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Choosing The Best English Bible Version (Translation)

If you are over 60 and raised in a Spirit-filled Christian denomination, chances are you have been raised around the King James Version of the Bible (KJV). (Spirit-filled combines charismatics, pentacostals, and most others who refer to themselves as ‘full gospel’). A bit younger and you may have seen the NIV or the New International Version of the Bible more around the church or home. Other groups use the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the Revised Standard, or one of many other translations. There are so many versions out there in English that you may have a hard time selecting a version/translation for you. How do you select an English Bible translation for you? Let me give you a quick summary of the translations.

KJV (King James Version)– A translation commissioned by the government of King James of England in 1611. Using old English, but very common throughout the world. Out of copyright and therefore royalty free to print (pardon the pun). The KJV is the number one selling version of the Bible in the world and has contributed to why the Bible continues to be the best selling book in the world.
NKJV (New King James Version)- A revision of the English KJV done by scholars most in the United States. Very common among the younger generations of Faith churches or people wanting to move away from the old English and insufficient translations in the King James Version.
NIV (New International Version)- Published in the 1970s and written in US 8th grade level English. The best selling modern-translation. Used in both evangelical, traditional, and spirit-filled denominations.
NASB (New American Standard Bible)- Very similar to the NKJV of the Bible. Held under copyright by the Lockman Foundation in California. This translation works to translate the words and phrases as closely as possible to the original languages. Great translation but for more advanced readers. Well used by scholars around the world. Update was published in 1995 removing the thee and thous of old English. Based on the American Standard Version (ASV).
Amplified Bible (AMP)- Another translation under copyright of the Lockman foundation in the 1970s. Excellent for study as it amplifies the English to bring out the meanings from the original Greek and Hebrew. Commonly used by spirit-filled folks.
Living Translation (LIVING)- A KJV paraphrase written by Ken Taylor in Chicago Illinois when working to compose something that would be easier for his children to comprehend.
New Living Translation (NLT)- Was a reworking of the Living with the intent of getting back to the original languages around 2007. Less emphasis on literal and more emphasis on modernizing the translation.

English Standard Version (ESV)– Published in 2001, the ESV must be a good translation, but it is very close to the NKJV version from my comparisons. As we understand it, part of the idea was to have a newer translation for Christians that would also appeal Catholics.

There are many other versions of which we cannot cover. Wuests, Moffats, the list goes on…but the question remains, which Bible translation should you use?

Personally, growing up on the NIV we found that to be good and understandable. However, sometimes it seems strained and at loss from the original languages. We migrated to the the NASB and found it’s literal translations and footnotes very insightful. However, for public reading the New King James Version is definitely the best version in our experience. The NKJV and the NASB hardly differ for most scriptures.

For study, the NKJV and an Amplified bible are a musts. You can really see the intentions of the writers. If you are tired and want a light read, then the NLT probably tops the NIV for a bed stand Bible.

Finally, if you haven’t got a Strong’s Concordance, this is a must for any believer. You can look up any word in the Bible and see the original word in the original language. The Strongs helps you to see where the Amplified is getting their amplifications of the words and much. This is a great tool for Bible study.

There is much more to say about English Bible translations, but we hope this will get you a good start. Any comments, suggestions, or insights? Please feel free to share below.

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Leather Bible Covers- Repairing And Recovering Old Or Current Bibles For Longer Life

If you are like any believer, you’ve got a bunch of Bibles. But of the lot, you’ve probably got one that you’ve written those notes in, the pages are just the right thickness, you’ve got the favorite verses highlighted.

I remember after graduation from University undergraduate work, I went to Japan. The pastor from Illinois in my church in Tokyo told us we should never write in our Bibles because it would prevent us from getting new revelation later on. How wrong he was! Write in those Bibles and use them. Wear them out so the Word gets from the pages to your spirit. Once you wear them out, here’s how to breath more life into those books.

We looked on the internet for a book binding service and found a company called AA Leather. I just sent a small Bible to them in Florida to get fixed up. I sent it from Tokyo and they got it in a few days via airmail. The Bible I sent wasn’t one that I could use that much because it had a snap-flap that got in the way when you opened it, but it was a great size with a nice concordance, center column reference, and readable font size. Unfortunately, it was covered in Thomas Nelson’s horrible bonded leather. So like bonded leather does, it was falling apart. It looked like this.

If you are wanting to keep using that Bible that you used to use, there is hope. I selected between cowhide or goatskin, the color and they recoved the bugger, asked how many ribbons I wanted and even added new pages.
Here’s that bible with a new lease on life.

Well done AA Leather!

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Farewell Jack LaLanne- Fitness Pioneer Dies at 96

Sorry to see this guy go. He was a an inspiration to take care of your body, eat natural foods, and live long. He seemed strong to the end.

I want to see people making that Biblical promise of 120 years. I want to go long and strong myself.

Jack, I didn’t know you but I hope you knew Jesus personally.

Here’s the article quoted from here.

(Reuters) – Jack LaLanne, a one-time sugar-holic who became a television fitness guru preaching exercise and healthy diet to a generation of American housewives, died on Sunday at age 96, his daughter said.

LaLanne, who became U.S. television fixture in his close-fitting jumpsuit starting in 1959 and came to be regarded as the father of the modern fitness movement, succumbed to pneumonia following a brief illness at his home in Morro Bay, along the California’s central coast.

“He was surrounded by his family and passed very peacefully and in no distress … and with the football game on Sunday, so everything was normal,” Yvonne LaLanne, 66, told Reuters.

She said her father had remained active until a few months ago, including the taping of a recent public TV special.

Well into his 90s, LaLanne exercised for two hours a day. A typical workout would be 90 minutes of weightlifting and 30 minutes of swimming, changing his routine every 30 days.

He preached the gospel of exercise, raw vegetables and clean living long after his contemporaries had traded in their bicycles for nursing home beds.

“I can’t die,” LaLanne would say. “It would ruin my image.”

LaLanne was born Francois Henri LaLanne on September 26, 1914, in San Francisco, the son of French immigrants. He said he grew into a “sugar-holic” who suffered terrible headaches, mood swings and depression.

In desperation when he was 14, LaLanne’s mother took him to hear health lecturer Paul Bragg, who urged followers to exercise and eat unprocessed foods.

The young LaLanne swore off white flour, most fat and sugar and began eating more fruits and vegetables. By age 15, he had built a backyard gym of climbing ropes, chin-up bars, sit-up machines and weights.

Soon, LaLanne, who was only 5 feet, 6 inches tall, was playing high school football. He added weight-lifting to recover from a football injury and was hooked.

LaLanne opened the nation’s first modern health club in Oakland, California, in 1936. It had a gym, juice bar and health food store. Soon there were 100 gyms nationwide.

Without bothering with patents, LaLanne designed his own exercise equipment, which he had built by a blacksmith. In 1951, he started using television to get the first generation of couch potatoes to try jumping jacks, push-ups and sit-ups.

“The Jack LaLanne Show,” which went national in 1959, showed housewives how to work out and eat right, becoming a staple of U.S. daytime television during a 34-year run.

He also was known for a series of promotional fitness stunts. At age 45, in 1959, he did 1,000 push-ups and 1,000 chin-ups in 86 minutes. In 1984 a 70-year-old LaLanne had himself shackled and handcuffed and towed 70 boats 1.5 miles in Long Beach Harbor.

LaLanne said in 2007 his focus was always to help people the way Paul Bragg had helped him, adding, “Billy Graham is for the hereafter, I’m for the here and now!”

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Spreading Christians Out

Just heard a great quote on a podcast this AM. I am not sure who said it as the speaker was quoting someone else, but it seems so true.

Christians can be like manure sometimes. When they stick together too much, they can start to stink. But when you spread them out, things start to grow.

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The New Year Begins- Tokyo, Seoul

It seems every 1 January the retailers have a zillion sales going on.  This pic of H&M at ShinMisato’s Lalaport was no exception.  The difference was there were so many Brazilians in the store you though you were in San Paulo.

We had a wonderful year in
2010. We are very excited about 2011. Buckle up!

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Running With Champions

I have said a lot “If you want to be a champion, you have to run with the champions.” Well, I saw that in action in my first Gold’s Gym experience. Never been to this franchise until this week. I noticed a lot of buff little Japanese guys at this gym as opposed to the other clubs I have visited. The serious lifters seem to congregate together here.

One thing I did notice is you can’t use a gym as an escape. You still have to make time to get into God’s presence and work hard in life as well.

“Get that exercise and get back to work” is probably a good model.