Mommy Life: Which Bible do you use?

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March 9, 2006 5:51 AM

Which Bible do you use?

I want to say thank you to those of you who write me and then have to wait so long - perhaps thinking your question drifted into a black hole somewhere - until I get around to posting and answering. Like all of you, my days are often spent just jumping from a load of laundry to writing/reading to peanut butter sandwiches and stories to more reading/writing. I am always working on emptying my Inbox :)

Several weeks ago, Paige asked me what Bible I use - and I thought it would be interesting to find out what Bibles others use and love as well.

I use the Quest Study Bible. You can read a thorough description by linking through to the amazon page. Here's a short segment about it:
Book Description
Answers to Your Puzzling Questions
Revised in-text notes and articles answering nearly 7,000 of the most commonly asked questions about specific Bible passages.

Many people want to read the Bible but are hindered or even prohibited because they’re afraid they won’t understand what it means. The NIV Quest Study Bible, answers thousands of the most commonly asked questions—based on extensive research of Bible readers. The editors of Christianity Today International, along with over 100 respected Bible scholars and pastors, have developed this engaging and straightforward study Bible to guide readers in their search to understand the Scriptures.
Book Description
Answers to Your Puzzling Questions
Revised in-text notes and articles answering nearly 7,000 of the most commonly asked questions about specific Bible passages.

Answers to Your Puzzling Questions

Revised in-text notes and articles answering nearly 7,000 of the most commonly asked questions about specific Bible passages.

I also use The Comparative Study Bible, which has four translations - King James, NIV, New American Standard and Amplified running parallel so that when you open any page you see all four translations. This is from the back cover:

When you don’t want to lose anything in the translation, the Comparative Study Bible is a tool that lets you explore all the rich nuances and shades of meaning in the Bible text without having to learn the original biblical languages. It sets four popular translations side-by-side for you to compare and contrast: the trustworthiness and versatility of the New International Version, the time-honored authority of the King James Version, the word-for-word accuracy of the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition, and the scholarly detail of the Amplified Bible.

Passages and verses from the four versions are aligned in parallel columns on facing pages for ease of study. Each translation offers insight on different facets of meaning in the text, giving you the benefit of the work of different groups of scholars to help you understand and interpret the Bible for yourself. The Amplified Bible helps you take your study a step further, offering a format that gives you access to the shades of meaning in the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.

A valuable resource for gaining insight into scriptural truths, the Comparative Study Bible helps you compare translations at a glance and is an excellent resource for in-depth Bible study.

I also use Bible Gateway to look up verses and for even more translations. But I have to say, somehow nothing beats feeling actual pages when you're looking up stuff :)

Love,

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Comments

Hi Barbara,
I use the amplified bible and LOVE it. My husband has the parellel and we are frequently swapping Bibles to look at what the other translation is. The only downfall is we were doing a leadership course at our church and had to memorize entire chapters, so with the amplified it makes it even longer. We also use a strong's concordance alot when we want to find a particular subject or verse.

Posted by: melanie | March 9, 2006 8:10 AM

NIV - but I read on my PDA using Olive Tree. Paper is nice, but the electronic version is always with me in multiple versions AND...I can read it under the pillow at night without disturbing the Queen's (May she live forever) royal sleep.

Posted by: King of Fools | March 9, 2006 8:33 AM

Oh thank you! I want a study bible so desperately but get so confused when I go look at the bookstore.

Posted by: Sheri | March 9, 2006 8:38 AM

For my personal reading, I'm using the NASB these days, but I always keep a variety of translations around for cross-referencing and other purposes. If I'm doing high-school and junior high youth ministry and need to quote, I'll often choose the NIV.

I have a study Bible called the Spirit-Filled Life Bible in the New King James Version, but I don't use it for study much anymore because the study notes don't engage the harder questions and tend to make interpretive assumptions I'm not comfortable committing to without further explanation. The NKJV is a very nice-sounding translation, being derived from the King James syntax but modernized in its diction.

I also keep a King James and a New Oxford Annotated Bible (New Revised Standard Version) around.

Posted by: Michelle Galo | March 9, 2006 8:47 AM

I also use the Quest Study bible. It was given to me by the pastor of my church in January when we were talking with him about my daughter's baptism. Conversation went like this:

Pastor Chuck: Have you ever read the bible?
Me: I tried a long time ago.
Pastor Chuck: Where did you start?
Me: Well, I started at the beginning, Genesis. *pause because the idea of not starting a book at the beginning is almost unthinkable* Where should I have started?
Pastor Chuck: I'd have recommended the New Testament. How far did you get?
Me: I got stuck in Leviticus.
Pastor Chuck: Most people do.

He gave me the bible, brand new, which I thought was very kind. I've been knee deep in the Quest and is really interesting. I love the side notes and the explanatory paragraphs before each book. They really help a lot in my meager understanding of the bible. Loving history helps a lot too, I think.

One thing that drives me nuts, though, is the constant skipping around through books. I start on one of the assigned passages from the front and then will keep reading for several chapters until I realize I need to be in a completely different section now. Makes for hard reading. But Pastor Chuck has started an Intro to the Bible study group for those of us new to churches and bible study and it's been very eye opening. And the history, like I said, is fascinating.

We also have a King James version and a Ryrie study bible and a few others but I'm not sure what edition they are (all my husband's and left overs from his family) but this is the first bible that I've actually owned so it's a little bit special.

Posted by: Spring | March 9, 2006 9:37 AM

I use the NKJV now because 1) we knew one of the editors so I appreciate the scholarship highly, and 2) my current version was given to me on the eve of engagement to my husband, by a dear missionary to Japan who loved the NKJV and is now with the Lord Jesus, so I am reminded of him when I pick it up : ) And, 3) I did so much memory work as a child from the KJV that new memory work comes easier.

I also like the NASB but have never liked NIV.

Posted by: floorplan | March 9, 2006 10:10 AM

Hi Barbara! I use the regular NIV Study Bible when I'm in student mode & The Message when I just want to read. For real in-depth searching I have downloaded E-Sword (http://www.e-sword.net/)a free program that has more translations, dictionaries, lexicons, maps, devotionals, etc. than you can imagine. It is the simplest to use Bible software I have found.

Posted by: Lori F | March 9, 2006 10:20 AM

I use the KJV. I grew up with it and had a dad who would stop our family devotions to explain the odder things and teach us what the translators meant by old or changed words. BTW if you want kids who will have a 'command of the English language', this is a good way to get it (plus it was a real help when I started learning a foreign language which still has separate thee/you forms of address).

I am no KJV Nut, though. I read through the whole Bible using the New Living Translation and really appreciated the different perspective. I am also a frequent user of the Strong's original language concordance. My dh got a computer program that lets you click on the original Hebrew or Greek word right there in the verse to see what it REALLY means, not just Webster's describing a translated synonym.

Oh, yes, I also like my German Bible. Reading familiar passages with whole new words and the nuances that go with them makes everything fresh and exciting again. Plus it helps me with my language study. :-)

Posted by: Cheri | March 9, 2006 10:45 AM

We use the King James Version.

Posted by: Rachel | March 9, 2006 11:27 AM

I use the Life Application Bible, NKJ. We have a lot of commentaries that we use to help us understand or to learn more. We also have the comparative study Bible. It's nice to check out the different versions.I think I will check out the Quest though. It sounds great.

Posted by: Faith | March 9, 2006 2:54 PM

I use the KJV Pocket Reference Bible. :-D I was excited to see this post of your up, because I recently also answered a lot of people's questions of which Bible I use. I made a post of it, and provided pictures.

If you'd like to check out my Bible, I posted pictures of it at:
http://genuineprofit.lifewithchrist.org/permalink/21535

Posted by: Candy | March 9, 2006 3:12 PM

I love the Reformation Study Bible, English Standard Version.

Posted by: Shannon from Rocks in my Dryer | March 9, 2006 3:57 PM

I have made it my goal to read through the Bible in a year and started January 1st. I am still on track and amazed everyday by what I read about God. I have only been a Christian for about 5 years and am learning so much through this daily time with God. I am using the Life Application Bible, New Living Translation. I like reading the notes on how it relates to life today and seeing those connections.

Posted by: Alicia | March 10, 2006 4:48 PM