My New Favorite Book

Nonpareil is the adjective, or noun, I use when I refer to my favorite book of all time: the Bible. 

All the books I’ve authored this far are based only on facts, figures, values, lessons from God’s book: Sola Scriptura. 

Sola scriptura (Latin for 'by scripture alone') means the Bible is the sole infallible source of authority for the Christian faith and practice.

According to Wycliffe Global Alliance, the Bible has been translated into 736 languages, the New Testament into an additional 1,658 languages, and smaller portions of the Bible into 1,264 other languages. 

Why? Languages evolve over time, and the words and phrases used in the past may no longer be understood today. That’s why updated translations are necessary to ensure that the Bible can continue to be understood by readers. 

As for English versions, there are approximately 900 for now. 

Caveat: No single English translation will ever represent the original biblical languages perfectly, because the Bible's ancient languages do not function like English. A word in Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic might not have an exact English word to match.

My maternal grandparents, the earliest Christians in our town, used the King James Version (KJV)*. I grew up reading and memorizing verses from that translation. As a little girl, it was a cinch to memorize as many as I could, including one whole chapter.

And I just recently found out why! The KJV has rhythmn, making it easy to put to memory.  All other translations that I read do not have cadence, not even New King James Version (NKJV). 

Son #1 found the version closest to KJV’s poetic measure but in modern language—English Standard Version (ESV). 

He gifted me one on Christmas.

 

Every year, his gift is a new version/translation of God's book. (I passed on last year's to my dearest sister Aie.) 

I am on my fourth day reading my daily ESV and yes, yes, yes, it sounds like KJV, only simpler. 

Although I still need to refer to the over-a-dozen translations when I write, the ESV is my new favorite! 

*"The King James Version is the world's most widely known Bible translation, using early seventeenth-century English. Its powerful, majestic style has made it a literary classic, with many of its phrases and expressions embedded in our language."