Key to Translations
Formal
Equivalence - Word for word literal translation.
Functional
Equivalence - Thought for thought translation.
Note:
No translation will be a completely perfect formal equivalence
translation since there aren't exact word meanings in English for all
Old Hebrew or Greek terms. Even the most literal translations will
have some degree of functional equivalence.
Equivalence
Scale
Most
Literal ---> Less Literal
Young's
Literal Translation-->New American Standard Bible--> English
Standard Version/Amplified Version-->King James Version/Revised
Standard Version/New King James Version-->Christian Standard
Bible-->New International Version-->The Living Bible-->Good
News Bible-->Contemporary English Version-->The Message
You
can read and compare different translations on line at
Biblegateway.com & Bibles.net
*
Difference
Between a Reference Bible and A Study Bible
A
Reference bible will have reference notes either in the center
column or directly after the verse it pertains to indicating where
other verses are that are relevant to the that verse. It will probably
have a concordance and maps in the back and sometimes will have other
material to aid in studying the bible which varies from one
publication to the next.
A
Study bible will have explanatory footnotes on the page below
the Bible scripture. Also, it will normally have a larger concordance
in the back, at least as many maps and perhaps a wider selection of
other materials to study the Bible. The main difference though is the
notes on the pages below the scripture.
* * *
If you have an old Bible that has years worth of notes in it that you don't want to copy over and the binding is breaking down then take it to a bookbinder who can rebind it with a new cover either quality leather or hardbound and you will be good to go for years to come. Some binders can even remove the lettering stamped on the front of a Bible if you need to remove it for any reason.
*
Take some clear nail polish and paint the bottom half inch of the silk bookmark in Bibles and it will keep it from fraying.
*
Other Bible related reference books which maybe helpful include a Bible Dictionary, Bible Atlas, Bible Commentary, and Bible Concordance.
***
The fine folks at Crossway who produced the ESV have provided a useful search tool to help find passages or key words in the Bible. The ESV is one of the TM's favorite translations.
***
Guides to Reading the King James Version
While
unfamiliar to those of us living in the 21st Century the late Middle English of KJV version
does a better job of making distinctions with its second person
pronouns than any other version.
Thou
and thee are used when one specific person is being
spoken to or if it should be applied to each person individually. Ye
is used when the pronoun refers to everyone or humanity in general.
*
Another example of late Middle English or "King James Versionese" is the verb ending "eth" as Alister McGrath pointed out in his book about the writing of the KJV "In the Beginning." If you replace the late Middle English third person form of a verb which usually ended in "eth" with the current form which is simply "s" much more of the KJV comes in to clear focus. He uses the passage in 1 John 2: 9 - 11 as an illustration:
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
If you replace the "eth" with "s" see how much more normal and modern sounding it is.
Further he points out when you run into the word "thereof" try reworking the sentence with a possesive pronoun like "its." Take the passage in Exodus 25:
17:
And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
And rework to read: And you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold: two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its breath.
*
In addition some words have changed their meaning since the KJV was wrote, for example, "to let" meant "to hinder" instead of allow something to happen. Also the word "prevent" meant come before instead of to hinder. If you are someone who is not use to the KJV and can make these adjustments to it then it is not very hard to understand what is being said most of the time.
*
No other translation of the bible captures the high literary prose of the KJV so every one should learn to read it and treat themselves to it at least part of the time.
In his book "God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible" Adam Nicolson explains the beauty of it this way (explanations in parentheses by the TM):
A belief in the primitive is allied in Andrewes (one of the translators) to a love of the royal. This is another foundation stone. One of the King James Bible's most consistent driving forces is the idea of majesty. Its method and its voice are far more regal than demotic (Of or relating to the common people). Its archaic foundations, its consistent attention to a grand and heavily musical rhythm are the vehicles by which that majesty is infused into the body of the text. Its qualities are those of grace, stateliness, scale, power. There is no desire to please here; only a belief in the enormous and overwhelming divine authority, of which royal authority, "the powers that be" as they translated the words of St. Paul, was an adjunct (amplifies its meaning) and extension.
He goes on to explain why it may have held up so well for almost 400 years against versions that have modernized the language to replace it explaining how that can flatten the language.
The flattening of language is a flattening of meaning. Language which is not taut with a sense of its own significance, which is apologetic in its desire to be acceptable to a modern consciousness, language in other words which submits to its audience, rather than instructing, informing, moving, challenging and even entertaining them, is no longer a language which can carry the freight the Bible requires. It has, in short, lost all authority. The language of the King James Bible is the language of Hatfield, of patriarchy, of an instructed order, of richness as a form of beauty, of authority as a form of good; the New English Bible is motivated by the opposite, an anxiety not to bore or intimidate. It is driven, in other words, by the desire to please and, in that way, it is a form of language which has died.
An example of the majesty of the KJV is the 100th Psalm.
1Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
***
More Bible Resources
This is like a road map to each book of the bible. It give you a guide to each which tells you what it is about, when it was written, and what the emphases of the book are then it gives you an overview and specific advise for reading that book.Then there is a commentary or interpretation. In all about four to eight pages on each book. It's a nice, concise analysis.
Very nice bible dictionary, over 1700 pages packed with commentary on each book, color maps, photos, and diagrams. If you could only get one bible resource this would be the one to get.
Another good resource for bible study and excellent teaching aid.
More charts on various bible topics than can be listed here. Follow the link to see more. Another excellent tool for a teacher.
This link is to the CD Version of the Rainbow Study Bible KJV, but they also have hard bound versions which are very nice. The software version also comes with Matthew Henry's Commentary and several features.
*****
Links
Bible Broadcasting Network
