is great, and does have it's perks, but it can be hard to get through for some people. (Good to have one for reference though.) I used to be a KJV-Onlyist, though now I'm more of a Tyndale-Onlyist, haha.
What you are searching for to use generally depends on your background. The most popular ones, as noted above, seem to be the KJV, NIV, ESV, NASV, NRSV, and the NKJV. Two versions I like to recommend are the 1901 ASV, and Rotherham's Emphasized Bible.
As a note though, the KJV wasn't 'translated' from cover to cover - it was a revision of the 1568 Bishop's Bible and the Geneva Bible, with lots of reference to other older/contemporary versions.
What you are searching for to use generally depends on your background. The most popular ones, as noted above, seem to be the KJV, NIV, ESV, NASV, NRSV, and the NKJV. Two versions I like to recommend are the 1901 ASV, and Rotherham's Emphasized Bible.
As a note though, the KJV wasn't 'translated' from cover to cover - it was a revision of the 1568 Bishop's Bible and the Geneva Bible, with lots of reference to other older/contemporary versions.
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N
That's not being very careful Nautilus... The King James is not perfect, the Strong's numbers are keyed to it, that makes it best. Whatever Bible you read in; English, is not its native language. Paul spoke many languages and that's just one reason he was used. In your case, your not asked to learn all that, because most of the work has been done for you. But you are expected to use caution .
I know about very important truths in the Bible that have been fumbled up in new translations. I'm not talking minor ones that you might have heard about. I'm talking End time events , etc. Worse case , your alive when those events go down, it would be a shame if God was pulling one direction, and Christians ended up pulling against Him. It can happen Nautilus, And Christ gave very serious warnings about it.
All because some one deceived another. Christ warned of it, it was His main warning . Beware of people coming in His name, claiming to be Christian. (Mark13)
Rapture; for example. Because of a English only attitude. People ; Christians, easily over read what that chapter is talking about. It's serious. I'm not just for the King James, I'm for people understanding the Hebrew and Greek the Bible was translated from. And its important. Study to show thyself approved as the Bible says it.
Most of the hard work has been done already, get a Strong's concordance and a Companion Bible by Bullinger and take it from there.
If your waiting for God to impart the meaning for words in the Greek into your head your going to have a long wait. God wants Christian that will work at it. Just like the Apostles did, just like He stated in the scripture. If not , its going to be to the shame of Christians. That's written. The world is now set for it.
I know about very important truths in the Bible that have been fumbled up in new translations. I'm not talking minor ones that you might have heard about. I'm talking End time events , etc. Worse case , your alive when those events go down, it would be a shame if God was pulling one direction, and Christians ended up pulling against Him. It can happen Nautilus, And Christ gave very serious warnings about it.
All because some one deceived another. Christ warned of it, it was His main warning . Beware of people coming in His name, claiming to be Christian. (Mark13)
Rapture; for example. Because of a English only attitude. People ; Christians, easily over read what that chapter is talking about. It's serious. I'm not just for the King James, I'm for people understanding the Hebrew and Greek the Bible was translated from. And its important. Study to show thyself approved as the Bible says it.
Most of the hard work has been done already, get a Strong's concordance and a Companion Bible by Bullinger and take it from there.
If your waiting for God to impart the meaning for words in the Greek into your head your going to have a long wait. God wants Christian that will work at it. Just like the Apostles did, just like He stated in the scripture. If not , its going to be to the shame of Christians. That's written. The world is now set for it.
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M
I would recommend, NKJV, ESV or HSCB, very good translations which still relate to the original manuscripts however are much easier on modern day christians' way of spoken English, however, KJV is always a good reference bible, but unless your into victorian english, then you will struggle with reading it (I personally get a headache and get frustrated trying to understand the KJV), The amplified is good for study, which helps delve into the original greek, and perhaps a Message or NIV tranlsation, only, and i mean only, if you do not understand a passage in the nkjv/kjv bible, they put it into a very nice way thats very easy to understand, however I would not call it a strong enough translation to base study upon. But as others have stated above, its bot the translation it is your heart as a believer, and God will show you to a good translation and lead you into all truth
I would give pause to that as it is not the whole story. That is just scratching the surface when it is the source documents that is the basis for which modern Bibles today should be rejected because source documents were not keeping to His words.
Source of the King James Bible
Granted, the Tyndale Bible & the Geneva Bible was of that same source documents from which the KJV was derived from, but the KJV translators had kept to the message for believers to continue as His disciples whereas the modern Bibles could not because the source documents were from an area where gnosticism & poetic licensing was known as it was at Alexandria.
Source of the King James Bible
Granted, the Tyndale Bible & the Geneva Bible was of that same source documents from which the KJV was derived from, but the KJV translators had kept to the message for believers to continue as His disciples whereas the modern Bibles could not because the source documents were from an area where gnosticism & poetic licensing was known as it was at Alexandria.
B
First let me say that regardless of which translation/version you use it is good simply because you are reading the Word of God. That said, the only bible that is universally considered both infallable and inerrant is the autographed originals which have been lost to time. This does not mean that the bibles we use today are false or teach falsely just that they are not the originals. Personally as a Bishop I would never stick with a single translation or version. Every translation/version has its issues, most being that they do not have a lexicon (concordance) attached to them in the manner that the KJV does. However, Strong's has developed an NIV concordance.
The Bibles I personally own are, KJV (both reformed and catholic edition), Geneva (which predates the KJV) NIV, NASB, Green's Interlinear Bible, The Message and The Living Bible (both paraphased) and the NLT. To me there is something about holding a real Bible in my hands. The Care in which I handle it. The joy of turning the pages. The smell of fine paper or onion leaf, and of course the ability to mark it up.
When I am doing sermon preparation or creating a new Sunday school syllabus or creating a Bible study lesson I tend to electronic Bibles. For these I recommend for the beginner: biblegateway.com, for the intermediate: biblos.com for the advanced: a paid for Bible software like from Logos. I also recommend bookmarking the Strong concordance site. For very advanced students of the Word I would recommend greattreasures.org. This is for interlinear study of the original languages of the Bible.
To be honest I have never seen or heard of the translation/version you currently have. As to how "good" it is I simply can not say. Keep in mind that different translations or about form and not function. That is, they concentrate on "putting the cookie jar on a lower shelf". There goal is to make the Bible easier to read and understand in the current language be it English, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and so on. On this site we are predominately English speakers and readers and therefore we generally only know the English translations/versions.
Remember though, reading your Bible, regardless of translation/version is only part of the process. You must also meditate on what you have read as well as to communicate to the Lord for understanding of what you have read. Then you must also share what you have read and with great discernment, which comes from the Lord and not from us as it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, divide the truth when entering into fellowship with other followers of Christ that, in fellowship, you are not lead astray by false or simply incorrect interpretations of the Word of God.
Just a tip, I have always found it beneficial to read the Word as if I was still about 10 years old. The Bible is meant to be understood as it is written and children have a unique ability to read the Bible without adding to it, their own preconceptions. If you ever find yourself struggling with the Word of God, lead a Youth Sunday School Class and listen carefully to their understanding.
In Christ,
Bishop SEH
The Bibles I personally own are, KJV (both reformed and catholic edition), Geneva (which predates the KJV) NIV, NASB, Green's Interlinear Bible, The Message and The Living Bible (both paraphased) and the NLT. To me there is something about holding a real Bible in my hands. The Care in which I handle it. The joy of turning the pages. The smell of fine paper or onion leaf, and of course the ability to mark it up.
When I am doing sermon preparation or creating a new Sunday school syllabus or creating a Bible study lesson I tend to electronic Bibles. For these I recommend for the beginner: biblegateway.com, for the intermediate: biblos.com for the advanced: a paid for Bible software like from Logos. I also recommend bookmarking the Strong concordance site. For very advanced students of the Word I would recommend greattreasures.org. This is for interlinear study of the original languages of the Bible.
To be honest I have never seen or heard of the translation/version you currently have. As to how "good" it is I simply can not say. Keep in mind that different translations or about form and not function. That is, they concentrate on "putting the cookie jar on a lower shelf". There goal is to make the Bible easier to read and understand in the current language be it English, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and so on. On this site we are predominately English speakers and readers and therefore we generally only know the English translations/versions.
Remember though, reading your Bible, regardless of translation/version is only part of the process. You must also meditate on what you have read as well as to communicate to the Lord for understanding of what you have read. Then you must also share what you have read and with great discernment, which comes from the Lord and not from us as it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, divide the truth when entering into fellowship with other followers of Christ that, in fellowship, you are not lead astray by false or simply incorrect interpretations of the Word of God.
Just a tip, I have always found it beneficial to read the Word as if I was still about 10 years old. The Bible is meant to be understood as it is written and children have a unique ability to read the Bible without adding to it, their own preconceptions. If you ever find yourself struggling with the Word of God, lead a Youth Sunday School Class and listen carefully to their understanding.
In Christ,
Bishop SEH
R
lately i have really been liking the new american standard bible...it is literal but readable...and it has some useful features... like the king james version and the new king james version it has italics to show where english words were inserted by the translator to make it intelligible in english...the NASB also has a star anywhere that a greek verb was in the present tense in the original text but was changed to past tense in english for the sake of consistency...
i really like to read the gospels in the NKJV...that translation just did a wonderful job with the gospels...
i like the new international version too...it is very accurate and pretty easy to understand...though i think the 2011 revision of the NIV is not really a net improvement over the 1984 edition...it has gotten better in some places but weaker in other places...
the new living translation is even easier to understand...it is very pleasant to read...
the holman christian standard bible is another good one...it is slightly more literal than the NIV...
i think it would be helpful to pair a more literal translation like the NASB or NKJV with a more paraphrased translation like the NLT or NIV or HCSB...the one can clarify the other if you are uncertain about anything...
i am not really a fan of the english standard version...mainly i just feel that the ESV translators frequently chose sentence structures that i find irritating...
the KJV is very useful if you want to do word studies...the classic word study resources like strong's concordance and thayer's lexicon are keyed to the KJV...making it easy to look things up... however i wouldn't really recommend the KJV for basic reading since the language can be misleadingly archaic...
aside from cult bibles that i am not even going to mention...the only bible version i really don't like is the message...mainly because i see numerous new age and occult references in it... also for me the translator's attempt at 'contemporary' english often just comes off as elementary school writing that has been overloaded with cliches...
one new bible translation with some very interesting translation values...which i think is ahead of its time...is the new english translation or NET bible... the NET bible is available online...it is completely free with no real copyright...and all of the textual and translation decisions are discussed in many many footnotes...
i really like to read the gospels in the NKJV...that translation just did a wonderful job with the gospels...
i like the new international version too...it is very accurate and pretty easy to understand...though i think the 2011 revision of the NIV is not really a net improvement over the 1984 edition...it has gotten better in some places but weaker in other places...
the new living translation is even easier to understand...it is very pleasant to read...
the holman christian standard bible is another good one...it is slightly more literal than the NIV...
i think it would be helpful to pair a more literal translation like the NASB or NKJV with a more paraphrased translation like the NLT or NIV or HCSB...the one can clarify the other if you are uncertain about anything...
i am not really a fan of the english standard version...mainly i just feel that the ESV translators frequently chose sentence structures that i find irritating...
the KJV is very useful if you want to do word studies...the classic word study resources like strong's concordance and thayer's lexicon are keyed to the KJV...making it easy to look things up... however i wouldn't really recommend the KJV for basic reading since the language can be misleadingly archaic...
aside from cult bibles that i am not even going to mention...the only bible version i really don't like is the message...mainly because i see numerous new age and occult references in it... also for me the translator's attempt at 'contemporary' english often just comes off as elementary school writing that has been overloaded with cliches...
one new bible translation with some very interesting translation values...which i think is ahead of its time...is the new english translation or NET bible... the NET bible is available online...it is completely free with no real copyright...and all of the textual and translation decisions are discussed in many many footnotes...
C
Peter 4:19 So then, those who suffer because it is God's will for them, should by their good actions trust themselves completely to their Creator, who always keeps his promise. [Same as Good News Translation, I just checked] Corinthians 3:6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow. [Same as Good News Translation, I just checked] Romans 8:26-27 In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express. And God, who sees into our hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is; because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will. [seemingly identical to Good News Translation, word for word] So I guess the Bible I have is known as Good News Translation. The book is titled "Good News Bible" but at the bottom it says "Today's English Version" so I thought that was the official designation. But anyway it's Good News Translation according to BibleGateway, abbreviated as GNT. That's the bible I have apparently. How does it stack up against the great KJV?
I tend to try to cross reference all of them and look into important root words and such.
If I am confused as to what something means, there is a version called 'the Message', which explains the concepts in more up to date English. But I just use this as a rough guide and still tend to look deeper and cross reference. Though for the most part it's a pretty good interpretation.
I think it also depends on what you are going to hear at that moment you are reading. Sometimes I look back at things and it 'clicks', perhaps in parts I considered to be not as important as others. So I learnt two things about reading the bible;
1. It's best not to look at anything in a verse and chapter context, and instead look at it at least in a 'whole book' aspect, if not a 'whole bible' aspect. Draw reference to other parts which also talk about the same subject matter of the part you are currently reading. Because then the concepts make more sense. The bible for me is a perspective read. It needs taken in absolute context.
2. Every part of it is equally important to understanding.
If I am confused as to what something means, there is a version called 'the Message', which explains the concepts in more up to date English. But I just use this as a rough guide and still tend to look deeper and cross reference. Though for the most part it's a pretty good interpretation.
I think it also depends on what you are going to hear at that moment you are reading. Sometimes I look back at things and it 'clicks', perhaps in parts I considered to be not as important as others. So I learnt two things about reading the bible;
1. It's best not to look at anything in a verse and chapter context, and instead look at it at least in a 'whole book' aspect, if not a 'whole bible' aspect. Draw reference to other parts which also talk about the same subject matter of the part you are currently reading. Because then the concepts make more sense. The bible for me is a perspective read. It needs taken in absolute context.
2. Every part of it is equally important to understanding.
B
I don't really prefer any Bible but the King James version personally. Of course, it's pretty hard to read and understand at first - so I glance through the newer versions to get a clearer idea of what's being said within the King James version. I came to this decision due to one verse. The King James version had One extra word it in the verse that made a BIG difference (to Me) that the newer version had taken out. Ever since I noticed that, I no longer take the newer versions of the Bible at heart.
The thing about the KJV is the old language. Concepts that people would have understood back then get taken more at face value and become flat when people read it nowadays.
Reading the KJV is a little like someone who speaks Hebrew reading Acts in Aramaic.
'Oh I see! So Jesus lifted up dirt and slapped it on a guy's face!!'
'He took the mud of the Earth, (the wordly material by which the man grew), and rubbed it in the man's eyes (showed it plainly to him) and the man saw (he came to realization)'
Removing stumbling blocks and opening eyes. The great teacher.
Kinda hard to decipher without the study of concepts though.
Reading the KJV is a little like someone who speaks Hebrew reading Acts in Aramaic.
'Oh I see! So Jesus lifted up dirt and slapped it on a guy's face!!'
'He took the mud of the Earth, (the wordly material by which the man grew), and rubbed it in the man's eyes (showed it plainly to him) and the man saw (he came to realization)'
Removing stumbling blocks and opening eyes. The great teacher.
Kinda hard to decipher without the study of concepts though.
The words used could be threshing floor and wheat and tares, but in reality it means 'a place of refinement and seperation', along with 'good work' and 'bad work'.
Similarly 'God is like a burning flame' can mean to one person 'He is a burning literal bush', or it can mean within context that he engulfs and burns up what work is not built on proper surface.
Lots of concepts. And a lot of the bible loses it's meaning and becomes a story full of strange language if a person doesn't get the foreknowledge. The Old Testament is full of these things. The bible is a lot of work sometimes lol.
Similarly 'God is like a burning flame' can mean to one person 'He is a burning literal bush', or it can mean within context that he engulfs and burns up what work is not built on proper surface.
Lots of concepts. And a lot of the bible loses it's meaning and becomes a story full of strange language if a person doesn't get the foreknowledge. The Old Testament is full of these things. The bible is a lot of work sometimes lol.