How I read the Bible

pescador · Jun 4, 2020

My native language is 20th-21st Century English. I learned to speak and understand the language when I was a baby and learned to read at a very early age. Since language is a form of communication it is very important that I clearly understand what is said or written. That ability doesn't change change when I read the Bible.

I leave the art and science of Bible translation to those committees of scholars who have, in almost all cases, devoted their lives to understanding the ancient languages -- both content and meaning -- and converting them into the language that is native to me for my entire life. That is no easy task for several reasons...

1) There is no "original" Bible. The Bibles that we have have been compiled from thousands of years of Hebrew, Aramaic, and koine Greek writings, both religious and not, most of which are a) not complete and b) not always in agreement.

2) Because of the historic and cultural differences, there is rarely, if ever, a direct correspondence between the source documents and modern English. Not only do words have different meanings in context, but there are verb tenses and idioms that have no parallel in English. We don't live or speak the way the ancient people lived and thought, so the art of the translators is to interpret what was written to make sense in our minds.

3) It is bizarre to me that some think the art of translation stopped 400+ years ago and that the King James Version is the Word of God. (This also applies to other old versions). Again, we don't live or speak the way the people lived and thought centuries ago. I want a translation that means in my mind what it meant to the ancient people. Putting an intermediate step makes that process even harder.

If there is inevitably some difficulty in translating the ancient texts and conveying their meaning, then I want good explanatory notes to accompany the text. My goal is to understand what the early text said and meant, with as little difficulty as possible.

4) I have little tolerance for people who, without real qualification, tell me what the Bible really means, as though they have some secret understanding that I lack. That is just egotistical nonsense. If I have need for understanding I leave that up to the Holy Spirit to reveal that to me, not some self-appointed "expert".

Before I sit down to read the Bible (daily), I always pray for understanding and for my mind to be cleared of any and all thoughts that might interfere with my comprehension. I also generally read part of a separate book giving me the history and background of what I'm about to read. I don't want my understanding to be entirely subjective; I want to understand the culture and the writer's intentions before I begin reading the Scripture. My favorite book about this is "How to Read the Bible Book by Book: a Guided Tour" by Douglas Stuart and Gordon Fee. I also read the introductions to each Bible book written by the translators and then pay attention to the explanatory footnotes that accompany the text.

I try to read the Bible at least 30 minutes daily; with COVID-19 isolation I generally read for at least an hour (that is in addition to introductory information and explanatory notes).

I am not reading to try to prove to others that I know more than they do, or that I have some secret insight, a fault that I find all too common on this forum. I am depending on the Holy Spirit to reveal to me what I should know and understand, not some unqualified "amateur".

BTW, my most used translation is the New English Translation (NET), version 2.1 Not only is it a great balance between formal and functional equivalence, but there are approximately 60,000 translators' notes that assist me in understanding both the text difficulties and the meaning of passages that are difficult for those of us who live and think in today's culture. I also like the NIV -- specifically the very informative First Century Study Bible edition -- the NRSV, and the Geneva Bible (1599 edition) with its explanatory notes (that were removed by the KJV translators).

I would be interested to know how you read the Bible, along with the reasons that you do so.

Anthony2019 · Jun 4, 2020

I use the New Revised Standard Version and the Good News Translation. The first is the one that is used in the prayer books and lectionaries and I find it helpful for studying and getting to know the text. The second (GNT) has a much more contemporary easy reading format.
With my housegroup, we usually pick a theme or a book of the Bible and study it chapter by chapter that way.
On my own, I use the Daily Office/Prayer Book and a lectionary which has set readings to follow. That way I get to read chapters of the Bible I am less familiar with.
At other times, I just like picking up the Bible and reading for the sake of reading it!

Athanasius377 · Jun 4, 2020

Anthony2019 said:
I use the New Revised Standard Version and the Good News Translation. The first is the one that is used in the prayer books and lectionaries and I find it helpful for studying and getting to know the text. The second (GNT) has a much more contemporary easy reading format.
With my housegroup, we usually pick a theme or a book of the Bible and study it chapter by chapter that way.
On my own, I use the Daily Office/Prayer Book and a lectionary which has set readings to follow. That way I get to read chapters of the Bible I am less familiar with.
At other times, I just like picking up the Bible and reading for the sake of reading it!

Which prayer book? The CofE 1662?

Athanasius377 · Jun 4, 2020

pescador said:
My native language is 20th-21st Century English. I learned to speak and understand the language when I was a baby and learned to read at a very early age. Since language is a form of communication it is very important that I clearly understand what is said or written. That ability doesn't change change when I read the Bible.

I leave the art and science of Bible translation to those committees of scholars who have, in almost all cases, devoted their lives to understanding the ancient languages -- both content and meaning -- and converting them into the language that is native to me for my entire life. That is no easy task for several reasons...

1) There is no "original" Bible. The Bibles that we have have been compiled from thousands of years of Hebrew, Aramaic, and koine Greek writings, both religious and not, most of which are a) not complete and b) not always in agreement.

2) Because of the historic and cultural differences, there is rarely, if ever, a direct correspondence between the source documents and modern English. Not only do words have different meanings in context, but there are verb tenses and idioms that have no parallel in English. We don't live or speak the way the ancient people lived and thought, so the art of the translators is to interpret what was written to make sense in our minds.

3) It is bizarre to me that some think the art of translation stopped 400+ years ago and that the King James Version is the Word of God. (This also applies to other old versions). Again, we don't live or speak the way the people lived and thought centuries ago. I want a translation that means in my mind what it meant to the ancient people. Putting an intermediate step makes that process even harder.

If there is inevitably some difficulty in translating the ancient texts and conveying their meaning, then I want good explanatory notes to accompany the text. My goal is to understand what the early text said and meant, with as little difficulty as possible.

4) I have little tolerance for people who, without real qualification, tell me what the Bible really means, as though they have some secret understanding that I lack. That is just egotistical nonsense. If I have need for understanding I leave that up to the Holy Spirit to reveal that to me, not some self-appointed "expert".

Before I sit down to read the Bible (daily), I always pray for understanding and for my mind to be cleared of any and all thoughts that might interfere with my comprehension. I also generally read part of a separate book giving me the history and background of what I'm about to read. I don't want my understanding to be entirely subjective; I want to understand the culture and the writer's intentions before I begin reading the Scripture. My favorite book about this is "How to Read the Bible Book by Book: a Guided Tour" by Douglas Stuart and Gordon Fee. I also read the introductions to each Bible book written by the translators and then pay attention to the explanatory footnotes that accompany the text.

I try to read the Bible at least 30 minutes daily; with COVID-19 isolation I generally read for at least an hour (that is in addition to introductory information and explanatory notes).

I am not reading to try to prove to others that I know more than they do, or that I have some secret insight, a fault that I find all too common on this forum. I am depending on the Holy Spirit to reveal to me what I should know and understand, not some unqualified "amateur".

BTW, my most used translation is the New English Translation (NET), version 2.1 Not only is it a great balance between formal and functional equivalence, but there are approximately 60,000 translators' notes that assist me in understanding both the text difficulties and the meaning of passages that are difficult for those of us who live and think in today's culture. I also like the NIV -- specifically the very informative First Century Study Bible edition -- the NRSV, and the Geneva Bible (1599 edition) with its explanatory notes (that were removed by the KJV translators).

I would be interested to know how you read the Bible, along with the reasons that you do so.

Good post. If you read the NET faithfully and do what you are doing you will become fluent in scripture which means more than trying to make sense of if an archaic translation. As a teacher I have a problem when someone needs to translate a translation. That’s a waste of time. And you are right about the NET’s notes. They are helpful. The NET isn’t my favored translation but then again no translation is perfect. Yet I have never come across passage in the NET where I objected to the translation or thought the issues wasn’t cleared up by the foot notes.

I prefer the ESV personally. The NASB is a close second and in fact a lot of times they are in virtual agreement. Another one that seems to do a great job is the CSB. I don’t have much experience the CSB but what I have seen has largely been excellent and sometimes a better translation. When I taught catechism I purchased the ESV study bible published by Crossway by the case to give to my class. It’s not really a study bible but rather a bible with a commentary smashed together in one volume. It’s rather large but in my opinion the best one volume solution in order to do what you are already doing. That said if you were in my catechism class I would not object to your using the NET.

I am encouraged by the seriousness you take God's word and will take that anyway over someone who has an ESV but never reads it.

pescador · Jun 4, 2020

Athanasius377 said:
Good post. If you read the NET faithfully and do what you are doing you will become fluent in scripture which means more than trying to make sense of if an archaic translation. As a teacher I have a problem when someone needs to translate a translation. That’s a waste of time. And you are right about the NET’s notes. They are helpful. The NET isn’t my favored translation but then again no translation is perfect. Yet I have never come across passage in the NET where I objected to the translation or thought the issues wasn’t cleared up by the foot notes.

I prefer the ESV personally. The NASB is a close second and in fact a lot of times they are in virtual agreement. Another one that seems to do a great job is the CSB. I don’t have much experience the CSB but what I have seen has largely been excellent and sometimes a better translation. When I taught catechism I purchased the ESV study bible published by Crossway by the case to give to my class. It’s not really a study bible but rather a bible with a commentary smashed together in one volume. It’s rather large but in my opinion the best one volume solution in order to do what you are already doing. That said if you were in my catechism class I would not object to your using the NET.

I am encouraged by the seriousness you take God's word and will take that anyway over someone who has an ESV but never reads it.

Interesting post! Thanks for your comments.

Anthony2019 · Jun 4, 2020

Athanasius377 said:
Which prayer book? The CofE 1662?

I use both the BCP and Common Worship.

pescador · Jun 4, 2020

Athanasius377 said:
Good post. If you read the NET faithfully and do what you are doing you will become fluent in scripture which means more than trying to make sense of if an archaic translation. As a teacher I have a problem when someone needs to translate a translation. That’s a waste of time. And you are right about the NET’s notes. They are helpful. The NET isn’t my favored translation but then again no translation is perfect. Yet I have never come across passage in the NET where I objected to the translation or thought the issues wasn’t cleared up by the foot notes.

I prefer the ESV personally. The NASB is a close second and in fact a lot of times they are in virtual agreement. Another one that seems to do a great job is the CSB. I don’t have much experience the CSB but what I have seen has largely been excellent and sometimes a better translation. When I taught catechism I purchased the ESV study bible published by Crossway by the case to give to my class. It’s not really a study bible but rather a bible with a commentary smashed together in one volume. It’s rather large but in my opinion the best one volume solution in order to do what you are already doing. That said if you were in my catechism class I would not object to your using the NET.

I am encouraged by the seriousness you take God's word and will take that anyway over someone who has an ESV but never reads it.

I just bought the ESV Study Bible from Amazon. I had to pay attention to the physical size as small Bibles, particularly study Bibles, can be hard on my old eyes.

Thanks for the recommendation!

Noxot · Jun 4, 2020

I prefer a literal translation as is possible. The word references the word and patterns can be found, a hidden wisdom which the rulers of this world know nothing about. As much as I can I depend on the mind of Christ that is daily renewed in the spirit, rather than on so-called experts who seem to always muck-up certain verses. I think God lets us muck up things sometimes to Humble us and for us to realize that we must depend on him and without him we are just fools. so the translation of a parable of the vine where it says to "lift up" the vine is translated as "cut off". It is almost always the case. It makes God seem as if he immediately destroys us once we stumble, when in reality it is saying he lifts the vine off the ground and places it in a place where it can better attempt to flourish.

The translations are good enough most of the times and human craftiness is somewhat useful in trying to understand the Bible. But we must have the mind of Christ and partake of the wisdom from above in order to understand the Bible.

I think the only proper way to go about handling the Bible is the way which God chooses to give to us. He knows what is best for each and we will reap what we sow and will receive what we are capable of receiving. So it is important to try to receive from God as much as we can.

klutedavid · Jun 4, 2020

pescador said:
My native language is 20th-21st Century English. I learned to speak and understand the language when I was a baby and learned to read at a very early age. Since language is a form of communication it is very important that I clearly understand what is said or written. That ability doesn't change change when I read the Bible.

I leave the art and science of Bible translation to those committees of scholars who have, in almost all cases, devoted their lives to understanding the ancient languages -- both content and meaning -- and converting them into the language that is native to me for my entire life. That is no easy task for several reasons...

1) There is no "original" Bible. The Bibles that we have have been compiled from thousands of years of Hebrew, Aramaic, and koine Greek writings, both religious and not, most of which are a) not complete and b) not always in agreement.

2) Because of the historic and cultural differences, there is rarely, if ever, a direct correspondence between the source documents and modern English. Not only do words have different meanings in context, but there are verb tenses and idioms that have no parallel in English. We don't live or speak the way the ancient people lived and thought, so the art of the translators is to interpret what was written to make sense in our minds.

3) It is bizarre to me that some think the art of translation stopped 400+ years ago and that the King James Version is the Word of God. (This also applies to other old versions). Again, we don't live or speak the way the people lived and thought centuries ago. I want a translation that means in my mind what it meant to the ancient people. Putting an intermediate step makes that process even harder.

If there is inevitably some difficulty in translating the ancient texts and conveying their meaning, then I want good explanatory notes to accompany the text. My goal is to understand what the early text said and meant, with as little difficulty as possible.

4) I have little tolerance for people who, without real qualification, tell me what the Bible really means, as though they have some secret understanding that I lack. That is just egotistical nonsense. If I have need for understanding I leave that up to the Holy Spirit to reveal that to me, not some self-appointed "expert".

Before I sit down to read the Bible (daily), I always pray for understanding and for my mind to be cleared of any and all thoughts that might interfere with my comprehension. I also generally read part of a separate book giving me the history and background of what I'm about to read. I don't want my understanding to be entirely subjective; I want to understand the culture and the writer's intentions before I begin reading the Scripture. My favorite book about this is "How to Read the Bible Book by Book: a Guided Tour" by Douglas Stuart and Gordon Fee. I also read the introductions to each Bible book written by the translators and then pay attention to the explanatory footnotes that accompany the text.

I try to read the Bible at least 30 minutes daily; with COVID-19 isolation I generally read for at least an hour (that is in addition to introductory information and explanatory notes).

I am not reading to try to prove to others that I know more than they do, or that I have some secret insight, a fault that I find all too common on this forum. I am depending on the Holy Spirit to reveal to me what I should know and understand, not some unqualified "amateur".

BTW, my most used translation is the New English Translation (NET), version 2.1 Not only is it a great balance between formal and functional equivalence, but there are approximately 60,000 translators' notes that assist me in understanding both the text difficulties and the meaning of passages that are difficult for those of us who live and think in today's culture. I also like the NIV -- specifically the very informative First Century Study Bible edition -- the NRSV, and the Geneva Bible (1599 edition) with its explanatory notes (that were removed by the KJV translators).

I would be interested to know how you read the Bible, along with the reasons that you do so.

Agreed with everything you said. On the one hand, the yoke and burden of Jesus is light and easy. Also, the real subject of all the scripture, the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. We nevertheless are faced with an enormous academic challenge.

In translating and even understanding the text, enormous debate and research is applied to the New Testament.

Every time I read the scripture, I forget all I know and seek the truth, the Christ. By doing this often, I have discovered that simple and powerful gospel of Jesus Christ. Without two thousand years of tradition, interpretation, and misunderstanding. Let go of everything and dive in the deep end.

Athanasius377 · Jun 4, 2020

Anthony2019 said:
I use both the BCP and Common Worship.

The 1662 is a gem. When I pray the psalms to this day it comes out BCP. There is so much our Lutheran Service Book took from the BCP. There was so much Cranmer got right.

pescador · Jun 4, 2020

Noxot said:
I prefer a literal translation as is possible. The word references the word and patterns can be found, a hidden wisdom which the rulers of this world know nothing about. As much as I can I depend on the mind of Christ that is daily renewed in the spirit, rather than on so-called experts who seem to always muck-up certain verses. I think God lets us muck up things sometimes to Humble us and for us to realize that we must depend on him and without him we are just fools. so the translation of a parable of the vine where it says to "lift up" the vine is translated as "cut off". It is almost always the case. It makes God seem as if he immediately destroys us once we stumble, when in reality it is saying he lifts the vine off the ground and places it in a place where it can better attempt to flourish.

The translations are good enough most of the times and human craftiness is somewhat useful in trying to understand the Bible. But we must have the mind of Christ and partake of the wisdom from above in order to understand the Bible.

I think the only proper way to go about handling the Bible is the way which God chooses to give to us. He knows what is best for each and we will reap what we sow and will receive what we are capable of receiving. So it is important to try to receive from God as much as we can.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Richard T · Jun 5, 2020

I use the free program wordsearch starter. I have several translations but prefer the KJV since it has the Strong's numbers that I can scroll over and get the Hebrew and Greek words and their meaning. It also can buy various commentaries to link with the bible on their e-reader. So if I do a deep dive into some scriptures, I use the program. If I want to be more casual, I also read a simple printed bible, with hopefully, no distractions.

GreekOrthodox · Jun 5, 2020

Athanasius377 said:
The 1662 is a gem. When I pray the psalms to this day it comes out BCP. There is so much our Lutheran Service Book took from the BCP. There was so much Cranmer got right.

Chuckles, I always joked that 1940 The Lutheran Hymnal was God's hymnal as I grew up LCMS

When I first started chanting I used TLH as my original model for singing until I learned the Greek tonal system. But even 18 years later, I could still do TLH out of memory

Athanasius377 · Jun 5, 2020

pescador said:
I just bought the ESV Study Bible from Amazon. I had to pay attention to the physical size as small Bibles, particularly study Bibles, can be hard on my old eyes.

Thanks for the recommendation!

With the purchase of the bible you are also given access to the online version. The bonus there is you can adjust the font to keep from getting squint eyed headaches. The version I have is small print in the notes but the text is such that I don't usually have a problem reading. I think you will be pleased with your purchase.

Noxot · Jun 5, 2020

pescador said:
I have no idea what you're talking about.

That's weird because I mentioned a lot of different parts of the Bible. When I'm on my computer I like to use a program called "the word". I always recommend it to anyone that is looking for a bible program for their computer.

1watchman · Jun 9, 2020

I value the KJV Bible, and especially use the Scofield Study KJV Bible, which gives me good understanding of word and meanings. It does not change the orig. wording, but gives commentaries utilizing Bible scholars and shows how a few words were not correct (as happens in all Bible versions --for man is not perfect).

How I read the Bible

Wise old man

Pax et bonum!

Is playing with his Tonka truck.

Is playing with his Tonka truck.

Wise old man

Pax et bonum!

Wise old man

anarchist personalist

Well-Known Member

Is playing with his Tonka truck.

Wise old man

Well-Known Member

Psalti Chrysostom

Is playing with his Tonka truck.

anarchist personalist

Overseer

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