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/lit/ - Literature

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20470666 No.20470666 [Reply] [Original]

I’ve been following the St. John’s College reading list and feeling like I’m getting a lot out of it. I’m inching ever closer to the Bible and was curious: which version would be best to read? I’ve heard so many different arguments over the years. I actually have an Oxford Bible which I’ve thumbed through. However, I’m not sure if that’s the best or if I should resort to a KJV. What are /lit/‘s thoughts?

>> No.20470694

>>20470666
Either KJV or Douay Rheims should be OK, unless you wanna write commentaries on the Bible, in which case you'd be better off using a literalist translation or referencing the original texts in Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek with the aid of a dictionary.

>> No.20470890

Obviously the New World Translation, not even a contest.

>> No.20470895

Read Plotinus instead

>> No.20470955

>>20470666
ESV is you want literal and scholarly text; KJV if you want prettier prose

>> No.20470958

>>20470666
The New International Version is the only legitimate English Bible. Anything else is heretical.

>> No.20470964

>>20470666
NIV. Balances readability with the original text. KJV if you want to read ye olde English

>> No.20471032

>>20470958
anon, niv is just a meme

>> No.20471063

I have that edition and I really like it
I bought it because it's widely available in an annotated form, it's very readable and very accurate
For example it translates Isaiah 7:14 correctly when very rarely do other editions do so

>> No.20471067

>>20471063
Oh also I bought the paperback edition but I regret it and wish I bought the hardback instead
Maybe something to consider

>> No.20471073

>>20470666
Start with whatever translation you like and then move on to the KJV.

>> No.20471135

>>20471032
It's the only true expression of the message of the LORD in the English tongue. Its sacred words guide my soul day and night.

>> No.20472161

>>20470666
>Should I read the scholarly bible that I have with notes or should I read the bible preferred by schizophrenic american protestants from the deep south that also happens to be unreadable
you are clueless.

>> No.20472166

>>20471135
This nigga Jewish and he don realize it cuh

>> No.20472429

>>20470666
'The Message' if you value accuracy over prose. While some may be frightened by the shear amount of footnotes, a true scholar will appreciate them.

>> No.20472843

>>20470666
>checked Satan wants to read the Bible
Well, if you want to read the Bible then it's going to be the King James. If you want to read a "bible" then NASB, ESV, NRSV, RSV, NKJV, NIV. If you want to read something even worse than a "bible" then go with the NLT, Douay-Rheims, NABRE, anything "CE", NWT, Knox, OSB (especially bad), The Message, The Passion, or anything "Jerusalem".

Unironically.

>> No.20474029

You only read it in Koine Greek

>> No.20474209

>>20472161
>should I read a (((postmodern))) translation made by atheists and jews?
>or should I read the version that was the standard in the Anglosphere for over 300 years
If you can’t read KJV, that sounds like a problem with your own literacy abilities

>> No.20474242

>>20474209
The KJV is also from Jews.

>> No.20474716

>>20474209
What's postmodern about it?
The NRSV translation is an attempt at making the most accurate translation possible (yes that includes preserving gender neutral words in translation), that seems to be anti postmodern based on my admittedly very poor understanding of postmodernism

>> No.20475637

>>20470666
I’ve had the same problem. Which bible has all the books in it? I’ve been reading NRSV so far and I’ve noticed it doesn’t have the duertcanonical books and the catholic version of course doesn’t have the orthodox books. Which is a shame because I’ve been enjoying it so far. Is there a similar translation with all books? I can’t seem to find the nrsv common bible of 1973 anywhere for free so if you guys know where to find that that would be nice

>> No.20476376

>>20470666
Ask your local priest, not /lit/.

>> No.20476379

>>20470694
Those two the greatest meme translations rather. The serious options are the ERV (1895) and a choice between either the RSV or the ESV.

>> No.20476832

>>20474716
Except that the words aren’t gender neutral in their original language afaik
Regardless, the study Bible is unbelievably pozzed when it comes to the footnotes. It is a Jewish study Bible apparently

>> No.20476847

>>20476832
You aren't very confident are you?

>> No.20476904

>>20470666
Either KJV or NKJV. Use Bible hub to see the ancient Hebraic and Greek origins when in doubt of a verse's meaning.

>> No.20476970

>>20476904
I second this but prefer the KJV.

>> No.20476996

>>20470666
KJV

>> No.20477068

>>20470666
If you already have an Annotated Oxford Bible, I'd say just read that. If you want to go the KJV route, the Norton Critical Edition of the Bible (two volumes, big floppy paperbacks) is a KJV with really good notes if you want to explore that option, as well as getting material like excerpts of ANE law codes, excerpts from the Ba'al Cycle, apocryphal Gospels, various other contextual patristic, literary and scholarly sources and commentary in the appendixes.

Other than that, my recommendation for someone who just wants a Bible to read is the old RSV with apocrypha. It was the old scholarly standard, leans towards formal equivalence and while it was too early to take full advantage of the Qumran manuscripts, it does utilise them to a limited extent. It was the starting point that other denominations used for their own revisions such as the NRSV for mainline Protestants and secular scholarship, ESV for conservative Protestants, RSV-CE/2CE for Catholics and the Orthodox recommend it when a Bible based on the LXX is unavailable. Good enough but not quite biased toward one theological point of view for any particular denomination. Not a perfect translation, but then again, I'm not sure that is even possible.

>> No.20477093

>>20477068
I just remembered, Robert Alter's Hebrew Bible + David Bentley Hart's NT is a nice /lit/ option as both are concerned with capturing the literary quality of the texts. The former is quite pricey but you can check libgen or z-library for an epub or pdf and have a read to see if you enjoy it before looking any further. Either way, happy reading.

>> No.20479063

Ignore everyone in this thread, get the Norton critical KJV which they just call the English Bible

>> No.20479149

>>20470666
KJV will be best for your current task

>> No.20479166

>>20474209
>my KJV translated from the Masoretic text hand-crafted by medieval Talmudists a millennium after Christ is sure to be free of Jewish corruption!