I've been thinking that I need to step up my personal Bible reading. Too many pastors rely on their preaching preparation or saying of the daily offices for their diet of Bible study. Of late I've been conscious of a need to study the Bible more, and wondered how I might go about it.
My first step was to get a new Bible: the English Standard Version Study Bible. I ordered it last night and it arrived this morning. A meaty doorstep of a book at 2750+ pages. It's beautifully presented and the single column layout makes it easy to read. I'm impressed - now I simply have to get reading it.
I went to the church later in the morning, and there was a letter inviting me to join with other pastors for a weekly early morning Bible study, to help us be more disciplined in our engagement with scripture!
I think I might be going along the right lines here.......
Hmm, I thought the preferred pisky Bible was Anglicised NRSV with Apocrpyha!
In the past, I've tried to do the start at Genesis and work your way to the end approach, but not successfully. I wonder if any Church has ever managed to follow that approach for sermons and still had people interested at Revelations!
Hope the study with other pastors proves fruitful.
Posted by: ryan | 03 September 2009 at 08:18 PM
Yup, a lot of Piskies seem to like the NRSV, and rightly so.
My own favoured translation is the NETBible: http://bible.org/netbible/ - stonking footnotes and sensible English.
Stuff the `Genesis to Revelation'(singular!!) business. I want either a bible or decent commentary that takes it in the order it was written, preferably unpacking the flow of material in Documentary Hypothesis and Gospels (cf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating_the_Bible , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authors_of_the_Bible)
Posted by: Tim | 05 September 2009 at 08:44 AM
I find the New Jerusalem Study Bible excellent; the translation is modrn enoough and the intros and comments helpful. Also using an Apple computer, I rely on Accordance, and use it for the Office when at home
Posted by: John Whitley | 09 September 2009 at 07:26 AM