What Bible is best?

praisehimalleluia · #1 20th August 2009, 10:49 AM

what version of the Bible is best to read for new christians?

Bouke285 · #2 20th August 2009, 12:38 PM

It doesn't matter all that much, find a Bible that you like to read. As long as you trust in God to guide you through you will end up OK =D. There may be some translation differences, but all of God's Bibles are God's word, God breathed and God's word is worthy of total faith.

Webers_Home · #3 20th August 2009, 10:15 PM

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When it comes to English translations, there really is no one best version; and that's for two valid reasons.

1) The original Old Testament manuscripts in Hebrew, and the original New Testament manuscripts in Greek; no longer exist. What does exist are assumed copies of the originals— though not carbon copies. What I mean is: some of those copies are hand-written copies of copies, with scribal revisions thrown in for good measure.

2) Languages are ambiguous; viz: many words in Greek and Hebrew have more than one meaning as well as more than one application. Conversely, many words in English have more than one meaning too, as well as more than one application; subsequently no translator on earth can guarantee that the words they choose for English versions accurately represent the words in the copied manuscripts; subsequently, they cannot guarantee that the words they choose accurately represent the original words.

When you combine those three problems— copying + ambiguity + scribal revisions—the stage is set for errors no matter how conscientious a translator might be.

Because of those three problems, I don't confine myself to just one English translation; but rather, refer to nine: The 1917 JPS Tanakh, the 1985 JPS Tanakh, the Stone Tanach, the King James Version, the New King James Version, the New International Version, the New American Standard Version, the New American Bible, and the New Living Translation.

I also refer to the lexicons of a Strong's Concordance when I'm really curious about the precise meaning of a word. But even so, the Strong's lexicons are just dictionaries whose definitions themselves are oftentimes ambiguous just the same as Webster's is oftentimes ambiguous. So then, all I can say is: Caveat Lector.

C.L.I.F.F.
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texastig · #4 21st August 2009, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by praisehimalleluia

what version of the Bible is best to read for new christians?

Any Bible based on the Majority Text like the KJV. The newer Bibles which are older (which older doesn't mean they are better) leave out Lucifer.

Thanks,
TT

epistemaniac · #5 21st August 2009, 02:25 PM

get the ESV Study Bible.. ESV Study Bible - Christianbook.com
it has excellent study notes... also, there are some great articles on various matters of theological importance which will help you to understand the scriptures and theology better... if I could have only 1 bible, this one would be it...

it is a good literal translation, and that is, IMHO, what you ought to get, a literal translation versus a paraphrase....

in any case, bibles are relatively inexpensive, you can get "gift versions" of many different translations that are really inexpensive so that you can have different versions to compare to one another...

"study bibles" are more expensive however, and you might want to research the issues more carefully if you want to buy a mopre expensive bible..

also, there is a free online book you can download which will help you with the issues of biblical translation, and selecting a good English version of the bible, go to The Word of God in English by Leland Ryken

lastly, as a general precautionary statement, when someone says not to get this or that version because a certain word is not found in it, which may be found in another version, like the KJV for instance, sometimes people forget that the question is: should the word even be found in the translation you are comparing another translation to? In other words, suppose that a certain translation uses the word "Lucifer". Now should other versions be faulted for not using that word, simply because another English translation does in fact use it? Well, no. That is to presuppose that the translation that does use the word is the standard by which other translations ought to be measured. But why think this? The question is, should that word have ever been used in the first place that we should then compare other versions to it? I do not want to turn this into a "version war" thread, I am however hoping that when comparing various translations you realize that it is and can be a complicated matter, and that the occurrence of a certain word, or if that word does not appear in a particular translation, should not be the deciding factor in whether a particular translation should or should not be used.

blessings,
ken

TexasGirl06 · #6 22nd August 2009, 01:50 AM

Originally Posted by praisehimalleluia

what version of the Bible is best to read for new christians?

I would recommend an NIV Bible, that is also a Study Bible.
A study Bible will have lots of notes, explaining a lot of the verses.

John MacArthur has a great Study Bible.

BobW188 · #7 22nd August 2009, 02:03 AM

I would suggest the Life Application Study Bible. It is available in several translations including NIV, New King James and King James. (I'd avoid this last as a starter Bible unless you are really familiar with Sixteenth Century English.)

Bouke285 · #8 22nd August 2009, 02:21 AM

Originally Posted by epistemaniac

get the ESV Study Bible.. ESV Study Bible - Christianbook.com
it has excellent study notes... also, there are some great articles on various matters of theological importance which will help you to understand the scriptures and theology better... if I could have only 1 bible, this one would be it...

it is a good literal translation, and that is, IMHO, what you ought to get, a literal translation versus a paraphrase....

in any case, bibles are relatively inexpensive, you can get "gift versions" of many different translations that are really inexpensive so that you can have different versions to compare to one another...

"study bibles" are more expensive however, and you might want to research the issues more carefully if you want to buy a mopre expensive bible..

also, there is a free online book you can download which will help you with the issues of biblical translation, and selecting a good English version of the bible, go to The Word of God in English by Leland Ryken

lastly, as a general precautionary statement, when someone says not to get this or that version because a certain word is not found in it, which may be found in another version, like the KJV for instance, sometimes people forget that the question is: should the word even be found in the translation you are comparing another translation to? In other words, suppose that a certain translation uses the word "Lucifer". Now should other versions be faulted for not using that word, simply because another English translation does in fact use it? Well, no. That is to presuppose that the translation that does use the word is the standard by which other translations ought to be measured. But why think this? The question is, should that word have ever been used in the first place that we should then compare other versions to it? I do not want to turn this into a "version war" thread, I am however hoping that when comparing various translations you realize that it is and can be a complicated matter, and that the occurrence of a certain word, or if that word does not appear in a particular translation, should not be the deciding factor in whether a particular translation should or should not be used.

blessings,
ken

I agree with you, either learn Hebrew and Greek, or pray constantly while reading, for understanding. One thing to keep in mind, however some of the translations such as KJV, NKJV and others (I only really use the NKJV for actual reading.) are translated directly from the original Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew so you can't say that they decided to add this because of a different English translation. It all depends on what type you like to read, more poetic or more natural (book) style. In the end if you put your trust and faith fully in God you can not go wrong.

Webers_Home · #9 22nd August 2009, 10:52 AM

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It's a well-known political axiom that if you repeat a lie often enough, and widely enough; anon the public will accept it as true. For example: the racial label that the media pinned on the new US President. They say he is "African American" and they also say he is America's first "Black President". (chuckle) He isn't. Mr. Barack Hussein Obama is neither African nor Black: he's mulatto; which is a genetic hybrid of Black and Caucasian. The term mulatto is apparently no longer acceptable in polite circles. The politically correct term nowadays is Multi Racial; which I have yet to see the media use to label the new US President.

Anyway, a common rumor out and about is that the Roman Catholic church produced the Bible. Nothing could be further from reality. We all owe it to ourselves and to our children to educate ourselves as to the origin of the Bible so we don't perpetuate falsehoods about the Bible like that one.

For the curious as to the origin of the Bible, I highly recommend the little book below.

How We Got The Bible
By Neil R. Lightfoot
ISBN-10: 1-56731-722-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-56731-722-0

It's a small book, approximately 5½ x 8½ of 224 pages counting the index and the notes. The font is roughly Courier New size 11 which is large enough to be easily read by most folks.

C.L.I.F.F.
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Skilletdude · #10 23rd August 2009, 11:15 AM

What Bible is best is based on personal preference IMO. I cannot stand the KJV for serious reading. Some people die by it. I have an ESV, NKJ, NIV, and HCSB... If you want my opinion on what I think is the best, I would have to go with the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). Before that I really liked the NIV but HCSB is better IMO. It reads nicer and flows better than the NIV IMO.

For a good study bible... Well there isn't really a good HCSB study bible but The Quest (NIV) is excellent for the new Christian or curious. It answers a lot of questions I've always had or wanted to ask but never had anyone around to ask. Lots of notes. It's great.

For just reading, I like the Lightspeed Bible (HCSB). It's big print and has a system that helps you read the bible really fast and comprehending everything. Supposedly you can read the whole bible in 24 hours. I'm still adjusting to reading that fast but I really like it. Big print, underlined passages to draw your eyes too, and lots of headings so you can browse quicker (it's all part of it's "speed reading" system)

NKJV is meh IMO and ESV I only skimmed through. But HCSB is excellent in the way it reads and flows for the new Christian and the NIV Quest Bible is an excellent question/answer study bible.

So those are my picks