Bible verses

[humanbn]

Do you think we need them? Originally bible verses were not in Scriptures, and I find that they actually hinder people.

I'd like to get some opinions on this. I got a Bible also from The Bible Without Verses and Chapters which is a Bible with no chapters or verses. I read some this morning in Mark from it and discovered some really cool things I never saw before.

Like John paving the path for Jesus. Johns path was repentance. Jesus came to bring Spirit. So repentance paved the path for the Spirit. Anyways, got that from reading things in context without bible verses in the way.

 

[hedrick]

It's hard to talk about the text without them. Translations shouldn't be so concerned about verse boundaries that it biases their translation (and generally they aren't). The NEB compromised: they put verse number in the margin.

Many editions make them unobtrusive enough that they shouldn't affect the reading experience much. I certainly would not approve of the editions that set each verse as a separate paragraph.

But good luck having a discussion with someone else about the text without having verse numbers available.

Verse numbers are more of an issue for very free translations. Some rearrange the order enough that it's hard to give precise boundaries. Those translations can be very useful for getting a general understanding of the text. That sounds like what you're talking about. I just wouldn't use it as my primary bible for doing serious exegesis.

You're certainly right that some of Jesus' message overlapped John's: repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. I would encourage you to look a bit further to see what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of God, and what he meant by the Gospel.

 

[miamited]

Hi humanbn,

I agree, and there are actually downloads you can get with the Scriptures not broken up in such a manner. It does facilitate finding places where things are written in the Scriptures when studying particular topics or discussions with others, but I think that for general reading on our own, we should strive to use the Scriptures without these additions.

It has a tendency to make us consider in our mind and in our understanding that ideas and thoughts and intentions of what the writer was trying to convey to their original audience, is more broken up than it actually is. Many verse, and even some chapter designations, break in the very middle of a continued thought that is being conveyed, but cause us today to think that there is some sort of separation.

I believe that if we use the Scriptures with these added designations that we must be very careful and mindful that we don't allow these additions to be subtractions from the wisdom of the Scriptures. We so often pull out a single verse or two that are so divided by the this modern separating mechanism and make an entire theology around what that single verse says without giving any consideration to the whole of what the writer was writing. It can be very dangerous and lead to some really wild theological understandings.

I was listening to a teacher just yesterday who was reading the Proverbs where it speaks of the young man and the immoral woman. He mentioned that a lot of folks get all excited that the writer seems to be focusing on the immorality of women and giving no heed whatsoever to the same sin among men. He said, "Listen, you have to look at and understand what this writer was trying to accomplish. He is writing these Proverbs down to his son. Because he is warning his son of the sexual dangers that abound he logically speaks of the wayward woman. He continues and says that if the writer had been writing to his daughter, then the subject would probably have been a warning of men in the world who would seduce her and draw her into infidelity and sexual sin.

So, here is a somewhat good example of our not reading and understanding the whole intention of what the writer is trying to convey and the whole of his writing that causes us to stumble in our understanding today. But, there are actually even much more dangerous examples to be found. I find it especially troubling in the books of the prophets.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

 

[miamited]

It's hard to talk about the text without them.

And yet, it was done for hundreds of years. All through the days of the old covenant the Scriptures were studied and discussed without any such breaks. Daniel was given great insight into the writings of Jeremiah without them. He was actually one of the most blessed of God's prophets because of his understanding of the Scriptures, even though there were no such separations.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted