Church in the home Wednesday evenings 2011_0209 Reading the bible

Church in the home Wednesday evenings 2011_0209

Author: Neil J Bourke,
20 Feb 2011


Reading the bible:

How, Where, When, and for how long.!

Many in the bible World will say that a christian believer should read their bible every day for say 15 minutes and also have seasons of more intensified study for for say several hours .

The question arises, “what bible should one read”?

One Bible that has dominated the Christian landscape since it’s first appearance in 1611 until modern times has been the King James Version or otherwise known as the Authorised version. This version has undergone many changes since 1611, but still retain it’s old World feel, with many defunct words according to our modern day usage of the English language. Nevertheless…..

“The Authorized Version maintained its effective dominance throughout the first half of the 20th Century. New translations in the second half of the 20th Century displaced its 250 years of dominance (roughly 1700 to 1950),[99] but groups do exist – sometimes termed the King James Only movement – that distrust anything not in agreement with ("that changes") the Authorized Version.[100]”


Quote from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorized_King_James_Version#CITEREFDaniell2003

Over the course of the 18th Century, the Authorized Version supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the standard version of scripture for English speaking scholars and divines, and indeed came to be regarded by some as an inspired text in itself – so much so that any challenge to its readings or textual base came to be regarded by many as an assault on Holy Scripture.[84]

Source: Daniell, David (2003). The Bible in English: its history and influence. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300099304

In the meantime there are many different versions of the bible, translated into many languages and dialects. We must remember that the original God-breathed word, was given in Hebrew, Aramaic, and many of the bible texts have been translated from Greek. It is unavoidable that words will change some words will become defunct, some new words will come into being, other words will change their meaning over the years, so that without a continual study of the bible no genuine God seeking person will be able to be blessed with the knowledge of God.

Quotes made from the older English translations and versions are peppered with all those thee’s and thou’s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English

Personal pronouns in Early Modern English

Nominative Objective Genitive Possessive
1st Person singular I me my / mine[# 1]
mine
plural we us Our ours
2nd Person singular informal thou thee thy / thine[# 1]
thine
plural or formal singular ye you Your yours
3rd Person singular he / she / it him / her / it his / her / his (it)[# 2]
his / hers / his[# 2]

plural they them Their theirs






http://books.google.nl/books?id=sYs8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PR10&lpg=PR10&dq=w.w+skeat+the+cambridge+companion+to+the+bible&source=bl&ots=3XgcjKShtW&sig=pGrF-2VXdUJCMBO3vGS1bWWb1hc&hl=ga&ei=Q5tZTavZFYmaOvm5-LoF&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Reverend Professor W.W. Skeat (21 November 1835 – 1912) wrote a fine work on a Glossary of bible words, with explanations and illustrations. In a small Kings James version of the bible I have in my posession since 1980, I have a short glossary of the bible words that have changed their meaning over the years
Here are a few examples
Anon = immediately, at once, but today we read this idiomatically as “ever and anon, now and then; occasionally”, ref. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anon

Outlandish = foreign in the bible, but according to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/outlandish it means freakishly or grotesquely strange or odd, as appearance, dress, objects, ideas, or practices; bizarre: outlandish clothes; outlandish questions

Prevent = to go or come before in the KJV bible , but according to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prevent it means to keep from occurring; avert; hinder: He intervened to prevent bloodshed.


J. Schoenhiet of Spirit & Truth Fellowship has a short 10 minuter Youtube presentation on the topic of selecting a bible to read and study. See link below.
http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1406#choosing
Video teaching: Choosing a Bible Version to Read


If we examine one verse of scripture translated 5 different ways we will see major differences..

Philippians 2: 5

NIV (New international version)
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus

NASB (new American standard version)
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

MSG (The Message )
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. (The author does not hold to the oft heard teaching that Jesus Christ is God)

Amplified bible
Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]

Common English Bible (CEB)
Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus

REV (Revised English Bible) http://www.stfonline.org/pdf/rev/philippians.pdf
Have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus

KJV (Kings James version)
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus

Form this simple exercise is very clear that translators make all kinds of efforts to try to help the reader of the bible understand the scriptures.

What is clear for one person may not be clear for another. Personally the KJV has for me the most powerful delivery on this verse. However other verses in the KJV on other topics may be less clear.

Let us examine another verse.

Romans 5:15
New International Version, ©2010 (NIV)
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!


New American Standard Bible (NASB)
15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of (A)the one (B)the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by (C)the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

The Message (MSG)
15 Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man's sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God's gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There's no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence.

New Living Translation (NLT)
15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.

REV (Revised English Bible) http://www.stfonline.org/pdf/rev/philippians.pdf
15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if many died through the one man’s transgression, much more surely did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to many.

New English Bible (NEB)
15 But God's act of grace is out of all proportion to is Adam's wrongdoing. For if the wrongdoing of that one man brought death upon so many, its effect is vastly exceeded by the grace of God and the gift that came to so many by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ

King James Version (KJV)
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many

The KJV gives this verse in a rather cryptic way for me. The NEB is for me in this verse the one which I read with the most clarity.

Important is that the bible must be readable and understandable to the one reading, and that the reader has a connection with the words, translated from some other language though they may be, God is able to inspire and reveal Himself to any genuine seeking person.

Of course a life long study of the bible with Hebrew, Aramiac and Greek studies, syntax , historical references, astronomical studies, figures of speech and much more can embellish ones understanding. However not all will be so deeply involved in such activities, and yet a readable bible is a valuable tool and instrument of power for the Christian today, and believers of all times and ages.
Get a bible that you like, cherish it, learn it off by heart, makes notes in it, place bookmarks at passages that you want to re-read. Become familiar with where the verse is on the actual page of the bible, and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,


http://www.truthortradition.com/

http://www.stfonline.org/resources/index.html

http://www.biblicalunitarian.com/