Bible Translations: Old & New April 29, 2013 ISSUE

Inspiration and clarification

Sandi Justad

Having been reared with the King James Version, I love the spiritual power conveyed through the wording of many books, chapters, and verses, and the poetry of Psalms and Proverbs. It’s a noble literary and spiritual heritage.

I also appreciate the New King James, which stays very close to the KJV while correcting obvious mistakes and replacing archaic words such as thou and ye with today’s you. However, if I’m looking for real clarification, I generally turn to one of these translations:

I very much appreciate The Message for its overview of the entire Bible. No longer do those aspiring to read through the whole Bible have to get stuck because they lack the sheer willpower to plow through difficult parts or tedious wording. The Message is often a real page-turner. (I’m thinking here of the stories of King David from his youth through his reign.) I love the extraordinarily thoughtful introductions to each Old and New Testament book. They inspire the reader by clarifying the spiritual purpose of each.

The New Living Translation reveals the intent of many passages in a fresh and “aha” way.

I like The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips because it is so clear and understandable. If I’m still searching for clarification, I might look at the New Revised Standard Version, which is very readable, or the Good News translation.

The Amplified Bible can be a fun read because, well, it amplifies some passages so that the reader understands every possible facet of meaning. It also simplifies some puzzling wording.

The Jerusalem Bible sometimes surprises me with its ability to clarify passages in a new way.

While I own each of these as books, I am really grateful for such sites as biblegateway.com where it’s possible to look up multiple verses in many translations with the tap of a finger.

About the author

Sandi Justad is a Christian Science practitioner in Chicago Ridge, Illinois.

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