I’m officially retiring my duct-taped, coffee-stained NKJV Woman’s Study Bible for a new ESV. Though I’ve got mixed emotions. It’s hard to part with a worn-in Bible. I know it sounds overly sentimental, but I feel like I’m cheating a little.
Those Pages steered me through seminary, guided me through a decade of marriage, and strengthened me through nearly eight years of child-rearing. They met me early and stayed up late, whispering precious promises from my God.
Ok, Ok, I know. “Get over it, Lara.”
Anyway, people often ask which version of Scripture I use for my personal study. And to be honest, I think they all have something to offer. His Word is alive and active, by His grace transcending even the poorest of translations.
But in recent months I have switched from the New King James to the English Standard Version mainly because it seems to stay so close to the intention of the original language. Not that I remember much of my Greek and Hebrew from seminary, (*ahem) but I trust those who do. And this version seems ideal.
(Hopefully my son won’t rip off the cover of this Bible. Though duct tape always comes to the rescue.)
For those memorizing Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount with me, I trust you had a good “breather” week and are ready to press on with this week’s verses. Keep at it, friends.
You have heard that it was said, ’An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
Matthew 5:38-40
I understand completely the resistance to retiring your duct taped Bible. Mine is held together with mailing tape and is snug in a cover to protect it. Many of my most precious notes are recorded in the margins and on every available page of that precious book. I hope one day my girls will have a discussion over who gets their mothers Bible as a keepsake. Oh, I too broke down and bought a new Bible!
Oh, I have my dad’s Bible that he used for years, full of his sermon outlines and personal notes. It is priceless. Such a precious keepsake. 🙂
It took a lot of searching, but we finally found the same edition of my husband’s old Bible. He wouldn’t switch to anything else, but the pages were falling out and the binding was pretty much good for nothing. Internet ordering to the rescue!
I actually did the same thing originally. But my Bible was out of print. 🙁 Oh well.
Lara,
I have so many notes and scribbles in my duct taped bible that I still refer to. The bible I have was a ‘hand me down’ in the first place. It is my first bible. I use several different bible translations when at home doing studies and searching for answers to my questions. But my beat up NASB is my favorite! I’ve been thinking of getting an ESV to add to my arsenal of The Word. Thanks for sharing!
Love,
Tina
Nothing like the worn-in one. Really. I am going to have to keep it close for a while, maybe transfer some of my notes from the old to the new.
A duct-taped Bible is a beautiful thing. I’m struggling with the fact that before too much longer, I will have to replace my NASB Study Bible. It’s 10 years old now, a gift from my husband the Christmas after our oldest son was born, when I switched from NIV to NASB. I keep having to glue the first part of Genesis back into it. It has markings from inductive study, notes I’ve made during my husband’s sermons, quotes from teaching and books I’ve studied…it is one of my most cherished possessions.
It is a cherished possession. My daughter asked me if I was going to “get rid” of my old one. I got offended. She’s only 7. One day she’ll realize. 🙂
I hope you get notification of responses to older posts! 🙂
We are int he process of searching for new Bibles for the whole family. We bought our son one a couple years ago, but didn’t even think about how confusing it might be for it to be a different version than what we use (we were starting to get frustrated and then at VBS we were the storytellers and stumbled over all the well known verses b/c they were from a translation we weren’t familiar with – quite embarrassing at times!). We have been convicted for a few months now to really think about what version we are using (and must I say how blessed we are to have so many options!) so we are contemplating switching to all new Bibles for everyone. It seems as though the main two options today are the NASB and ESV as far as accuracy goes. From what I understand, the ESV is a bit easier to read. Can I ask what made you decide on that particular version, b/c I know you put a lot of thought into it?
We will also have to “retire” our sentimental Bibles which will be tough, but we feel there are better options other than the NIV out there. DH’s was from his confirmation class I believe, and his family gave me mine for Christmas (the exact same one so they match) early in our dating years (I was 16 or 17 I think) before I had even thought about becoming a Christian. As we become stronger in our walk, though, we have a desire to really start to study the Bible rather than just sporadically read it.
I was planning on emailing you since this is a bit long winded and I don’t have facebook or Twitter, but didn’t see an address anywhere obvious (I think you might have had it on your business card I have obviously misplaced).