Curt Daniel's "Helpful Hints on Reading the Bible" (Part 4)

Happy Lord's Day! Here is Curt Daniel's helpful hint #4 on reading the Bible:

4. USE DIFFERENT TRANSLATION

"While it can be confusing to some systems of Scripture memory, it can be a great help to Bible study to read the Bible from different translations. Some Christians read a different translation through each year. Or, compare them on the passage you're studying. Sometimes we get too comfortable with a certain translation, especially the King James. Thus, we fail to get the meaning because we only know the words. Another reputable translation can say the same thing in slightly different language, and so open it up to you in a brand new way. There have been over 100 translations of the Bible into English. Over 25 are still in print. Some are even printed side-by-side in "Parallel Bibles". It is best to use the more dependable ones, such as the King James Version, the New King James Version, the American Standard Version, the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version, the Revised Standard Version, and so on. Paraphrases such as the Living Bible or the Good News Bible can be useful as commentaries but frequently do more harm than good. The J.B. Phillips version is a better paraphrase. Then there is the Amplified Bible and Wuest's Expanded Version of the New Testament, which is especially useful with the tenses of the verbs. A good translation can be like a dictionary. Compare several translations and observe how they render a certain word differently. They are also like compact commentaries. Incidentally, you may also want to read the Bible in a second language you know, like Spanish or German. This helps you with that language and can help you learn the Bible. Some publishers publish Bibles with English and another language in parallel columns."