I am an English major and I would like to study the Bible more in depth from a LITERATURE perspective. I don't want a devotional bible (I already have those). I sometimes think I should go with the first King James Version because it's the first English Bible, but there are still so many choices! I have heard of the ESV for literary study, but do not know much about it.
Ideally, this Bible would also have the Apocrypha. This study is new for me, it's something I'm doing more on my free time so any other supplement recommendations on how to get started would really help! (Especially about women.)
Amazon.com has been a great tool, but I prefer to hear from someone that has learned through trial and error.
Thanks ahead of time!
Literature Student-What's the best Bible to study from?
While your reading ponder how there can be so many versions of the truth.
Love and blessings Don
Reply:I was the one that asked this questions and this is a foolish answer. I wasn't asking for philosophical thoughts on the Bible, I was asking about a text. Report Abuse
Reply:The best choice for this time is what you initially considered. The King James Version. If you can look for the Old One it is better than their New Revised Version.
Apocrypha is a Catholic work, I am a Catholic and of course it is biased in favor of that religion so I will not recommend it for your learning and understanding but since you said you will use for your literary study purpose, go ahead there are so many words worth your study. Good luck!
Reply:Kings-James version.
Reply:New Jerusalem Bible
Reply:This is not as simple a question as it seems. However, first one minor correction: the King James Version (KJV) is not the first English bible (Coverdale's, 1535), it is not the first English bible translated from the original languages (Geneva Bible, 1560), nor is it the first authorized translation (Matthew Bible, 1537).
That being said, here is some help:
1) *If* the translation that has seen the most use in the English language fulfills your requirements, then the KJV is the way to go. Recommendations below.
Pros: complete set of scriptures, alternate translations for ambiguous passages in marginal notes
Cons: dated (1611), translators used only 3 source texts
2) *If* the most *literal* (word-for-word) translation is what you seek, then I recommend this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?i...
Note that a *literal* translation does not equate to an *accurate* translation and, in fact, literal word-for-word translation *tends* to produce a less accurate translation.
Pros: complete set of scriptures; top-notch scholarly study notes
Cons: dated translation (1950s)
3) If *the* most *accurate* translation is what you seek, my vote goes toward the New Jerusalem Bible. My full review http://www.jimpettis.com/bibles/njb.htm
Pros: appears to strive for accuracy and precision more diligently than other versions; complete deuterocanonicals; top-notch scholarly study notes (evaluating authorship of books, alternate translations for ambiguous passages, etc.)
Cons: excludes 1 %26amp; 2 Esdras, study notes (very) infrequently display Roman Catholic references
My KJV recommendations (below) all include complete set of scriptures:
KJV (Paragraph) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?i...
A scholarly effort to duplicate the original KJV *translation* (as opposed to any particular printing). Spelling is modernized (not the wording) and the complete contents of the original translation is here, including the excellent marginal notes.
KJV (Oxford) - http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?i...
Similar to the above, this edition lacks only the marginal notes and is much cheaper (and paperback). It is pretty well-put-together for a paperback.
KJV 1611 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?i...
This is a "replica" of the original 1611 printing. Each word on each page is in precisely the same position as in that original printing. It also includes the excellent marginal notes. The *spelling* in this edition is also identical to the original, and at 1st will cause readers some difficulty (but only at 1st). Once you have mastered the transposition of u and v, and of i and j, you will likely find it just as easy to read as an Oxford Revision KJV. Fortunately, this edition does not use the Germanic lettering of the original, and instead uses the Roman lettering to which we are all accustomed. Possibly the best bible to use when discussing scripture with a KJV-only Christian, as this is about as close as you can get for under $100 to the *actual* *original* KJV. It is also quite reasonably priced.
The actual 1611 KJV can be found online
http://dewey.library.upenn.edu/sceti/pri...
but be aware that not only does this have the spelling difficulties present in the previously mentioned edition, it also has the original Germanic lettering - very difficult for most of us to read, though I suspect a diligent reader would become familiar with it very quickly.
More general help for choosing a bible version:
http://www.bible-reviews.com/selector.ht...
Jim
Reply:I use the King James version and the new KJV
Reply:When I took a Bible class in college, we used the Oxford Study Bible: Revised English with Apocrypha. I found that it was excellent for providing a good summary of each book at its beginning. Also, it has voluminous notes to provide cultural and historical context. Amazon link for the one I used is below.
Reply:I find the best thing to do is study different translations and their impact on how you percieve the verses. Get a King James, an NIV or NET, and something really recent like the Message.
Oh, and by the way...Esther is a story of literary genius. That book is one of the best stories ever scribed.
Reply:You will receive many Theological reasonings from people on this site for choosing a Bible, but I don't believe that is what you are looking for. If you are looking for the most accurate translation to read from, here is some criteria to look for:
1. The earliest New Testament manuscripts were all written in Greek. Any New Testament text should be based upon the earliest Greek text available. To date, over 6000 different ancient Greek texts have been found. The Nestle-Aland Greek text (currently in it's 27th edition), takes into account all of these variations in the text.
2. Old Testament text can be found in various ancient text fragments. The texts found at the Dead Sea represent the oldest available (4th-1st century BCE). The Septuagint is a Greek text of the Old Testament that copies have been found dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. A popular version of the text used are the Masoretic texts. These are Hebrew texts dating to the 8th-10th centuries CE. Old testament translations should use all available texts, giving preference to the oldest fragments where available.
Also, there are two ways to translate a Bible--word for word and thought for thought. Word for word translations attempt to translate each individual word into its Engligh equivalent. Thought for thought translations attempt to show "what they really meant". This is a theological decision. For this reason, thought for thought Bibles have often been called "paraphrased Bibles" and are poor accurate translations of the text. Examples of these paraphrased Bibles are the NIV and Living Word Bibles
Knowing these things, here are some reviews of texts available:
1. King James Version (KJV) - The KJV uses no text dating earlier than the 14th century as a source text. It then translates these limited choices poorly. Current scholars have found more than 4300 errors in the KJV text.
2. English Standard Version (ESV) - The ESV uses a large variation of texts (a good thing). It consistently uses the Byzantine text (dating to the 8th century CE) over the Alexandrian text (dating to the 2nd and 3rd century CE) throughout the New Testament--this a a bad thing.
3. New American Standard (NAS) - The NAS first started using text that deviated from the Nestle-Aland text only by 6%. It then changed nearly all of the present tense verbs in the text into future text verbs (in order to point towards possible prophesies--a theological motivation). These changes make the NAS deviate from the Nestle-Aland text by 27%.
4. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) - This bible uses all of the bonuses of the ESV (multiple texts), but always chooses the earlier fragments as its preference. Because of this, the NRSV is used almost unanimously by scholars. My favorite version of the NRSV is the Harper Collins Study Bible. This NRSV version also gives the reader side notes to show the alternate words used in ancient texts where multiple variations exist as well as prefaces each book with the most accurate textural dates according to modern day archaeologists and scholars. It treats this ancient text as text, not as theological imperative.
Reply:You could try the gnostic gospels..
Reply:Your best bet is to go with a parallel bible.
Studying several versions at a time will give you a better idea of what the passages are really trying to say.
Reply:I took a Bible as Literature class, and we used the ESV, but I have to say, it wasn't terribly inspiring as far as actual writing QUALITY goes. Bibles like that tend to go for the highest level of communication towards the lowest common denominator--i.e. they dumb it down, which takes all the majesty out of the language. You might want to think about using a KJV in conjunction with an ESV as you're reading it for literary purposes.
Reply:The most accurate translation I believe is the Revised Version although I like the New American Standard or The NIV best.
PS - The Apocrypha is not accepted by most Christian religions as part of the bible.
Reply:skepticsannotatedbible.com has several versions to compare at once.
Reply:From a literary standpoint, I would go with the original KJV. You'll have to look up some of the archaisms, but the rhythm and flow of the old English is superb. I don't know if you can get it with the Apocrypha. I've not seen it that way. If you decide to do serious study, you'll need both a readable translation and access to good exegetical commentaries.
If you want to look at a particular issue (women in the bible) I would recommend starting with books written on the topic by specialists in the field. Be prepared though. You'll find a broad range of perspectives all claiming to represent the Scriptural position. So to do the thing right, you'll still need the exegetical commentaries to check out the authors' use of the text in their arguments-- does the text really mean what writer X says it does in this passage? That sort of thing.
Have fun!
peace
Reply:The NASB, Revised Edition is very good. Tis was the one I used when I was studying to be a minister.
Reply:After reading ALL the Bibles from Greek to KJ I would say to simply get THE SECRET by Rhonda Byrne and embrace the fact that your SOUL is the God of your universe. It is pure energy, all powerful, omnipotent, able to cross the universe and back in a THOUGHT and when you pray for answers they will be given you. But it's all in the book. It's a lot of fun.
I've been doing trial and error for 50 years and I finally have found the ultimate answer. It's the culmination of nuns and jesuit priests and lots of studies and many books and lots of personal experience but after all that I find this book to be the best of them all and I found true enlightenment in THE SECRET.
You owe it to yourself to at least read it once.
I usually write volumes but have been doing that all morning and must make this a short one but will be happy to answer any questions via email.
:-)
Peace y'all
Reply:You can go to crosswalk .com or biblegateway.com they have many resources and Bibles I prefer the NIV myself easy to read!
Reply:If you really dig English lit, and it is the language aspect you're most interested in, go with the KJV. All the proverbs and phrases that we know so well come from the KJV form of the Bible.
Not to mention, the KJV was translated at a time roughly equivalent to the likes of Milton, Donne, Shakespeare, Browning, etc... You can't get that language in modern translations.
If you really want to read and textually analyze and get into scholarly criticisms etc, I'd recommend the New Revised Standard Version. This is what many Bible scholars at secular schools recommend to university students.
If you want both, KJVs can generally be found on the cheap, especially at a used book place, or you can ask the Mormons to send you one for free. A high-quality New Revised Standard can run from $20-$50.
teeth sundance
No comments:
Post a Comment