Psalms 119:9ff

What is the Bible?

I Thessalonians 2:1-4

Bible translations

I Corinthians 2:11-13 - a glimpse into the way inspiration worked

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Translations to English occur along a spectrum from thought-for-thought to word-for-word. Thought-for-thought translations are more dangerous to study from because the ideas of the translators come through more in the translation. Word-for-word translations try to stick much more closely to the original manuscripts. The NASB, ASV, NKJV, KJV, and ESV translations are recommended.

Bible formats

Jeremiah 36:17-18

Chapters and verses - these were added later on by men

Section headings - added by translators

Punctuation - not in the original, adding during translation

Capital letters - Hebrews had no capital letters and the oldest Greek manuscripts were written in all capitals.

Cross-references - added by translators and other men

Italics - these are words inserted by the translators that were not in the original manuscripts

Study notes

Thumb indexes

Red letter editions - John 14:26

Concordance

Maps

Technology

Nehemiah 8:2-3 - In the old days, people heard the word of God read to them.

Recommendations and a command

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Get the Word on your heart. Deuteronomy 6:6