Now that we have set out upon this quest, two big questions remain.
1. What version of the Bible will we read?
2. How much of the Bible will we read per day, and what is our deadline?
I say "we" because I'm inviting you to read along with me. My interpretation of a passage may be different than yours and I feel that by making this an interactive experience each of us will get more out of this journey. Of course, if reading the entire Bible seems too daunting a task at the moment I also invite you to simply take a look at the blog and if you are inspired, to look up the passage we are discussing. Like I said, no matter what your religious background or lack their of, I'm happy to have you along for the ride!
Now as to the subject of what version of the Bible to read, well this decision is more complicated than I originally thought. Turns out there are dozens of English translations of scripture. Perhaps you knew that already, but I was not aware that we could fill an entire book case with different versions of the Bible. Before a long Google search, browsing a local Barnes and Noble, and asking enough questions at the local religious media store to drive any sane sales clerk mad, I only new of King James, whatever the Catholic version was called, and was also vaguely aware of another translation known by the acronym NIV. I had, and still have a lot to learn!
Since our options are numerous I decided to write down a few criteria for the version of the Bible that would best fit our purpose in this blog.
1. It must be easy to read so that you and I are able to follow along without looking up every other old English word that is now barely used in everyday language (as few thees, thous, hithers, and thithers as possible)
2. It must be as literal a translation as possible while still remaining clear in the English Language. The more literal the translation, the less likely we are to have the latest translator's opinion versus the actual word of God. Of course, no matter which version we choose, the stories in the Bible were told orally for many generations before they were finally written down and will always have the writer and translators personality mixed into the message, but we want to remain as close to the essence of the story as possible.
3. It must not be so simply written that the beauty of certain passages are lost, or certain messages glossed over. Even though we want our Bible to be one we can understand easily, we must also accept that because Scripture describes an ancient time, will sometimes have to do some research and digging on our own to find the deeper meaning. Simple texts have a way of describing the meaning for us instead of letting us find it ourselves. And that is the opposite of what this blog is about!
4. The version we choose must be well known, cheap and easily accessible. Of course it is natural and good to want to invest in a beautiful, ornate, and sometimes expensive family Bible. However, I intend to highlight, write in the margins, bookmark, and fold over page corners while studying Scripture. I think it would be best for myself and you the reader to have a Bible in which you can scribble notes and ideas. Its important that if you decide to read along, the Bible I choose is easy for you to find and inexpensive so no matter what your financial situation is, you can get hold of a good quality one.
After sifting through different versions I came up with a few possibilities.
The New Living Translation
The New American Standard Bible
The New American Bible
The New International Version
(I found it amusing how every version I found appealing had "New" in the title.)
I know many of you are fond of Ol' King James but from my research I found that though it is a beautiful version of the Bible, it is also one of the least literal. At the time of translation, not many of the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts were consulted, resulting in beautiful psalms written in Old English, but with many of the original messages lost in all the ornate language. So in case you were wondering why one of the most common translations in not on our list, please note that though any Bible that you can draw inspiration from is fantastic, but for our purposes it isn't the best fit.
The New Living Translation (NLT) has a reputation for being easy to read while remaining as close to the original ancient Hebrew and Greek texts as possible. I also picked the New American Standard Bible because it is supposed to be a very literal translation, though it sometimes gets criticized for not sounding "pretty enough" when you read it out loud. At first I could not see how this would be an issue, but I guess if we are going to read the whole Book than it would be nice to have one with a translation close to the original ancient texts while still sounding beautiful in the English language. It's all about balance right?
Which brings us to The New American Bible which is also a very literal version but translates beautifully. Personally, this would be my number one choice, however since it is created especially for the Catholic Church I don't know if it would go with our theme of all-inclusive scripture interpretation. In addition, it is harder to find at your average book store.
The New International Version (NIV) I was happy to find, is reputedly the most highly researched translation on the market. It remains close to the original Hebrew and Greek texts while being easy to read. Best of all it is the most widely read English version of the Bible in the world, which means it is easy to find, and guess what? Its inexpensive too. So after having reviewed the list above The New Internation Version is our winner! :)
However, before we go running into the other room to grab one that may already be in our house, or go to the bookstore to purchase a Bible, please note that the NIV also publishes special editions such as study Bibles, Bibles for Mothers, Bibles for Fathers, Bibles for Children etc. We just want a plain old Bible people! No frufru fancy stuff! We don't want a book that tells us the meaning for you, we want a Bible that make you search for the meaning yourself! Of course there are times when knowing the historical circumstances behind a biblical story can enhance our understanding of its message,but we will find our sources when the time comes. So don't worry. I will keep you posted! In the meantime get yourself a 2011 edition of a standard NIV Bible. :)
Now, how will we divide our reading over time? When is the deadline? My mentor in business has always told me that if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. In order to set a goal it must be attainable, measurable, and have a time frame.
I could not think of a better time frame than 1 year. I will be including an attachment with our reading plan in the next 24 hours and tomorrow our adventure begins! There will be a 365 day countdown on each post so we can track our progress. I am excited to know what you are hoping to get out of this too, so please feel free to post in the comment section below!
Yours in Faith,
Mimi <3
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