I bought a new Bible last weekend

[Anonymous]

I’ve been reading from the same quad set of scriptures since I started seminary at 14. I’ve been wanting a new set of scriptures for a few years, ones that I could mark up however I like without the influence of youth seminary and Sunday School lessons. And especially this year, some Come Follow Me podcasts (I don’t bother with the manual) have made me realize that there’s actually some interesting stuff in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and maybe I shouldn’t just ignore everything that isn’t Psalms and Proverbs.

After some internet searches I decided to buy the New Standard American Bible because of its emphasis on studying original texts with recent scholarship on the ancient languages they were written in, as well as being more readable than the King James Version. First impressions: Without the Bible Dictionary and Topical Guide at the back, I realized for the first time just how much bigger the Old Testament is than the New. Quotes from Jesus in the Four Gospels are printed in dark red ink, which is interesting. And I’m excited to read it! I don’t know if I’ve ever been this excited to read scriptures.

Do you read other translations of the Bible? What were your experiences like with them?

[Anonymous]

I do read other editions, and I have studied the OT (really, really). In retirement I plan to delve into the OT even a little deeper. Frankly I don’t think church classes do justice to the OT and skips some really good stuff because it doesn’t exactly fit the narrative. I’ll leave it at that except to say one really can’t understand the NT without understanding the OT (and almost everything Jesus said in the NT is either a direct quote or reference to the OT).

My favorite other version is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and especially the Oxford Annotated Study Bible. I also use online resources to compare different translations of the same passage (mostly https://www.biblegateway.com/” class=”bbcode_url”>https://www.biblegateway.com/ and https://biblehub.com/” class=”bbcode_url”>https://biblehub.com/). I find the different perspectives, while often only slightly different at most, give me greater understanding and depth. When using the church versions I skip the little introductory/summary sections at the beginning of the chapters – they’re somebody else’s understanding (often overly focused on church narrative and rhetoric), not mine.

[Anonymous]

My wife and I started reading The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary by Robert Alter during our Come, Follow Me studies. Alter’s commentary sheds light both on the literary aspects of the Bible as well as on cultural/linguistic aspects. He will also usually provide explanations as to why his translations differ from those found in other versions (KJV, etc.).

Another Bible that I like to use (even though it is KJV just like the Church’s Bibles) is my Masonic Heirloom Bible (which is also a red-letter Bible, just as yours is) since it has notes in the back that one would not find in the Church’s study helps.

[Anonymous]

I tend to use whatever bible version that I have handy and have not undertaken an in depth effort.

I was fascinated by some of the extra history behind the compiling and transcribing of the Bible that gives us the KJV and now these updated versions. Most of what I know, I gleaned from “Misquoting Jesus” which is admittedly only a cursory introduction. https://forum.staylds.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1507&hilit=misquoting+jesus

I love hearing some of the OT stories through the lens of different faith traditions. I do not believe that they are necessarily more accurate than my own traditions. I just love to see how the same stories can be interpreted so many different ways and that, to me, adds to the beauty.

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