Intro to Bible

Help! I’ve Never Picked Up A Bible Before!

 

Confused by Scripture references, things like that? In many nations, Bibles are rare or unavailable. In other nations, though Bibles may be freely available, many people do not choose to read them.

 

Christians believe that the Bible – the Old Testament and New Testament – is God’s Word. The God that created us, loves us, and desires us to know Him, gave us His Word through many generations of prophets. Most of these authors of the Bible – which is really a collection of books – were of Jewish descent, and much of the Bible was written for the Jews. Even Jesus was a Jew!

 

The Bible contains many different types of literature, but throughout is a consistency unique and remarkable for a text compiled over thousands of years.

 

Followers of Jesus Christ read the Bible to help get to know Him better. It is like reading a series of letters, rather than a list of rules or dos and don’ts. Don’t read it expecting some simple checklist of how to live your daily life. The Holy Spirit helps us understand God’s word, as we read it and study it and pray (converse with God).

 

To find some online Bibles, you might try these websites:
http://bible.crosswalk.com/
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=home&action=search&f_search_type=bible (“Defender’s Study Bible”)
http://www.ibs.org/bibles/index.php

 

Different translations of the Bible abound. By studying more than one translation it helps to learn the nuances of the original (after all, we can’t all read Ancient Hebrew or Greek, the two main languages of the original Bible texts!). It may also help to correct for biases that occur if you rely too heavily on only one translation.

 

My personal favourite and most-used translations include (but are not limited to):
New King James Version (NKJV)
Today’s New International Version (TNIV)
New International Version (NIV)
Good News Translation (GNT, sometimes written as TEV, Today’s English Version)
The Amplified Bible (Amp)
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The Message (Msg)
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
New Living Translation (NLT)

And, when I’m feeling a bit more lofty and academic than reality demands, I try the Latin Vulgate. (I’m merely a Sociology student, but I do like to pretend that I can read Latin! I have no idea why!)

 

To look up a Scripture in the Bible…

 

You will normally see Scripture references written like this:

 

“Psalm 45:6-8.”

 

Step 1 – find the book called ‘Psalms.’ It’s the biggest book in the Bible, and it’s in the middle. You can’t miss it! (Try the table of contents.)

 

Step 2 – the “45” means ‘Chapter 45,’ and will usually be indicated by a larger number (you’ll notice a lot of smaller verse numbers throughout the text).

 

Step 3 – the “:6-8” means ‘verses 6 to 8.’ That means you’re looking for the little number 6 in the text of Chapter 45. In this case, read the verses marked ‘6’ ‘7’ ‘8.’

 

Did that work? You should have found something like this:

 

6 Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. 8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad. (Today’s New International Version)

 

Remember, the formula is:

 

Book x:y

 

x = Chapter #
y = Verse #

 

Now here’s the text of Psalm 45:6-8 in the Latin Vulgate. Who can resist, really?

 

6 Deus in medio eius non commovebitur adiuvabit eam Deus mane diluculo 7 conturbatae sunt gentes inclinata sunt regna dedit vocem suam mota est terra 8 Dominus virtutum nobiscum susceptor noster Deus Iacob diapsalma

 

To learn more about the Bible, you might try the Bible Q & A page at http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3052/.