5 Bible Versions I Have Never Heard Of
2009 June 10
photo credit: Editor There are a lot more than just 5 versions of the Bible available today. It truly amazes me all the differences between them. Even in the same Bible version you have a lot of options. Such as if you prefer the King James Version of the Bible you can get the Woman’s Study Bible in KJV, Men’s Study Bible in KJV, just a plain Bible in KJV, etc. There are even magazine style Bibles for teens. It just astonishes me at all the choices people have.
Oh, you can also get a copy of the Bible for your Amazon Kindle or iPhone!
Here are 5 versions that I have never heard of before:
- The Message – This is apparently just the New Testament with Psalm and Proverbs. From what I read about it at Amazon, I’m not too impressed with the translation but I am kinda picky about what Bible I use.
- Life Application Study Bible NIV – This one sounds promising. It claims to “shows how God’s Word speaks to every circumstance and situation of life.” I personally don’t use the NIV version of the Bible but I do have one on my bookshelf to use for studies.
- The Green Bible - I have never heard of such a Bible! Here is the description from Amazon, “The Green Bible will equip and encourage you to see God’s vision for creation and help you engage in the work of healing and sustaining it. As you read the scriptures anew, The Green Bible will help you see that caring for the earth is not only a calling, but a lifestyle.” Interesting.
- Good News Bible – This Bible has some great reviews at Amazon as being very easy to read and understand. From what I have read about this version of the Bible it is written in “common language” or contemporary English. It also doesn’t seem to be a word for word translated by more of a paraphrase type of translation.
- The Jerusalem Bible – Here is what Amazon says about this Bible, “When it comes to Bible translations, readability and reliability are what count; and on both counts, the original JERUSALEM BIBLE stands alone. A product of the age of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), THE JERUSALEM BIBLE (published in 1966) was the first truly modern Bible for Catholics.”
Have you used any of these Bibles before? I would love to hear your opinion on them?
I love The Message. I grew up reading/memorizing KJV. Since high school, NIV has been my personal favorite. One thing I’ve noticed, though, is that when I’m reading a familiar passage, it’s easy to switch on “auto pilot” and not really pay attention to the words. The Message is different enough that I can be halfway through a passage before I realize it is the familiar one.
I enjoy reading various translations of the same passage.
A great place to do this is Biblegateway.com where you can read a passage in quite a few translations.
The Message is a very loose – very contemporary translation of Scripture. One dad I know said he was glad his daughter was reading The Message because it appealed to her and she was very committed to reading her Bible that way.
The Life Application Study Bible NIV – this is the next nice Bible I’d really like to have. I lost my treasured KJV that I had since I was 16 – and want a good leather bound everyday use Bible – the Life Application Study Bible NIV (or NKJV) is on my list.
I just recently heard of the Jerusalem Bible – and it sounds very interesting. I hadn’t heard of the other 2 before, either.
My go-to is the old KJV that my grandfather gave me in 1973. But I also use the Life Application Study Bible NLT (not NIV) for greater clarity when verses or chapters from the KJV are a little obscure. The study Bible makes it really easy to “get” the time period of the book you’re reading, who the major characters are and the “megathemes” of each book. I have a Good News Bible that I used in my teens and it’s a really easy read. Great for young teens or somebody who just isn’t able to concentrate enough to “get” the KJV. I think the Bibles in the pews at church are ESVs. I’ve never read The Message personally but I think it’s probably a lot like my Good News and anything that we can do to get people interested in reading the Word is a good thing as far as I can tell.
I agree with Shelby, if the Good News Bible or the Message make the Bible accessible to folks who wouldn’t normally read it, great! However, please keep in mind, these are not considered translations. They are paraphrased. For serious study, its a good idea to stick to an actual translations, or two. I use the NRSV and the NAB regularly.