Which Bible is the Best??

So, Mark decides to go to a men’s group that meets at the golf course before work on Friday
mornings. It is an inspirational
meeting that encourages men to be more spiritual, in a Christian way. He likes it so much, it becomes one of
his favorite weekly activities. The
references to the Bible have really been intriguing and so Mark decides
he
wants his own Bible. Heading to the nearest Christian bookstore one day, he
walks in to find the Bible shelf totally overwhelming! There
are so many different
translations . . . how would he ever choose a Bible, and how would he
know that
he got the right one?

‘I’d like to get my husband a Bible for Father’s Day,’ the woman said, ‘would you
recommend
one?’ ‘There’s that cute little
gal down the street getting married soon . . . I could get her and her
new
husband a Bible with their names imprinted on the front, which one
should I
get?’ ‘Christine, my nephew, who
has everything, is graduating from high school, and heading to college,
I’d
like to get him a Bible…which one?’
Yep, they called me to ask which Bibles should be purchased.

And then the question arises, which translation is the best one? I can give you an ironclad answer to that: The
translation that is the best is the
one that you will be the most compelled to read. People
can actually get quite indignant with their positions
on this matter, for instance: ‘A
pastor tried to introduce a revised version of the Bible to his rigidly
conservative congregation. “So
what’s wrong with the King
James Version?” said one woman in defense. “In my opinion, if it was good enough for Jesus, it’s
good
enough for us!” Of course, the
amusing irony is that Jesus obviously did not speak the Old English of
the King
James Version—actually Jesus didn’t speak English at all!’ Remember the Old Testament was written
in Hebrew, the New Testament
in Greek.
So, all of the Bibles we hold in our hands are translations from
those.

Why are there so many translations? Dr. Lewis Foster, who helped translate the New International Version and the New King
James Version said this, “It is necessary to continue making new
translations
and revising old ones if people are to read the Word of God in their
contemporary languages. With the
passage of time, words change in meaning . . . to keep the translation
of God’s
Word living, it must be kept in the living language the people are
using.”

While the subject can indeed be overwhelming, it is helpful to know this about the various
versions of the Bible—some
have been translated word for word from the
Hebrew/Greek à New
American Standard Bible; others have been translated thought
for thought
à New Living
Translation, phrase for
phrase à NIV, etc. “The Message” and the “Living Bible”
(including “The Way”
and that old green Bible from the 70s that I love) are paraphrases.

The next question is, ‘Well, Christine, which one do you use?’ I don’t . . . I use many. I often cite the NIV,
since so many folks are used to that,
and it is very readable. It really
depends on my purpose—am I reading Scripture for study and writing, or
for personal
inspiration? In either of these
cases, I profit greatly from having the study notes on the same page,
like the
Life Application Bible does, and the NIV Study Bible. (In
my writing, though, I use several different
commentaries--from old preachers, new theologians, and Bible translators. There are Bibles with explanatory notes
or devotionals geared toward leaders, mothers, wives, men, women, teens,
spirit-filled people, and those who want archaeological notes to
accompany the
text of Scripture, and many more.
Find one that suits you, and your season in life.

Am I taking it to church with me? Then, I like to use the one my church uses, and I may not wish to carry a big thick
study
Bible. Am I sharing a verse with
someone? Maybe, if I memorized
it. Honestly, my best chance of
sharing a verse comes from my memory; so then, it just depends on what
version/translation I memorized. Memorizing
Scripture verses that are inspirational is key to being able to
encourage other
people; you usually aren’t going to be able to run to your car to
find your
Bible and locate the inspiring
words—the moment will be lost. When I was
in high school, I memorized
all of James chapter 1, from the Living Bible, so when I recall verses
from
that amazing chapter, my mind still sees those inspiring, and
easy-to-understand words.

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of God stands forever.”
(Isaiah 40.7) So, just get a Bible, and
make it yours. Read it, underline or highlight in
it,
write notes (with dates) in the margin.
Which Bible is the best?
The one you will devour.

Christine