Which version of the Bible should I read?

Описание: Let me start off by saying that in my mind, as I started this channel, I had a really logical flow of how I was going to pose and answer different sets of commonly asked questions…starting with things I’ve considered myself like..why would anyone even WANT a God to exist and the capability of the human mind to justify just about anything. I didn’t even think I would get a question from anyone besides my mom for weeks, and here I am with 17 in the first week. So, I’m gonna get back to my own questions to myself later and start with one from psilent1 on youtube.
Q: Which Bible should you use and why?
A: The simplest answer is that you should pick up the version of the Bible that you’ll read. If you’re just starting your journey and trying to discover the major themes of the Bible, and what kind of person Jesus was, you’ll need something readable to break into the story.

You MAY run into some Christians who will tell you its KING JAMES Version ONLY. Now King James it is a lovely translation but unless you’re a british lit major it can be extremely daunting and even distracting to stumble through the thees and thous! Here’s the thing about that. The Old English Style Bibles are now commonly agreed upon to be less accurate to what the bible writers were saying. King James did the best he could but if he were to step into the 2000’s with the available resources, he’d be as accurate and as readable as possible and it would be very different than his 1611 version.

Something to realize as you pick your first bible…nearly all the teams working on mainstream bibles are concerned with both accuracy and readability…although some may emphasize one slightly over the other. In looking at translations,t here’s the sliding scale…on one side of the scale, you have:

1. Word for Word translations: Just like it sounds, greek and Hebrew scholars aim to hew as closely as possible to the wording and grammatical structure of the original text. these translations seek accuracy first, but still has to make choices between several word that may or may not really represent the original intent and may sound a little quaint. A word for word that’s a little easier is the English Standard Version and I read the New King James Version most frequently.
2. Thought for thought translations: Thought-for-thought translations focus more on the complete meaning of the different phrases in the original texts and then translate that into something a bit more modern.
A great choice for thought to thought translation is the New Revised Standard Version, which has gotten the broadest support from Academia and is fairly readable. I also love The Message Bible which is supremely readable but has quite a bit of literary critique.

Final answer is that A Bible that’s not getting read is not useful, no matter how accurate it may be.There might be a time where you’re more worried about why translators made which choices and if they valued clarity or exact word match, but for now, don’t stress. If you’re just getting started in checking out the Bible, get online and compare a few verses in maybe the New King James, The English Standard Version, the New Revised Standard Version and also pick up The Message Bible for fun. Get into some of the stories and see what you can learn!

Until your next questions,
Joy and peace for your journey!

Email: [email protected]

Resources…
https://www.mardel.com/bibletranslati...

Versions to compare: King James, New King James, English Standard Version
New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, The Message Bible