The
Bible Is Useful!
by
Mark Mullins
Use
the following to go directly to key topics in this study:
What
is the Bible?
Types
of Literature in the Bible.
Old
Testament
New
Testament
Tips
on Reading for Relevance.
Commonly
Used English Translations.
Recommended
Reading.
What Is the Bible?
Spokane
Church of Christ is a group that strives to follow the Bible—both
as a church community and in our individual lives.
But what does it mean to follow the Bible? Many, many answers have been given to that question, and it
is a question you ultimately will have to answer for yourself—hopefully
in the context of your relationship with God.
In
this article, I will to try to help you think about this question.
I’m going to look at different models people have
used to answer it, and I am going to propose a model that I
believe fits well in this time and place, and is consistent
with what God intended scripture to be for us. I would love
to discuss these things further with you. Feel free to email me at
if you have questions or comments.
The
Bible’s Authority.
The
Bible is arguably the most influential book in world history.
It has shaped the cultures of western Europe and the
Americas in many ways—from our legal system to our form
of government to gradual moves toward human equality.
All of these trends can be traced back to people of faith
who wanted to apply biblical principles in life.
(For more on the Bible’s influence on human culture
and history, see the first chapter in Michael Armour’s
book A Newcomer’s Guide to the Bible.)
But
influence alone cannot measure something’s spiritual value.
We could all name something that has had enormous influence
on our culture, but which has no intrinsic spiritual value.
In fact, most of our culture spends its time absorbed
in these things, and many are beginning to realize how useless
they are in the grand scheme of things.
Along
with influence, the Bible has something that other influential
things do not have—it has authority.
What
is authority? Authority
is something that holds sway in a society or in a person’s
life. In our country, we are blessed that we have a system of law
and order that carries authority.
In some other nations, law does not carry authority.
In those places, the law is disregarded by a critical
mass of people in the society, making the law useless in creating
order in society.
Even
in our country, some laws are on the books but do not have authority.
The Texas constitution still reads that the number of
hitching posts at a county courthouse must be so many per thousand
residents. Yet
courthouses there do not have hitching posts at all.
In the 2000 election, citizens of Alabama voted to repeal
a law banning interracial marriages—a practice that had
been permitted for years despite this archaic law that was still
on the books.
Something
has authority when it is relevant to a society, and when it
is used by that society as a way to understand life and how
it should be lived. The
Bible, or any portion of the Bible, has authority in the church
only when the church sees its relevance and uses it in
its community life.
This
means that it is very important that we understand the relevance
of the Bible—all the Bible—in our lives.
If we do not find it useful, then it will not be authoritative
to us, and it will not shape our view of life.
Approaches
to Scripture.
Different
people have used the Bible in different ways.
One way to get a handle on these various approaches is
to compare them to various types of reference materials we might
use today.
Some
people use the Bible as a manual.
Those who have served in the military are familiar with
such books. A manual
is a book that contains rules and regulations that must be followed
given almost any imaginable situation.
When one is in doubt about how to behave in a particular
situation, one would consult the manual—but only the single
regulation that affects the situation in question. A manual is not good bedtime reading!
Some
people read the Bible that way.
It sits on the shelf until a dilemma comes up; then it
is pulled to find a verse to apply to a situation.
Believers should consult the Bible for guidance on how
to live, but the Bible teaches that faith goes far beyond mere
adherence to regulations.
People who use the Bible as a manual miss out on the
spiritual treasures to be found there.
Others
use the Bible as an almanac.
You have probably seen the World Almanac and Book
of Facts—and the last part of the title says it all!
Few people would sit down and read the World Almanac
cover to cover. Rather,
it is a reference book that is consulted when a person needs
a particular fact.
Some
see the Bible primarily as a collection of facts. Some people are fascinated by these facts; others are bored
to tears by them but feel an obligation to God to study them.
Certainly the Bible contains facts, and these facts are
beneficial to learn. But
if you read the Bible only for factual information, you are
missing out on most of the Bible’s benefit.
Some
people use the Bible much as a contractor would use a blueprint.
They look for exact specifications for how life is to
be lived and church is to be practiced. If they cannot find a place on the blueprint for a given activity,
they are hesitant to do anything at all.
Certainly
the Bible contains instructions about how to live our lives
faithfully before God.
But much of this guidance is general rather than specific.
For instance, the Bible teaches that marriage and celibacy
are both godly lifestyle choices, but it does not specify which
you should select or whom you should marry (if anyone).
Other
people use the Bible more as an artifact. They see the Bible’s main value as preserving historical
data and giving us information about the past.
Such people are fascinated with the historical details
of the Bible, but see little use for its spiritual dimensions.
The
story of the Bible takes place against the backdrop of human
history. Many historical
events are better preserved in scripture than anywhere else,
and secular historians make a mistake when they fail to take
the Bible seriously as a historical source.
Yet preserving historical facts is not the main purpose
of scripture.
Those
who experience this type of frustration with the Bible are probably
trying to use it as a manual, an almanac, a blueprint, or an
artifact. There’s
got to be a better way!
What
Does Scripture Say About Itself?
One
possible place to start is to look at what the Bible says about
itself. Of course,
it says very little specific about the leatherbound sets
of 66 books that we carry around today.
But a number of passages can help us understand the impact
of God’s words.
We
often refer to the Bible as “the Word of God.”
I fully believe that scripture is God’s message
to us. This terminology
is used about scripture in a number of Old Testament passages
(for example, Psalm 119, a song about the importance of scripture
in the writer’s life).
But there are at least two other “words” from
God that we see in scripture—the verbal word of God and
the life of Jesus. John
1:1-18 clearly presents Jesus as “the Word,” God’s
message to humankind.
Yet scripture is also the Word of God (Psalm 119:105). Look at the following passages:
Deuteronomy
8:3- Moses is talking to the people of Israel
about their long and arduous journey through the wilderness,
and points out God’s message is more important than physical
food.
Psalm
119- As mentioned, this is an entire poem about the benefits
of scripture in the writer’s life.
One often quoted verse is verse 105: “Your word
is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”
2
Timothy 3:11-16- Paul (who wrote this letter) is encouraging
his young friend Timothy, who is doing ministry in a very frustrating
situation, to remember the Old Testament scriptures he grew
up with, and to use them with authority.
I believe this is true of the New Testament as well.
Hebrews
4:12-13- The writer compares the Word of God to a two-edged
sword that pierces the heart of anyone who experiences it.
I believe this passage refers both to the Bible and to
Jesus Christ.
There
are many other passages that could be mentioned. Overall, biblical writers have a very high view of one another’s
writings, and quote one another regularly.
Likewise, Jewish and Christian congregations have had
a very high view of scripture’s authority from the beginning.
One sign of the Bible’s authority, in my opinion,
is its continued usefulness to believers, no matter where or
when they live.
Faith
Literature
This
brings me to my own definition of scripture.
I believe that more than anything else, it is faith
literature.
Scripture
is literature because it is written material that communicates
to human beings—which means that it had to be written by
humans in human language.
I believe that God directed the process, but in His wisdom
he had human beings write the books. We will speak more of this in a later session.
Scripture
is faith literature because it deals in spiritual matters.
Its purpose is not to be a science book or a history
book. Its purpose
is to bring us closer to God.
The biblical writers are communicating out of their faith,
and we read in order to develop and
strengthen
our own faith.
One
major reason that the Bible has remained useful, and thus authoritative,
throughout the years is that it is a repository of all sorts
of literature. The
Hebrew and Christian canons, known today as the Old and New
Testaments, were assembled with a wisdom that I believe could
only have come from God.
Within the pages of scripture are literally hundreds
of types of expression—which means that no matter what
your culture, your personality, your taste, something in scripture
will probably attract and compel you, and introduce you to God.
If
you have had any introductory Bible class, you probably learned
a category for each of the Bible’s books, which looked
something like this:
Books
of Moses: Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Books
of History: Joshua,
Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah,
Esther
Wisdom
and Devotional Literature:
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
Prophetic
Books: Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos,
Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah,
Malachi
Gospels
and Acts: Matthew,
Mark, Luke, John, Acts
Epistles
or Letters: Romans,
1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians,
1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James,
1-2 Peter, 1-2-3 John, Jude
Book
of Revelation
These
categories are a good start.
But within each of these books is a kaleidoscope of literary
types that distinguishes the Bible from the holy books of any
other religions. The authors of scripture felt every conceivable emotion as
they tried to relate to God.
Why
is it important to know what type of literature we are reading?
Well, we understand differences in other types of literature
and adjust our reading accordingly.
We read a newspaper article differently from a love note,
a poem differently from a legal document— because we understand
that these types of literature have different purposes.
A poem does not intend to convey the same type of information
that a Promissory Note conveys. This does not make one more or less “true” than another—they
just have different purposes.
The
same principle applies when we read scripture. We should read poetry differently from prose, teaching
differently from apocalyptic literature, lament differently
from praise. We
should be content to let each part of scripture speak to us
as it was intended to.
Narrative,
or storytelling, is the way the Bible depicts history.
It is found in Genesis and the historical sections of
Exodus and Numbers; in the Old Testament historical books; in
a few places in the prophetic books; and in the Gospels and
Acts.
Although
biblical narratives describe historical events, their main purpose
is not to give us historical detail—a record of the past. Their purpose, instead, is to show God’s work in history,
and His quest for a relationship with humankind.
For that reason, the things that are most important to
a historian are less important to the writers of biblical narrative;
but the spiritual truths of God’s intervention in human
history are paramount. The events of Jesus’ life are in a slightly different
sequence from one gospel to the next, and some of the small
details of those events differ; but the essence of Jesus’
life remains strong throughout all four gospels.
When
we read biblical narratives, I believe our focus should not
be on their ‘inerrancy’ or ‘historicity’—concepts
which are not contained in scripture.
Rather, I think we should place ourselves in the narrative
and compare the characters’ walk with God with our own.
This way, the Bible’s historical material can be
relevant for something more than our arguments with secular
humanists. It can
be relevant for our relationship with God.
Poetry
is found in the Psalms, and most of the wisdom and prophetic
literature is poetic in nature.
Small sections of the historical narratives are written
in poetry as well. Contemporary translations of the Bible place poetic material
in lines and stanzas, so it is easy to distinguish from prose.
We
should not read biblical poetry in the same way we read biblical
prose. Poetry communicates
truth in an incredibly powerful way, but in a less literal way
than with prose. This
does not make it less true; it is just truth communicated in
a different way. Without its poetic texts, the Bible would
have far less impact on people spiritually and emotionally.
Teaching,
or instruction, is found in the letters of the New Testament,
and each of the gospels also preserves teaching material from
the mouth of Jesus. The
book of Deuteronomy presents the law of Moses in more of a teaching
style, designed to help the new generation of Israelites to
understand why God gave them the gift of the law.
When
we read teaching material, we should realize who the intended
‘learners’ are, and how our lives differ from theirs.
Sometimes biblical teaching challenges cultural norms
of a given time, admonishing believers to live apart from the
world’s lifestyle.
At other times, the Bible counsels that people go along
with a society’s practice—even if it is not ideal—usually
because there are more important issues in that time and place.
In other words, biblical writers choose their battles
carefully.
For
example, biblical writers, to varying degrees, tolerate slavery
and the subjugation of women in their cultures—even though
these things clash with the general principles found in scripture.
Basically, they were choosing their battles. The church in that time could not change prevailing cultural
attitudes overnight, but they could focus on other, more immediate
issues. Yet scripture,
from beginning to end, is always one step ahead of culture in
calling for moves toward human equality.
So
in reading teaching material, we must remember who the learners
were. In the gospels,
it is good to notice which teachings are delivered privately
to the disciples and which were delivered publicly.
When we read the New Testament letters, we will understand
them much better if we know something of the situation they
were written to.
Legal
material is found in much of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.
This material takes two forms: statuatory law
and case law. Statuatory
laws are direct ordinances such as the Ten Commandments in Ex.
20:1-21. Case law
is new law that results from specific cases that have not been
directly addressed before, such as the case of the daughters
of Zelophehad in Num. 27:1-11. Old Testament case law functioned similarly to contemporary
case law, in which courts refer to past precedents in deciding
new cases.
Many
see little relevance for today in the legal material of the
Old Testament. Contemporary
Jews do not follow these laws precisely, and even the Pharisees
in Jesus’ day were legalistically obedient to only parts
of it. Many
of the regulations are as foreign to us as cave dwellings. Yet if we look at the principles upon which this law
was founded, we learn much about the nature of God.
Even
though Moses’ law seems very backward to us in many ways,
it was actually a big step forward compared with the laws of
surrounding cultures.
The famous law codes of Hammurabi were written around
the same time as the Law of Moses, yet they have much less concern
for the marginalized and the dispossessed than does Moses’
law. It shows us
that God met humankind where they were and helped them take
baby steps toward His ideal.
Wisdom
literature is found in the Old Testament books of Job, Proverbs,
and Ecclesiastes; and the New Testament book of James is patterned
in much the same way.
Wisdom literature originated in the Hebrew educational
system, and basically focuses on living one’s life successfully
before God. Each
wisdom book is distinctly different.
Proverbs is a compilation of short sayings which reflect
a simple view of life and how it should be lived.
These sayings were probably memorized by young pupils
in school. Ecclesiastes
and Job show the complexities of life, and demonstrate that
life cannot always be reduced to a set of sayings.
In
many ways, these two perspectives have a spirited dialogue with
one another, and each is true at its own level.
For us today, we should try to live by simple spiritual
principles such as those in Proverbs, while recognizing that
life is complex and will not always fit our categories.
When those times come, Job and Ecclesiastes can offer
real perspective.
The
Psalms were the worship book of the Jerusalem temple.
Inspired and begun by David, this collection was expanded
with additions from many libraries. While the rest of scripture contain words from God and
words about God, the Psalms are words of human beings
to God, and they reflect the full range of human emotion.
The Psalms include many types of poetry, including hymns
of praise, prayers of trust, songs of thanksgiving, wisdom poems
similar to the Proverbs, and laments.
Laments are the most common of the Psalm types, and were
commonly quoted in the New Testament; yet American Christians
rarely quote them because they are uncomfortably negative.
These poems were written in times of anger, depression,
and distress. Many
of them ask God to punish their enemies in very violent ways. Others question whether God cares about them, or whether He
is awake, or whether He is able to help them (see Psalms 22,
44, 102, and others).The Psalms encourage us to bring all
of our feelings before the throne of God.
Prophecy
is probably the least understood of all literary types in scripture.
Almost all of the prophetic material is poetic, yet some
read it as if it were a newspaper article.
The major role of the prophet is not to predict
the future, but to preach and admonish those who are already
believers. Prophets
were called by God to keep the other leaders in society—priests
and kings—in check.
They railed against injustice and called the Jewish nation
to repent on their knees before God. Centuries later, gospel writers saw that some of the prophets’
words were relevant to their time, and that in a special way
Jesus had fulfilled them.
But the prophets were concerned primarily with their
own time and its spiritual problems.
How
should we read the prophets?
I think it is impossible to understand a prophetic book
well without understanding the condition of Israel at that time.
This means a lot of background study in the historical
books of the Old Testament and other historical sources.
Once we see what the prophet is preaching against, we
can allow him to convict us of our hypocrisy, our lack
of compassion for the oppressed, our tolerance for injustice,
our moral and ethical failures, or a host of other sins in our
lives. That’s
the true value of this material.
The
Gospels are narratives, but have their own unique characteristics.
The four biblical gospels narrate the story of Jesus
from four different perspectives.
Some try to merge the four gospels into one sequential
account, but I think God provided four distinct perspectives
on Jesus for a good reason.
Matthew is symmetrical and focuses on Jesus’ teaching;
Mark is action-packed and focuses on His deeds; Luke is the
work of a careful historian and person of faith and focuses
on Jesus’ impact on society; John is more poetic and less
chronological in nature, and focuses on one-on-one encounters
between Jesus and individuals of all types.
The book of Acts is the second volume of Luke’s
gospel and focuses on the first 30 years of the church’s
existence after Jesus’ ascension.
These
narratives are obviously central to our faith, since they tell
the story of the One we believe to be God on earth—the
One after whom we want to pattern our lives.
Like all biblical books, we should read these accounts
in context. We
should ask ourselves how each teaching and event contributes
to the picture of Jesus being painted by this gospel.
And, we should see what Jesus’ perspectives were
toward the world of His day, so that we can try to discern how
He would have us live in today’s world.
The book of Acts depicts the power of the Holy Spirit
within the church of Jesus Christ, and demonstrates that all
spiritual growth comes from God.
Apocalyptic
literature is found in the book of Revelation and in parts
of Ezekiel and Daniel.
It is also found in a number of ancient Jewish and Christian
books outside the Bible. This is a special type of literature written by people facing
the worst kind of persecution, whose only hope was the mighty
and miraculous intervention of God in human history.
The language of the book of Revelation is figurative
and has been used to predict the sequence of events to take
place at the end time.
The only problem is that these writers are not clear
about the sequence, and frankly don’t care much about that
issue. Their desire
is for God to intervene to deal with the problem of evil in
the world— something that Revelation says will ultimately
happen.
1.
Read Biblical Passages in Their Context.
Many Christians tend to read the Bible one verse at a
time—a verse here, and a verse there. But the biblical books were written to be read in context.
Each of Paul’s letters was meant to be read straight
through in a single sitting.
Each Psalm was meant to be experienced in its entirety.
Each prophetic sermon is intended to be understood as
a whole. The biblical
writers did not intend for us to lift single verses or statements
out of their context.
To understand the truths the biblical writers are intending
to communicate, we must read scripture in context.
It will add richness to your experience of scripture.
2.
Read the Bible in Different Ways.
We can gain insight into scripture with many methods
of reading, and we will miss some dimensions of the text if
we limit ourselves to a single method.
We can gain much insight from systematic study, from
devotional reading, from meditating on the text, from group
reading and study, from reading the text along with commentaries
or devotional books, and many other methods.
3.
Read the Bible aloud.
Did you ever think of how biblical material was shared
in ancient times, when most people were illiterate?
It was read aloud, and all ancient literature is written
with oral reading in mind. I think that we should be reading scripture aloud—both
in our public gatherings and in our private study.
Reading a text aloud has unlocked its meaning for me
in several cases.
4.
Understand your own presuppositions and biases.
It is impossible for us as human beings to be fully objective—even
when we try to be. I
think it is a good exercise to try constantly to be aware of
the presuppositions you bring to the text.
Some of those presuppositions are good, such as the assumption
that the Bible is God’s message for us.
Other presuppositions can limit us from fully understanding
God’s message. The
main thing we can do is to try to be aware of what we bring
to the text—from our life experiences and core values.
5.
Read the Bible for content and for effect.
All good writers choose their words carefully in order
to convey not only information, but also impact.
I think this is especially true of biblical writers,
who bore the task of communicating God’s message to human
beings of their time.
I believe that the first readers and hearers of the biblical
books were deeply impacted by them, because they were written
in cultural language that they could understand.
The Bible can have similar effect on us today, but sometimes
we must ‘translate’ the cultural language to our place
and time. We must
remember that the Bible’s purpose is to change us as people,
not merely to inform us.
6.
Watch for literary devices.
The biblical writers used every tool at their disposal
to impact their readers.
We should watch for these literary devices as we read.
With biblical narratives, if we can understand such things
as the plot, characterization, and the role of the narrator—we
can see more of the dynamic that makes the text compelling,
generation after generation.
In poetic texts, watch for repetition of words and themes,
and watch textual notes for poetic devices such as acrostic.
If I’m sounding like your high school English teacher,
maybe it would be good to brush up on the concepts he or she
taught you, because they are helpful when reading any literature—including
the Bible.
7.
Read from different translations and paraphrases.
All English translations are prepared by human beings,
which means that none are perfect.
Reading from several translations can bring depth to
our biblical understanding, but sticking to a single translation
means you will be stuck with that translation’s weaknesses.
Paraphrases are not direct translations, but try to convey
the original meaning or effect of the text.
Often paraphrases will help us to see a text in an entirely
new way. See below
for my own perspectives on various translations and paraphrases
of the Bible.
On
a similar note, if you get a chance to study the original languages
of the Bible, Greek and Hebrew, I encourage you to do so. It will add tremendous depth to your experience of scripture.
It will also help you better to understand what scholars
say about various texts. One word of caution, however: studying Greek and Hebrew will
not be the magic key that unlocks all of scripture for you.
I have had six years of biblical languages at the undergraduate
and graduate levels, and I can truly say that the more I learned,
the more I realized I don’t know.
8.
Read a variety of secondary material.
This includes commentaries, devotional books, Christian
magazine articles, books on ancient history, and the like.
I think it is important to read what other people, from
a variety of perspectives, have to say about the text.
None of these materials will be perfect, but all will
broaden your perspective. Try occasionally to read authors with whom you think you will
disagree.
9.
Try to understand the text’s social setting.
The biblical books were written with the assumption that
a reader will understand the cultural setting they were written
in. Biblical writers
were writing for their own times—not for us in the 21st
century. We are
blessed today to have so many secondary materials that help
us to understand a book’s social setting.
Many study Bibles contain excellent introductions to
the settings of the biblical books. If we can understand the world of the Bible’s first audiences,
we will better see scripture’s relevance today.
10.
Remember to read for relevance and spiritual direction.
Don’t let your study of scripture deteriorate into
an academic exercise—or worse yet, a legalistic pursuit.
Bible knowledge is not the same thing as spiritual growth,
and external obedience does no good if one’s heart is not
with the Lord. Mastering
the Bible’s content is a good thing, but far more important
is surrendering to its effect.
Here
are some strengths and weaknesses (from my perspective) of the
most popular
Bibles
today. Again, the
best way to study the Bible in English is to avail yourself
of the rich variety of translations, rather than restricting
yourself to just one.
King
James Version (1611)
Many English translations had been made by the early
1600s, including that of William Tyndale.
King James, leader of the Church of England, felt the
need to have a single, ‘authorized’ translation for
use in all churches in his kingdom.
The KJV reflects the practices of the English church
of that day, which was in a bitter struggle with Roman Catholics
on one side, and evangelical dissenters on the other.
It is based on the manuscripts available at that time,
the oldest of which was written after 1000 a.d.
It is difficult to detect literary styles and devices,
since each verse is printed as a new paragraph, and poetic material
is printed the same way as prose.
Watch, however, for paragraph symbols (¶) to bring some
level of organization to the reading.
Despite these weaknesses, the KJV remains the most beautiful
English Bible. Some
historians believe William Shakespeare contributed to its language!
Its beauty derives partly from the fact that it was intended
to be read aloud. If
you don’t recognize the beauty of the KJV, read it aloud
slowly.
American
Standard Version (1902).
This is a stiff translation because it translates the
Greek and Hebrew over-literally, not taking into account the
differences between those languages and English in sentence
structure and syntax.
Revised
Standard Version (1948).
This translation was the version used by scholars for
almost 50 years. It used many newly-discovered manuscripts for the first time.
It was translated by mainline Protestants with public
reading in mind. For
silent reading, sometimes the paragraphs are too long and the
wording too cumbersome.
It was the first major American version to put the text
into paragraphs and poetic lines, and to attempt to make poetry
just as poetic in English as it is in Greek or Hebrew.
The RSV keeps “thee” and “thou” when
referring to God, but removes them when referring to humans.
New
American Standard Bible (1963).
This version was done by conservative scholars as a reaction
against the RSV, which they thought was too liberal.
This version returns to the KJV method of printing one
verse for each indention.
It follows the RSV on usage of “thee” and “thou.”
New
International Version (1973).
This version was an attempt by conservative scholars
from many groups to render the text accurately but in contemporary
language. They
consulted the most recently discovered manuscripts and used
a very careful method of translation.
In the 1980s, the NIV surpassed the KJV as the best selling
American Bible, and remains so today. Its prose is usually excellent,
but its poetry is sometimes too prosaic.
It sometimes softens the Bible’s sharp language
and glosses over diversity of perspective.
This version was designed primarily for silent reading.
Overall, it is a good, accurate translation that should
be a part of anyone’s library.
New
King James Version (1979).
This translation was prepared by fundamentalist scholars
and is in some ways a reaction against the NIV.
It keeps the KJV tradition of printing one verse per
indention, but improves on the KJV by putting poetry in poetic
lines and separating paragraphs with white space.
The language is updated somewhat, but often seems stiff
and contrived to me. It
lacks the artistic beauty of the KJV, but it improves on some
(but not all) of the KJV’s weaknesses for contemporary
readers.
The
Word: New Century Version (1980s).
This translation was prepared by Church of Christ
scholars and reads very similarly to the NIV.
It has enjoyed increased popularity lately as the translation
used in Max Lucado’s study Bible.
New
Revised Standard Version (1989).
This version was translated by a committee of top scholars
from across the theological spectrum, including one from Churches
of Christ, and reads well both orally and silently.
It is based on the latest manuscripts, and is the new
version of choice for scholars of all persuasions.
One well-known feature of the NRSV is its gender neutrality.
Increasingly in English, the words ‘he’ or
‘him’ must refer to a male, while in earlier
English as well as Greek and Hebrew, it could refer to male
or female. Thus
at points where the biblical writer uses a masculine pronoun
but refers to males and females, the NRSV rephrases it for clarity
of communication. The
NRSV generally reads well in poetry and in prose, though its
vocabulary is somewhat larger than that in the NIV, and the
length of sentences is sometimes a bit cumbersome for the silent
reader. This is
a very good translation which I highly recommend.
[1] Contemporary
English Version (1995).
This translation was commissioned by the American Bible
Society, which recognized the large number of people, both in
this country and abroad, who speak English as a second language.
This version uses a relatively small vocabulary and simple
sentence structures, but is aimed at adults who have more than
a child’s grasp of both the English language and of spiritual
concepts. Its language
is gender neutral, and is ideal for silent reading. It is sometimes a bit awkward to read aloud, and the poetry
sometimes lacks the impact that other versions convey.
This is an very good translation which I highly recommend;
it tends to state the Bible’s concepts in the simplest
possible way.
PARAPHRASES
do not follow the Greek or Hebrew literally, but try to convey
the impact and meaning of the text to a contemporary audience. Used alongside translations, paraphrases can bring the text
alive in exciting ways.
The
1950s paraphrase by J. B. Phillips is still a favorite
of many readers. Phillips
writes with a stunning eloquence that conveys deep impact and
artistic beauty.
Millions
of readers love the Living Bible of the 1960s for its
down-to-earth tone and readability.
It now has a successor, The New Living Translation,
which is something of a cross between translation and paraphrase.
Eugene
Peterson’s best-selling The Message (New
Testament first published 1992) communicates the message of
scripture powerfully in the language of today’s American
young adult. The
New Testament and a number of Old Testament books are now available.
Michael
Armour, A Newcomer’s Guide to the Bible: Themes and
Timelines (College Press, 1999).
Jim
Bell & Stan Campbell.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Bible (Alpha
Books, 1999).
Bruce
Bickel & Stan Jantz, Bruce & Stan’s Guide to
the Bible: A User-Friendly Approach (Harvest House, 1998).
