Lee Harvey Oswald

I'd like to start reading the bible, and I have a King James version but I was wondering if there was an easier to read version that has more of a modern language to it.

I was also looking for a good study guide to go along with it, if anyone has any recommendations I would appreciate it. I would consider an audio version.

mhg83

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/08/01/...-a-screenplay/

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...rds=The+Voice+

Groucho

I believe it's out of print, but if you can find it Asimov's Guide to the Bible is well worth your time.

story

Great question! I have two recommendations:

The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is widely accepted by religious scholars and many denominations as the most accurate translation from the original Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) available. Additionally, I find it fairly readable, too. There are several versions out there, of course, in terms of focus and study. For example, I have four copies of the NRSV I turn to regularly: the HarperCollins Study Bible and New Oxford Annotated Bible both have excellent footnotes, context at the beginning of each book, and concordance/index work that can all be extremely helpful to understand the intent of the stories better (both of these versions also include the Apocrypha, books included in the Catholic and Easter Orthodox Biblical canon but removed from the Protestant Biblical canon, if you're interested in that; you didn't say if you were Catholic so I don't know if that's important to you, although there are some great stories in there, too, if you've never been familiar). I also have a Green Bible which sees passages relating to nature, the earth, or eco-justice highlighted in green type. Finally, I have a Wesley Bible which has good footnotes with many of them specifically related to how John Wesley and other prominent figures of the Methodist movement interpreted Scripture. There are many more out there.

The Message by Eugene Peterson is a modern-English paraphrase of the Bible using many idioms, phrases, and words which make sense in a contemporary setting. To this end, it's certainly more peppered with Peterson's interpretations than some are comfortable with, as if he takes the guess work of the metaphor away from the reader and states it plainly yet states it in his own one way. And yet it is definitely readable, the turns of phrase can be powerful and insightful, and while not a true translation Peterson has a scholarly background and did his work from the original languages. If you go with The Message, I would recommend finding a numbered copy as some are not (again, since it's not a verse-by-verse translation many copies aren't numbered due to its paraphrase nature). The numbered copy helps you compare and contrast with other Bibles like the NRSV.

You can read the NRSV online for free at http://bible.oremus.org/ and you can read The Message and dozens of other versions of the Bible for free at http://www.biblegateway.com/.

Finally, if you have the time and gumption, there are several resources out there for reading the Bible in a year or three years or whatever that can help a reader match up NT passages with OT passages thematically, prophetically, or in other ways, too.

Hope you have a great read!

The Bus

I'd still pick up the King James version, if only because it begat so many idioms.

Supermallet

My recommendation is the New Oxford Annotated Bible. It contains the NRSV translation of the Old and New Testaments plus Apocrypha with scholarly annotations without a specific faith-based perspective skewing the notes. It also has scholarly essays and maps and diagrams. If you're looking for a Bible that treats its subject like a historical document and not the unassailable word of a supreme deity, this is the one to get.

The Third Edition (which I linked to) is the preferred one, as the current edition apparently is printed on cheaper paper and is of lower build quality.

danwiz

The Jehovah's Witnesses Bible is an easy to read one and next time they come to your door you can request one for free! I've read that one cover to cover.

Obi-Wanma

Lee Harvey Oswald

Thanks for all the responses. I did buy a NKJV bible. I'm still looking for a New Revised Standard Version, but all the ones I have found so far have really thin paper pages. They're so thin you can see the ink on the next few pages and it looks like it would be really distracting to try and read. Any recommendations for NRSV bible that doesn't have the extra thin pages?

bippitty

If you have an ereader, the English Standard Version and the Holman Christian Standard Bible are both available free.