I am thinking of reading the Bible but.....?

Question

I have know idea what half the words mean or how they are written, with all the thei's thall's and shall's! Is there another book that comes along with it that can break it down a bit so a dummy can understand it? How long did it take for you to read cover to cover and understand it? I also just posted a Question about homosexuals and I am a married female with two kids for anyone who was thinking i was a man.

Answer 1

Hi Kenny! May I recommend to you the NEW King James Version of the Bible. It's a great word for word translation that removes all the flowery thees and thous.
Next you'll want to pick up a Biblical concordance, this is a book that gives you the reference for every single word found in the Bible.
Then after that I'd recommend a good commentary on the Bible. I'd suggest Jon Courson's two volume commentary, available online or in your Christian bookstore. The one by J Vernon McGee is great too but it's bigger and costs more money.

If you just want a quick nitty gritty message, I'd suggest the NIV bible, it's a meaning for meaning translation. Good for getting the general message of the Bible, bad for word studies and such.

It took me about 6 months to read the Bible cover to cover the first time. It took my husband one week. It depends on the hours you spend each day and your reading comprehension level. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me! God bless!

Answer 2

Read The Bible Online in Modern English!
http://www.watchtower.org/bible/index.htm

Understanding the Bible--A Pleasure Open to You
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20060401a/article_01.htm

Understanding the Bible--What Will Help You?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20060401a/article_02.htm

Why You Can Trust the Bible :
- Does It Contradict Itself?
- History and Science
- Foretelling the Future
http://www.watchtower.org/library/t13/why_trust.htm

Why You Can Trust Bible Prophecy
- In Search of Trustworthy Predictions
- An Inherent Need
- Why You Can Trust Bible Prophecy
- Points of Contrast
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/1999/7/15/article_01.htm

A Unique Source of Superior Wisdom
http://www.watchtower.org/library/pr/article_03.htm

The Bible--An Oriental Book
http://www.watchtower.org/library/lmn/article_03.htm

The Bible--Just a Good Book? :
- Cherished and Suppressed
- A Textbook for Modern Living
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2000/12/1/article_01.htm

[More] Help to Understand the Bible
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2001/7/1/article_01.htm

True Teachings That Please God
http://watchtower.org/e/20050715/article_01.htm

What Does God Require of Us?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_00.htm
(A concise Bible study brochure.)

Historical and scientific information is presented to prove that the Bible is accurate, trustworthy, and inspired by God
for mankind's benefit in the following book, (available in print only):

The Bible--God's Word or Man's :
1 Why Read the Bible?
2 The Bible's Fight to Live
3 The Bible's False Friend
4 How Believable is the "Old Testament"?
5 The "New Testament"--History or Myth?
6 The Miracles--Did They Really Happen?
7 Does the Bible Contradict Itself?
8 Science: Has It Proved the Bible Wrong?
9 Prophecies That Came True
10 A Bible Prophecy YOU Hove Seen Fulfilled
11 The Overall Harmony of the Bible
12 A Higher Source of Wisdom
13 "The Word of God Is Alive"
14 The Bible and You
(References listed by chapter.)
http://www.watchtower.org/publications/publications_available.htm

Advanced On-site Search (When a link becomes modified, this can be used.) http://watchtower.org/search/search_e.htm

Answer 3

Can I tell you, seriously, that God will help you to understand the scriptures as you begin reading it. There are many versions of the Bible out there, some are very easy to understand as far as reading itself goes. You are probably referring to the King James Version (KJV). There is a New King James Version that closely follows the KJV, but is written more like we speak, without all the thee, thou and shall's. There is also the Amplified Bible--it will put other word meanings in parenthesis beside certain words to give you a better understanding of what a passage is saying. The best one I'd recommend is a Study Bible of the NKJV --there are lots to choose from. (like --Nelson Study Bible, Scofield Study Bible.) They add lots of notes to explain scriptures, the authors of each book, the time it was written in, etc.)
Don't worry at first about reading it from cover to cover. In fact I'd start in the book of John or one of the other New Testament books. No one will ever understand everything in the Bible until they get to heaven. But you will understand much of it--and the longer you study it the more you will learn and understand.
And yes, they actually do have those "A Dummy's Guide to the Bible" books! lol I have the one for the book of "Revelation". But better than those books are "study help" books--you can find them at most bookstores.
God bless you & happy reading! :)

Answer 4

There is a more modern translation of the bible, it's called the NIV. The bible I use for my studies is called the Quest Study Bible, and it's in NIV (new international version). It has questions, and answers, about the text you are reading in the margin and I have found it much easier to understand than the King James. Don't get confused with people telling you there is only one "authorized" translation by God. That's silly. The more modern versions merely incorporate different language, as language changes over time.

Before you read the bible, take just a moment to pray that God would give you understanding of His word. The bible has this verse, "the things of God are spiritually discerned". And God is the one who gives this discernment, to those who truly seek it.

Answer 5

If I were to tell someone to read the Bible, I would recommend that they test out several versions before commiting to one version. The King James Version isn't for everybody. I use a lot of versions, but that's just me. The New International Version, and the new Living Translations are easy to read comparitively.

It took me about two or three months to read the whole thing. But I would recommend that you start in the New Testament. And then go to the Old Testament.

Answer 6

The Authorised King James is the only Bible that has been ordained by God. Stick with it. Pray and ask the Holy Ghost to give you understanding.
Don't be deceived by any other version.
It took me about one year to go through the Bible from cover to cover and I have done this a few times.

New Age Bible Versions...Gail Riplinger
www.samgipp.com

Answer 7

no longer all Christians think of so.Catholics as an occasion(a prevalent sort of Christians around the area exterior the US) do no longer do it,they use to study some passages of the bible at church,yet no longer the bible itself,i think of those collections are called in English missals.they think of examining the bible itself is stable yet do no longer do it. Dunno in case you may positioned that for the time of your paintings,if no longer,nicely,in basic terms overlook approximately it. Bible itself is significant because of the fact it replaced into inspired by God,and so each and every observe wrote down on that e book has the load of having being mentioned by God in in some way at sometime. See ya!

Answer 8

There are many Bibles out there including the New King James. Beware, some break it down to their own benefit, like the NIV and others. Seek God with all your heart as He is real and He is waiting for you. You are His. He created you. He knew you before you entered the world. He put you here. Serve Him, Read His love story and be saved. I will double-check your other q.

Here:

http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=put+your+hand+here§ion=0&version=nkj&new=1&oq=religion

Answer 9

You should really talk you your pastor/priest/ etc. There are easier sections of the Bible to begin with, and it is not something that a lot of people read cover to cover like you would a novel.

As for translations, there are tons you can pick from, and I suggest going to a Christian bookstore and having them help you. I managed one for years, and we were trained on how to help people find the right one for them. Translations are like shoes- what might be easy and comfortable for you may not be for someone else. I'd suggest starting out with one that is a thought-for-thought translation, meaning that no content is changed but sometimes the grammar is changed to fit into modern rules and very very minor things like that. It in no way changes the accuracy of the translation. Examples of these are the New International Version or New American Standard Version. A word-for-word is typically the hardest to read. Some people like paraphrased translations, which offer the translators the most liberties. The most popular example of this is the New Living Translation. If you attend church regularly, you may want to find the translation that the church uses because it will osund more familiar when you read it yourself or hear it read in a service. The Message is a relatively new translation that is paraphrased and tried to be the most user-friendly version, but not many churches use this in services and personally I find it wordy, but you may like it. I really feel that you should check a Christian bookstore for this (and I do not mean Borders or Barnes and Noble, they are not trained in Bible sales. It sounds funny to be trained, but it really is something to learn), since they only want to help you find what is right for you, not convince you that any one is the "right" one. You should also decide if you want to read a Catholic or Protestant Bible. The Catholic Bible includes a number of books that are not considered scripture by Protestants (this collection of books is called the Apocrypha).

There are thousands of books that are written to help others understand the Bible. Something like The Bible for Dummies or 1001 Questions and Answers about the Bible will give you some of the basics. There are books that are categorized by a theme, such as women of the Bible, Hope, or the Tabernacle. I suggest getting a Bible dictionary because it will help you with many terms and words you may not know- but many Bibles have a basic dictionary in the back, too. A concordance would help you look for things by topic or person. Concordances are similar to indexes. Character study's are a good way to approach the readings as well. The Psalms will make mush more sense and have more meaning if you first understand something about David, who wrote most of the Psalms. Most Bibles have introductions at the start of the books and those intro's will be very valuable to you in letting you know who wrote it, what was going on historically, etc.

Reading the Bible in its entirity can take years. Often I find that there is so much to think about from one chapter or section that I only read that much at a time. Other times, I get quite into it and can read chapter after chapter. Don'e feel rushed if you spend months or years reading it. You'll get more out of it that way.

The Bible is "new every morning," meaning that every time you read it, you will learn something different from what you read. Well, I should modify that. Sometimes you can read something and feel like you have learned nothing, but later it may make sense or help you understand something new. At differnt times things can mean different things to you as well, according to your position and role at that point in your life. It does not make either understanding incorrect. None of us will ever understand the Bible completely.

I know my answer was quite long, and thanks for reading it! I got asked these same questions all the time when I managed the bookstore, so I have a lot to say! :-) Good luck!

P.S.: One of the coolest stories is that of Esther. Simply start at the beginning of the book of Esther (in the Old Testament) and read it through a few times! It is wonderful.

****If you have any other questions, or do not have a Christian Bookstore in your area and would like some help, I accept emails and would be glad to help!****

Answer 10

Use the dictionary, ask others, search sources, etc. Don't go for a washed down, man-edited Bible, EVER.