Reading the Bible

Leveller

Leveller

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A while back I was seriously considering reading the Bible, I thought of doing this alongside Asimov's Guide to the Bible, a copy of which I own. This was to be a hobby not a deep study.

I am still toying with the idea and may start when I move and life has settled down. My question is would it matter which version I chose? A friend suggested the Schofield Bible, others have said it is not really important for my purposes.

It has also been suggested that reading brief introductions to Judaism and Christianity before starting the relevant testaments would probably enhance the experience.

Any thoughts.
 
Leveller said:
A while back I was seriously considering reading the Bible, I thought of doing this alongside Asimov's Guide to the Bible, a copy of which I own. This was to be a hobby not a deep study.

I am still toying with the idea and may start when I move and life has settled down. My question is would it matter which version I chose? A friend suggested the Schofield Bible, others have said it is not really important for my purposes.

It has also been suggested that reading brief introductions to Judaism and Christianity before starting the relevant testaments would probably enhance the experience.

Any thoughts.
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Hi @Leveller
I think it's probably best not to read anything else first -- just read it like any book and form your own thoughts. Lots of time. Also be aware the Catholic Bible contains books not included in other Bibles. Just my thoughts ...
 
Thank you @RJM, I was aware of the Catholic Bible's extra books. That has made it more attractive to be honest, as I can perhaps decide if they should be included or not.
I do see your point about not doing any prior reading. At my age I have enough preconceived notions as it is.
 
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Does Asimov's book cover every chapter and verse?

Me thinks it will be easier to go from Asimov's to scripture (which is labeled chapter and verse) than the other way around.

I would also have a concordance at the table and maybe rather than one Bible a couple of parallels.

I recall doing the reading a Bible in one year thing...gave you a morning reading and evening reading every day.
 
Hello Wil, The concordance sounds a good idea.

From Wikipedia...Asimov's Guide to the Bible is a work by Isaac Asimov that was first published in two volumes in 1968 and 1969,[1] covering the Old Testament and the New Testament (including the Catholic Old Testament, or deuterocanonical, books (see Catholic Bible) and the Eastern Orthodox Old Testament books, or anagignoskomena, along with the Fourth Book of Ezra), respectively. He combined them into a single 1296-page volume in 1981.[1] They included maps by the artist Rafael Palacios.
Including numerous black-and-white maps, the guide goes through the books of the Bible in the order of the King James Version to the extent possible, explaining the historical and geographical setting of each one, and the political and historical influences that affected it, as well as biographical information about the main characters. His appendix "Guides to the Old and New Testament" include biblical verse, footnotes, references and subject indices.

The book was written for the layperson, without expectation that the reader would have much knowledge about ancient history.
 
Leveller said:
Thank you @RJM, I was aware of the Catholic Bible's extra books. That has made it more attractive to be honest, as I can perhaps decide if they should be included or not.
I do see your point about not doing any prior reading. At my age I have enough preconceived notions as it is.
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LOL.

I rather agree with @RJM, read the bible as is. As for version, find one which suits your reading. I use the Douay-Rheims for reading, the New Jerusalem Bible for study. I also have the Bibliotheca Bible (American Literary texts), which is a printing for typography-nerds.

Commentaries are a 'piece of string' question ...
 
But then you only get the New Testament and Psalms ... and you're not supposed to take it away, though Gideons probably doesn't mind too much if you do, lol
 
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Leveller said:
Well before I do that I will have to buy one. I am sure the sales assistant will ask what version I want and that is the main reason for the post.
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Ok, I have a Revised Standard Version, an American Standard Version, a Holman Christian Standard Bible, and Benjamin Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott (Greek-English Interlinear New Testament) on the shelf to my left. I have other versions tucked away somewhere, but these are the ones I use most. I like the Holman Christian Standard.
 
If you don't mind reading online, head to https://www.biblegateway.com/ - they have over a hundred differen translations into multiple languages.

When I read the Bible "cover to cover" as a teenager, it was the New International Version.
 
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