Bible Translations: Old & New February 24, 2014 Issue

My favorite translation

Theresa Talley

I go to BibleGateway.com to study the Bible. This website has many translations of the Bible, and I look at each translation of the passage I’m interested in. I know that whichever one has an inspired message for me and brings the most light is the one to choose. Lately, I have been reading the Amplified Bible and enjoying it.

After attending funeral services for a friend some time ago, I read the Beatitudes in the Common English Bible. This passage, “Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad” (Matthew 5:4), meant a lot as I thought of my dear friend’s loved ones. And the Amplified Bible speaks of God’s favor and the revelation of His matchless grace, which are there for those who mourn , “for they shall be comforted.” This thought comforted me, and I know that His grace will be there for these people in a way that they can understand and accept. We all have access to the happiness that comes from God.

In my early years of Bible study, I read the New International Version. When I started working with a Christian Science practitioner, this individual suggested I read the King James Version, which is much more poetic. I also enjoy The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language when I want to experience Christ’s eternal message of Love in the language of today. Through the BibleGateway, a wonderful Internet tool, I would say my favorite translation varies each day.