Tuesday, October 30, 2007

online bibles

There is nothing quite like a comfortable, familiar Bible--one that you've used for a long time, with notes in the margins, underlines, dog-ears, and maybe even coffee stains. A good Bible can almost become like a good friend. As much as I am into the Internet, I'll always have a favorite "old-fashioned" Bible of ink and paper.

But there are times when an online Bible can be incredibly useful. So here are some links to online Bibles of various translations:
  • Oremus Bible Browser - Includes New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), Anglicized NRSV, and the King James Version (KJV). Allows you to create a page with multiple passages.
  • StudyLight.org - Many translations, including: New American Standard (NAS), New International Version (NIV), Contemporary English Version (CEV), Good News Translation, The Message, King James Version, New King James Version (NKJV), and the Easy-to-Read Version. Also has commentaries linked to each verse. Allows side-by-side comparison of two translations.
  • BibleGateway - Many, many translations. A bit more friendly than StudyLight, but StudyLight has more commentaries, and they're linked in with each verse. Allows you to compare several translations side-by-side.
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oops! Left this on the wrong post. I'm obviously a novice blogger. Anyway...

What do you think of the Lamsa translation from Aramaic? http://www.lamsabible.com/

November 6, 2007 at 1:16 PM
Rich H said...

Kris,

My first response is that I don't recall ever having heard of this translation before. I visited the lamsabible website, and much of what I read there goes contrary to what I know about the languages of the Bible manuscripts.

There is really very little doubt among biblical scholars that the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew (with some Aramaic). Likewise, there is very little doubt that the New Testament was originally written in Greek.

Now, there's also little doubt that Jesus and his disciples spoke Aramaic, and that Jesus, or at least the New Testament authors, had access to a translation of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures) into Greek.

So, I really don't see much to support the idea that the original writings were in Aramaic -- except for very limited sections of the Old Testament. I know a part of Daniel was written in Aramaic. I'm not sure if there are other sections of the Old Testament.

If you want to do some research, you could start with the Wikipedia article on the Lamsa Bible.

November 7, 2007 at 10:53 AM
John said...

I use BibleGatway a lot.

It's a pity that it doesn't include the RSV, which I'm now preaching from.

November 11, 2007 at 2:59 PM
Rich H said...

John,

It does seem to be a glaring omission. I wonder if the reason is theological or financial...

November 15, 2007 at 2:32 PM

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