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/lit/ - Literature

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8702479 No.8702479 [Reply] [Original]

How do I read the bible?

Do I just read straight away? Do I pick up an annotated version, and, if so, which one? I see people recommending either the oxford or the harper collins and don't know which one will be better for me.

>> No.8702487

I would recommend picking up The Jerusalem Bible and Jesus of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger as the preferred commentary.

>> No.8702490

>>8702487
Noted, thanks.

>> No.8702504

You really should pick up an annotated version. The Bible has a rich history and is full of interpretations so you need a solid understanding which you can get from introductions and annotations.

Personally, I'd recommend the Norton KJV one. People complain that it's outdated, but the Norton edition tells you which parts are mistranslations or obscure, so you can appreciate the great language while knowing what's accurate or not. However if you really don't wish to read 400 year old English, than Oxford will still be fine.

As for actually reading it, just dive right in. Although one technique I'd recommend is to first use this 61 day chronological reading plan which highlights the most important parts

https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/chronological?version=NIV

You'll have a good sense of the shape of the Bible and its most important figures and themes. Then you can do a deeper reading of the books you're most interested in, which I hope would be all of them because while some parts are definitely more interesting than others to read, there's plenty of beauty and wisdom in almost all the books.

Note: I am not in any way an expert in the Bible or Christianity. This is just a common reader's opinion. If anyone has any learned objections to make to my advice, I'd actually welcome it very much.

>> No.8702552

A study bible (i.e. what you consider an annotated version) will depend on your purposes. Some study bibles are more directed for people of faith; others are just there to elucidate the terms and the actions (NOAB; I would assume Harper Collins does the same thing, since it's used in unis like the NOAB). The NOAB is updated a bit more often than the HarperCollins, and the presentation of the NOAB has always been extremely high quality for its cost.

Of course, study bibles might not be so necessary for a general reader in the age of the internet. You can google pretty much any question you might have and get answers comparable to the scholarly ones of study bibles.

>> No.8702567
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8702567

>>8702479
Read straight through, any modern translation (NRSV or ESV are good choices). Don't waste time with reading annotations for your first time through, it will only slow you down. Get a good gist of the story by just reading it for yourself.

A good aggressive reading plan is the 90 day plan.
Here is a link: http://www.mviewpc.org/hp_wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/90-Days-through-the-Bible-Reading-Schedule-MVPC-1.pdf

>> No.8702756

Some anon recommended once to go to the Open Yale University course on the Old Testament and after watching a few lecture I have to say that this was like opening Pandora's box to me. They always have a list of necessary literature (you don't need to read everything) for the corresponding session and some of the texts are fucking brilliant. Thanks to the course I read the epic of Gilgamesh and it has spiked my interred in other Mesopotamien stories, I've already ordered an anthology of Near Eastern texts and looking forward to get a bit more into the material.