Slow Down

I was at a conference this week - it was so intense they called it “Boot Camp.”  No it was not about guns and grunting under heavy packs. 

Here is what I discovered.  I could only absorb so much.  Some at the conference could absorb more than me.  We all hit our limit on the 3rd day of a 5 day conference.

I had to go and sit where it was quiet - and then some of the things that were said began to form and shape themselves in my thinking - and soon some of the information was digested into something useful.

Part of giving the Bible a FRESH READ is to give the words, the images, the thoughts time to sink in to your mind.  A hurried read is like skipping rocks across the water - it touches the surface and moves in.  A Slow and Unhurried read will all ow the word to make an impression.

So take a walk, go to the gym, spend time with your stamp collection, listen to some music and take the reading with you - let it walk about with you for a while.  Give it some time.

Even at Boot Camp they have to take a rest.

About Translation (repeat)

The Bible was not written in English, but in ancient languages.  Except for specialists who know Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, we read the Bible in English translation. There are dozens of translations to choose from.  

With FRESH READ, we will use a literary translation, such as the New Revised Standard Version. 

·        This is midway between “word for word”  literal versions and the freer “idea for idea” versions.  

·        The NRSV strives to be gender inclusive - it will usually only use male pronouns when that was the original intent. This is important for a FRESH READ. 

Since the goal is to experience the biblical text itself.  We will not attend to the observations and opinions of previous readers.  It is important to use a literary version that  reflects the language and the meaning of the Bible, and that is reads clearly in English. If you want to read more on this topic, keep reading.  If not, feel free to stop here! 

Translations can be divided into four categories: Literal, Literary, Dynamic and Interpretive.  Literal translations try to follow the original in a word for word fashion.  This can lead to awkwardness and even confusion in English.  For example, the King James Version of Psalm 48:1: Psalm 48:1‑2 - KJV       “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. [2] Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”   The phrase “mountain of his holiness” could suggest the image of the immensity of the holiness of God.  It actually is a literal translation of the Hebrew grammar, which means “His holy mountain.” 
 Literary translations try to be “as literal as possible and as free as necessary.”  They try to retain as much as the flavor of the original text, while at the same time making it clear in English. 

Psalm 48:1,2 - NRSV“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised,in the city of our God.His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,is the joy of all the earth,Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.”  Dynamic Translations try to translate ideas for ideas.  They are not as concerned to carry over into English the structure or the words of the original.  They are freer in form, but try to stay close to the meaning of the original text. Psalm 48:1,2 - NIV“Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,in the city of our God, his holy mountain.It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth.Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,the city of the Great King.” 

Interpretive translations are really a more personal reflection upon the text.  These can be very free and offer insights by the translator into the text.  The New Century Version is one example:

Psalm 48:1,2 - NCV“The Lord is great; he should be praisedin the city of our God, on his holy mountain.It is high and beautifuland brings joy to the whole world.Mount Zion is like the high mountains to the north;it is the city of the Great King.” 

 It us usually best to read more than one translation.  We suggest a more literal translation and a more free version.  The more literal is a safeguard against following some one else’s interpretation.  The more free version guards against obscurity. 
Below is a Chart of some of the most popular current translations, but certainly not all of them: 

Literal

• New American Standard Bible
• English Standard Version
• King James Version
• New King James Version 

Literary      

• Revised Standard Version         
•  New Revised Standard Version
• Revised English Version   
• Jerusalem Bible 

 Dynamic

• New International Version                            
• New Century Version         

Interpretive

• Living Bible The Message         
• Phillips Translation
• New Living Translation 

A good web site where you can search for passages or specific words in the Bible as well as compare several translations is: www.biblegateway.com 

Comparing Notes

The very idea of FRESH READ is that we each need to read the scriptures for ourselves. Does that indicate that comparing notes with others is cheating?

Let’s compare this to study groups. It is a popular idea in education that students do well to work in groups. Part of the reasoning is that in the workplace, most of us have to work with others.

If you come to a study group without having done your part, you are dead weight. You add nothing to the process of learning and discovery. However if you contribute your own analysis and thought, you are a benefit to the group.

So, we can benefit from comparing notes with others. This can come in several forms:

• I am in a book group with other pastors, and we just decided to study the Abraham section of Genesis (Gen 12 -25). We will present our study of the text and our ideas for preaching to each other.
• Bible Study groups can be like this, assuming the text is actually being studied. Watch out for sessions where we listen to the teacher only, or when we talk in ignorance of the text.
• The authors of sermons, commentaries, articles and books can be viewed like this. If you only read their views without studying and forming your own ideas, then your read is STALE, not FRESH.
• Sometimes authors from other centuries or distant cultures can teach us the most about our cultural blind-spots.
• Footnotes in bibles should be read this way - not the last word, but as a study partner.

To switch to another analogy, others can prepare the meal, but I still have to eat it. It is not a FRESH READ if I only accept the work of others without taking it in with reflection.

Fresh Read

Read It!

The most important thing to do if you want to read and understand the Bible, is to read it.

The scriptures are made up of numerous books, authored over many centuries, written in three languages, and in a wide range of genre. To become a student of the scriptures involves starting to read from these texts. No one can grasp it all in a short time. It will take reading, thinking and connecting in your mind the events and ideas.
There are many methods. Let us suggest a few.

1. Shipwreck Plan - many people simply begin at the beginning, as you would a novel, and start reading. However, this ship usually flounders on the rocks of Temple ritual (Leviticus) or genealogies (Numbers).

2. Chronological Plan - there are places to look to find the scriptures listed Chronologically. The advantage is that you get a sense of the flow of Biblical history. However, if you start in January, it will take you until October to get to the new Testament. (The second link below has a chronological plan as an option.)

3. Pick a Book Plan - here you recognize that the Bible is a library. So select a book that is of interest to you, such as Genesis or John, and focus your reading on that book. This has the advantage of being able to concentrate on a smaller part of the whole. Don't just read through, but read the book several times, consider it's shape and outline. Think about it's major themes. Look up some of the parts you don't understand in a reference work.

4. This N That Plan - several bible reading plans will move you around the scriptures so you don't feel stuck. This might bounce you from book to book, or it might give you a few chapters from the OT, the NT and the Psalms (for devotional reading). If you own a study bible, you probably have a plan like this already. An excellent This N That Plan in book form is: "Search the Scriptures" available from InterVarsity Press. Go to IVPress

We suggest the Pick a Book plan. A good place to start is one of the Gospels - John is the easiest for many. If you prefer a through the bible plan here are some links:

Verse of the Day has 4 methods of reading through the Bible
Verse of the Day
That Bible Plan has 14 methods
Bible Plan

The Important thing, to repeat, is to pick a way that works for you, and to start reading. As with any subject, the more you read, the more you will understand. If the Bible is unfamiliar to you, do not feel discouraged. It will take time. Remember that it takes time to learn about anything: knitting, football, ancient history, how to keep Windows from crashing.

FRESH READ

A Fish Story

Follow this link to a classic account of a student learning about the powers of observation. First read the story, and then think of how this might apply to the reading of the Scriptures - or any other piece of literature.

FRESH READ

http://www.bethel.edu/~dhoward/resources/Agassizfish/Agassizfish.htm

colored pencils

Below is an example of a manuscript study.   Psalm 121 has been copied from a literal tranlsation, the ESV, and the verse numbers have been removed.

Simply by coloring repeated words, and related concepts, you can see the use of repetion and development in this passage. If you do this by hand, with pencils, you can circle, draw lines linking the words and ideas, and make notes, comments or questions in the margin.

Psalm 121 - ESV

A Song of Ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?

My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.

The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

 

Approaches to Reading Scripture

While it would be too much to give a comprehensive account of the ways the Bible has been read, it is certainly worth noting some of the main approaches that others have followed.

The Plain Meaning - We can start by reading a passage at its face value. We could call this the literal meaning. For example. The Story of David and Goliath is about how an inexperienced David fought with the fearsome Goliath, with only a sling and stones. Jesus feeding the 5000 is about Jesus taking a boys lunch and multiplying it to feed a crowd with left overs. We are not looking for symbolism or hidden meanings, but what the text says if read plainly.

Symbolism - When a phrase is symbolic, we try to understand the symbol. We consider the context, the author, the first audience and the situation. For example, we do not take the following verses literally, as if God rode a cloud like a skateboard: Psalm 104:3-4 ESV

he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
[4] he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.

This image is in a poetic book, the Psalms. This psalm is a reflection on the world from the standpoint of the Days of Creation of Genesis 1. So we understand the image to mean that God is the master of the atmosphere, and that even thunderstorms answer to his commands.

The "Analogy of Faith" is a phrase in Romans 12:6 . It has been taken to mean that the Bible in its parts should be read in the light of the whole. That is, when you encounter an obscure passage, it is best to read it in comparison (analogy) to other passages. It is also helpful to read unclear and symbolic passages by clear and explanatory passages. Verses saying that God "repented" ought to be read next to verses saying that "God is not a person that he would change his mind" (see Gen 6:6 and Numbers 23:9 - with study you will discover that two words are used for repentance - one for people and the other for God.). The 6th Commandment "Thou Shall not Kill" is read against the balance of scripture to see that it means something like "Thou shall not murder." Otherwise we could take the command to include a prohibition against eating meat. This approach gives scripture a self balancing quality. It is based on the theological point that God does not lie.

Rules of Grammar and Composition Apply. Basically, we read the Bible as we would read any other literature. It is not intended to be read for secret messages or hidden meanings. It follows the grammar of it's original languages. It follows the conventions of literature. For example, while we generally sign our letters at the end, the New Testament letters begin by identifying the writer and the audience, as was customary in that period. Some people pull single phrases out of the paragraph or story from which it came and invest it with another meaning. Just as you understand Shakespeare by reading the whole sonnet, or Bono by listening to the whole song, we read the Bible by noting its shape and form.

Higher Meaning. We do not recommend this approach, but many have sought a deeper or more spiritual meaning to a text. This often came out of a philosophy that the real and apparent is not as excellent as the symbolic and abstract. So, in I Samuel 17, David and Goliath might be taken to be about Truth verses Error, or Freedom verses Injustice. Sometimes numbers are analyzed for deeper meaning. In Mark 5:13, almost 2,000 pigs are driven into the sea of Galilee; by a very imaginative interpretation, one author suggested that the world would come to an end in almost 2,000 years from that point in time. At FRESH READ, we will take a more literary approach to the Scriptures.

Meditation. In the Biblical use of the term, meditation means a deep reflection upon a text of scripture. Unlike forms of meditation which seek to empty the mind, the biblical use of meditation is to fill the mind. This is viewed as a mental and a spiritual process. It takes time. It recognized that the scriptures are a personal communication from the Creator, and seeks his insight into what he has said to us in the Bible. (See Psalm 1)

About Translation

ABOUT TRANSLATIONS

The Bible was not written in English, but in ancient languages. Except for specialists who know Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, we read the Bible in English translation.

There are dozens of translations to choose from. With FRESH READ, we will use a literary translation, such as the New Revised Standard Version.
This is midway between “word for word” literal versions and the freer “idea for idea” versions.
The NRSV strives to be gender inclusive - it will usually only use male pronouns when that was the original intent.

This is important for a FRESH READ. Since the goal is to experience the biblical text itself. We will not attend to the observations and opinions of previous readers. It is important to use a literary version that reflects the language and the meaning of the Bible, and that is reads clearly in English.

If you want to read more on this topic, keep reading. If not, feel free to stop here!

Translations can be divided into four categories: Literal, Literary, Dynamic and Interpretive.

Literal translations try to follow the original in a word for word fashion. This can lead to awkwardness and even confusion in English. For example, the King James Version of Psalm 48:1:

Psalm 48:1-2 - KVJ
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
[2] Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth,
is mount Zion, on the sides of the north,
the city of the great King.”

The phrase “mountain of his holiness” could suggest the image of the immensity of the holiness of God. It actually is a literal translation of the Hebrew grammar, which means “His holy mountain.”

Literary translations try to be “as literal as possible and as free as necessary.” They try to retain as much as the flavor of the original text, while at the same time making it clear in English.

Psalm 48:1,2 - NRSV
“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised,
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.”

Dynamic Translations try to translate ideas for ideas. They are not as concerned to carry over into English the structure or the words of the original. They are freer in form, but try to stay close to the meaning of the original text.

Psalm 48:1,2 - NIV
“Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
It is beautiful in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth.
Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
the city of the Great King.”

Interpretive translations are really a more personal reflection upon the text. These can be very free and offer insights by the translator into the text. The New Century Version is one example:

Psalm 48:1,2 - NCV
“The Lord is great; he should be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.
It is high and beautiful
and brings joy to the whole world.
Mount Zion is like the high mountains to the north;
it is the city of the Great King.”

It us usually best to read more than one translation. We suggest a more literal translation and a more free version. The more literal is a safeguard against following some one else’s interpretation. The more free version guards against obscurity.

Below is a list of some of the most popular current translations, but certainly not all of them:

Literal
New American Standard Bible
English Standard Version
King James Version
New King James Version

Literary
Revised Standard Version
New Revised Standard Version
Revised English Version
Jerusalem Bible

Dynamic
New International Version
New Century Version

Interpretive
Living Bible
The Message
Phillips Translation
New Living Translation

A good web site where you can search for passages or specific words in the Bible as well as compare several translations is: www.biblegateway.com

- FRESH READ