my favorite Bible(s)
I'm asked all the time what Bible I use (in fact, I was asked twice this week alone!) so I thought I'd share with you what I use for my own personal Quiet Time and for studying.
The Archaeological Study Bible is my day-to-day Bible.
I absolutely love history so I adore all the little side notes and extra pages that delve deeper into things like what the front gate of a city looked like and the significance of it, the role of women in the Greco-Roman world, as well as showing ancient texts and artifacts (super fun for the Art History Major like me).
This Bible is in NIV so it's the translation I grew up with and the same wording of all those Bible verses I learned in Sunday School as a child.
I also love that there are many pages with ample room for notes and reminders for myself in the margins.
That's big for me when I study and have my daily devotions.
This is a fairly new translation and last year when I began looking for a copy, the Bible bookstore near our house hadn't even heard of it. The girl actually asked me if I was talking about the reality show. "Um no," I looked at her bewildered. "This is a Bible." haha
I ended up finding it on Amazon and am REALLY loving going back and forth between this and my typical NIV. It's so fun to see how things are translated a touch differently. The same meaning, of course. Just said in a different way.
The tone is more current and is stated that "It recaptures the passion, grit, humor, and beauty that is often lost in the translation process." And it really does.
Click here to see how The Voice compares to various other translations, including the one you're using now!
When I'm writing one of my Bible Studies, a blogpost, or am just wanting to see what a verse says in a different translation...I often end up at biblegateway.com.
It's fantastically simple to maneuver and has tons of different avenues to go deeper: topical index, passage lookup, keyword search, devotionals, reading plans, and on and on!
The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is known as the most literal translation, so when on BibleGateway, that's often what I'm using it for. I also love The Message version for it's story-like quality.
It's so much easier to go to this great site than carry around 20 different Bibles with me when headed to Starbucks to write and study!
If I were to buy a new Bible though...THIS is the one I would purchase.
Like I mentioned earlier, writing and note-taking and doodling are really impactful in my studying of God's Word. It helps me remember when He speaks to me and important passages I want to easily find again.
Well, the ESV Single Column Journaling Bible is perfect if you're like me.
If you're on Instagram, you'll see tons and tons of examples of how (mostly women) use this beautifully designed Bible (the ESV is a fantastic translation too, by the way). I found these by searching IG for #journalingbible. And guess what, there were nearly 4,000 photos to scroll through! Such creativity and beauty in how differently we learn and grow in The Word of God. I just love it.
What about you? What's your favorite Bible or translation?!
