Preferred Bible Version

[Haruo]

There are no inexpensive Esperanto Bibles these days. But the 1926 text should be in the public domain, so if one wanted to one could.

[Chris]

While browsing thru the various English translation found at Biblegateway.com, I discovered The Voice. I really like it. I am going to use it, this week, along with William F. Beck translation for Acts 8: 26-40. I read this story in 7 or 8 bibles tonight, and The Voice is the only one that offers some clarification as to why the Ethiopian asked if there was anything to prevent him from being baptized. In a footnote (within the scripture), it says "possibly a reference to the Jewish prohibition of full participation in temple worship by men who have been castrated----a prohibition he likely encounters in this very visit to Jerusalem." I will share this with y class because they have probably never heard that before. I had not.

[James]

I use the RSV/NRSV almost exclusively for study and devotional reading. I do not carry a Bible to church. It is hard to keep track of a Bible when I sing in the choir. Instead, I have a church Bible (NRSV) which stays in my Sunday School class. I use several other versions for reference. I have a Criswell study Bible and a Liberty (Falwell) Study Bible which I use when I want to review what fundamentalists say about the Bible. I use the Message when studying Paul. In the Message, Paul almost makes sense.

I received my first RSV from my home church. It was the complete Bible and just published, but I have also had a KJV from an early age. I always took my KJV to Florida for my long summer visits to my mother's family. My RSV would have caused a way at Knight's Missionary Baptist Church.

For the Pentateuch, I prefer the Schocken Bible/Commentary. It is proclaimed the most accurate translation ever. At least it translated Gen 1:1 correctly.

[James]

Several month's ago I spent a Sunday afternoon on Barns and Noble web site counting the number of Bible translations currently available in English. I think I remember coming up with a total of 64.

[Haruo]

We went to St. Vinnie's yesterday looking primarily for a hospital shower chair for our bathtub. They didn't have one, but of course we gravitated towards the used book section, and came away with eight plus a 99¢ bookcase. Among the items I almost bought but in the end did not were an NASB ("Text Edition"; I'd rather have one with annotations) and an NKJV (I've never owned an NKJV whole Bible, unless one slipped in disguised as Gideon; but I have had lots of copies of the Serenity Bible, back in the early '90s, which was an NKJV NT/Psalms/Proverbs annotated with 12-steppers in mind. I was not terribly fond of the translation. Definitely not an improvement over a good 18th-century proofreading of King James.

Just for the record, what we did come away with included:

• Jesus Christ Superstar libretto w/ musical excerpts
• Readings for the Daily Office from the Early Church, J. Robert Wright
• The New First Mass Book, 1970; only 69¢!
• The People's Anglican Missal in the American Edition, 1946
• J. S. Bsch: His Life and Times, Tim Dowley
• The Bird Feeder Book: An Easy Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Understanding Your Feeder Birds, Donald and Lillian Stokes
• The Gay and Lesbian Literary Companion, Sharon Malinowski and Christa Brelin; Malcolm Boyd, Consulting Editor
• Some book on gardening that Mrs H absconded with before I could note title

[Rvaughn]

One type of study Bible I have often thought of purchasing (but have failed to up to this point) is a Chronological Study Bible. Anyone own or use one of those?

[Haruo]

Historicity isn't of primary importance to me, but sometimes vantage points other than one's customary ones can come in handy in broadening one's vision or providing new things to look at, so a Chronological Study Bible might not do me any harm; a Bible where the texts were given in the order of composition might be enlightening, too, though of course there's even more disagreement about that than about the order of the events recounted (and whether they even have any historical reality, viz. Jonah).

[Rvaughn]

Yes, I can see that could be problematic, and even a downside of a chronological study bible that could create confusion. Will we go by the historical timeline of the events or the historical timeline of the writing? Whose historical timeline will be accepted or rejected? Lots of leeway there. Still, I have thought it would be interesting to read the Bible through that way.

[Chris]

In the Message, Paul almost makes sense.

[Stephen Fox]

Ive read Adam Nicholson's God's Secretaries and KJV is the best music. What maybe 5 percent of the world's readers are curious enough to appreciate or make insight from other versions, so it ends up just being some kind of church parlor game.

KJV was good for Paul and Silas and its good enough for me

[Sandy]

While browsing thru the various English translation found at Biblegateway.com, I discovered The Voice. I really like it. I am going to use it, this week, along with William F. Beck translation for Acts 8: 26-40. I read this story in 7 or 8 bibles tonight, and The Voice is the only one that offers some clarification as to why the Ethiopian asked if there was anything to prevent him from being baptized. In a footnote (within the scripture), it says "possibly a reference to the Jewish prohibition of full participation in temple worship by men who have been castrated----a prohibition he likely encounters in this very visit to Jerusalem." I will share this with y class because they have probably never heard that before. I had not.

I really like The Voice, particularly the style in which it is rendered. There is a lot of the kind of clarification you mention, and explanation of the various use of terms, phrases, and idioms that don't translate smoothly into English. It's a translation aimed at putting the ability to do deep study of the scripture into the hands of people in the pews.

[Chris]

I really like The Voice, particularly the style in which it is rendered.

It lends itself easily to dramatic presentation. I was asked to do Wednesday night Bible Study, one week in 2016. I chose the story of Cain and Abel. The way The Voice is written, it was easily to do as a drama. I needed someone to play God, Eve, Cain, and Abel. (maybe Abel didnt have any lines). I had trouble finding a volunteer to "play God." A WOMAN VOLUNTEERED after no man would do it! We had a lot of fun with that. The guy who played Cain, is an "old Hippie", who took some liberties with the script. I wish I had recorded it.

[Rvaughn]

...William F. Beck translation...

Chris, what is the William F. Beck translation? Any samples of it online?

Thanks.

[Chris]

...William F. Beck translation...

Chris, what is the William F. Beck translation? Any samples of it online?

Thanks.

I watched a Billy Graham crusade on TV in the middle 1960s. People who mailed in a donation were sent a paperback 4-parallel-translations New Testament, which included side-by-side 1. KJV; 2. New American Standard Bible (1963); 3. The New Testament in the Language of the People, by Charles B. Williams (1937); 4. The New Testament in the Language of Today (Dr. Wm. F. Beck (1964). Here are some quotes from the preface: "Every word in these and other fine manuscripts was carefully checked to make this an accurate New Testament. And what is the language of the papyri? When Matthew, John, Paul, and others wrote the New Testament which language did they use? Not the Hebrew of the Old Testament. Not the classical Greek of Aristotle and Plato. Not the literary Greek of the first century. But the everyday Greek of the people of Jesus' day. ....If Jesus came to our home today, how would he talk? Just as we talk to one another. The Beck Bible is my go to version when I am teaching a difficult-to-understand SS lesson.
The cover has fallen off,a couple times, and I have "repaired" it. I have no idea if this is still available in print or on-line. I treasure my copy. I think his footnotes are very good. Example ---Luke 23:34 "Papyrus 75 and some other old manuscripts omit this First Word from the Cross." I hope you can find a copy.

[Rvaughn]

Thanks, Chris. Interesting account of how you got it. I had not heard of this one. I searched the title and found it on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Testament-Language-Today/dp/B0028BX2A4