Since the time of Martin Luther (1500's) the Bible has been translated into the language of the readers. Basically, there are two different types of translations: word for word, and phrase for phrase. The word for word translations try to take each Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) word and provide the English equivelant. This type of Bible is great for in depth study, but sometimes the ideas can get a bit fogged up in the peculiarity of the words and the sentence structure. Two good word for word translations are the NRSV and the NIV. The NRSV is the version from which we read at worship.
Phrase by phrase translations are meant to be a smoother read, but the thing one needs to be aware of is that the translation will take on the theological perspective of the translators. The TEV (Today's English Version) is a good paraphrase. Since this adventure of daily reading is meant to be more of a journey through the Bible and not a in depth study, I have decided to read a paraphrase called The Message.
Whatever version of the Bible you choose, the most important step is to choose one and read it!
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8 comments:
I am looking forward to the journey through the OT. One can usually get more out of a journey knowing that someone is taking it with you. I will be reading from the NIV Life Applications Bible. The Life Applications version gives tremendous aids and references as you encounter questions as you read the bible. These aids are helpful when you encounter unfamiliar terms from OT times such as ephod, urim, and thummim which will surface in Exodus and Leviticus. The numerous character profiles are another feature I enjoy in this bible version. The Life Application comments do a great job amking the OT have very relevant applications for TODAY!
What versions are others using?
For a quick survey of how Bible translations compare, check HERE or HERE.
I have been using the Life Application Study Bible (NASB) for the past 10 years. I have found it to be the accurate language to the original text. I also like the indepth analysis it gives on almost every verse. The maps are helpful as well and I need all the help I can get and maps make it easier for me to put everything in context. I am very exicted about this and am looking forward to going through the OT. Thank you for doing this pastor jerry.
Glad to see people blogging! MGVH (the guy with his picture) is my longtime friend - we go back to our days together at the University of Illinois, and we were seminary roomates - Mark Hoffman. Mark is a Biblical professor at the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg. Thanks Mark for the info!
We will be using mostly the Concordia Self-Study Bible (NIV) but also have The Zondervan NIV Study Bible and the Zondervan (NIV) Family Bible in our home. We also have the MacArthur New Testament Commentary, but I don't know how much that will help us with the old testament! :) If anyone is interested in looking at different version on the internet biblegateway.com has several available!
I have a variety of translations. I probably will primarily use the Word in Life Study Bible NKJV. As it has a lot of the extra's rjq mentioned. So you don't have to put it down to grab something else to find a meaning or explanation.
I will be using the Ryrie Study Bible- New American Standard. I like the study notes that go along with the text. I hope I can keep up with this journey and I know that since I have 'signed on the dotted line' that I am committed and will have all of you to help urge me to keep up!
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