Q:
I
am sure this is an old problem. It's about the Bible, so it has to be
old,
right? I would like to read and get more out of the Bible. I went to a
bookstore and was overwhelmed by all the different versions. Why are
there
so many versions? Any suggestion on a modern English translation?
(Modern
English, wasn't that an 80's band?)
-S.H.
A:
You
know, you could be a writer for the show! Your comedy is as lame as
ours!
Picking a Bible is tough,
unfortunately, because
there are so many options. And there are also a lot of bad
options.
There are a lot of
translations because the Bible
wasn't written in English. In fact, since we don't have any original
texts
- the Gospel of Mark isn't just sitting around in a dentist's lobby
somewhere
- all we're left with is translations to English. And translations can
have variations in them...
Here's a list of a few you
could get: Douai-Rheims
Bible, Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition, Jerusalem Bible,
New
American Bible...well, that should do it. How many Bibles do you
need???
Avoid a Bible who's English
is
too modern - so that Jesus is saying "Yo, wassup to my homies?".
But also
avoid a Bible using Old English - too many thy's, thee's, and thou's
aren't helpful.
Speaking
of Old English, you may want to avoid Old English 800, as well.
Too much of that will make reading the Bible difficult. 
