I'm about to attempt reading the Bible for the first time. Any tips on how to make the most out of it...

I'm interested in reading the Bible also. Which version should I go with for my first time really checking it out?

>Kinda tired of seeing this exact same thread every day, with the exact same answers every time. Where do you people keep coming from?
I've been browsing Veeky Forums for roughly three years and I've wondered about this many times. We get the exact same threads and the exact same questions day after day, week after week, month after month. Is it the same people asking the same questions over and over again or do we genuinely get large numbers of new users that all have the exact same questions? I don't know the answer.

I think there's a key component of autistic posters who post the same thing constantly and call it trolling. Not just the Bible threads but the thinly-veiled /pol/ and /r9k/ ones. If it's not always the same people then it's as damn near as identical minds.

help i just pirated an epub of the bible, am i going to hell?

If you have an edition with good notes, just dip in and out as you see fit, find out what are your own favorites. You can probably skip Leviticus till sometime later, but try the rest of it.

I always recommend focusing solely on the overarching narrative the first time.

Genesis
Exodus 1-24, 32-40
Numbers 9-36
Deuteronomy 34
Joshua
Judges
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
Ezra
Nehemiah
1 Maccabees
Luke
Acts

Find a good commentary or annotated version and read straight through. Immerse yourself and read some supplemental books about the bible like Hard Sayings by Trent Horn or the Pockets Guide to the bible by Scott Hahn. You Can Understand The Bible by Peter Kreeft is probably an even better one for a first time reader.

I was gifted a New Living copy by a family member. Is it a suitable translation to read for the first time? I understand it's all been updated with modern language, can someone who has read it tell me how much, if anything, I'd be missing?

I would add Daniel 1-6 after 2 Kings for some exile stories

>skip
Unacceptable

It is interesting, isn't it? I wonder if a lot of it is people who vaguely remember seeing previous threads on a question, but for whom it has just become relevant so they ask again.

Mind you, that wouldn't explain the really basic repeating stuff like 'is Dune good?'

Just read it straight through.

Why would you do that? King James Version is free on Gutenberg anyway.

For everyone asking about Bible translations

I stole my bible from a hotel room in Las Vegas.

You can't steal Gideons bibles senpai

I guess that I didn't steal it, in that case. That's certainly a weight off of my shoulders.

Yeah, exciting

Pay attention to the numbers, keep in mind astrological symbolism and have a heartily chuckle throughout most of the first testament.

Why does god like seeing humans suffer so much? It's really creepy and sadistic.

NOAB/NRSV easily best translation & annotation set so far

From a secular point of view the differences between bible translations is interesting as fuck, apparently pic related is disappointingly modernist and liberal.

Because the old testament god is a reflection of man, and man enjoys making others suffer.

Revelations is alright. Simply saying "a lot of the old testament drags on" doesn't help OP too much.
this is an alright rec.
this is a strange rec and I'm not too sure if a first-time reader would stay intrigued without Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, or the rest of the gospels. Still, not a horrible rec

OP. I'm going to advise reading it from front to back. It'll be tough, obviously. That is what I did, and it did a couple things. Most importantly it bolstered my ability as a reader. Since I did this when I was first seriously getting into literature, it strengthened my endurance. On top of that, you get to read the entire bible. That being said, the following books are going to be mostly a slog:

>Latter half of Exodus
>Leviticus
>Numbers
>Deuteronomy
>Some of Kings 1 and 2 (tough through it)
>Some of Chronicles 1 and 2
>Most everything else in the New Testament but Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon-- and if they're not a slog, then they're sort of underwhelming (yes, even Isaiah. It seems an unpopular opinion, but on a first read-through it is tough)

The New Testament too should be read in its entirety, the gospels back to back to retain the information.

This is coming from someone who read the ESV front to back alongside Brothers K, Meditations, Chesterton and C.S. Lewis that really altogether was a great experience.

who says he likes it, so what if he does? Does the crucifixion not make up for that? Anyway...

>he doesn't see suffering as a good thing

Most of the differences in translations are benign, although some are hilarious in how hard they're pushing an agenda.

The Bible is really life changing and eye opening, after you've read it you will actually see the world for what it is. God bless you

>Most of the differences in translations are benign
Not true! people only believe this because because Churches push incredibly boring, stagnant translations with zero style or flair.

pic related is fucking brilliant stylistically.

>this is a strange rec and I'm not too sure if a first-time reader would stay intrigued without Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, or the rest of the gospels. Still, not a horrible rec

I suppose it's probably better suited for the "history minded" sort of person. I could read books like Chronicles all day long but I have to force myself to get through Job. Poetry just doesn't do anything for me.

It is actually true you obviously haven't read it. Don't go to church read the Bible for yourself everything in is it 100% true

How is NKJV?

Fantastic

Only cause god's grace and mercy will his eyes be open once they read it

Inferior to the KJ21

Stick with the King's English, user. Use the KJV

>skipping James

Don't know much about the Bible but Luke's crucifixion is the the most poignant but it's Mark's telling of what happens afterwards that I'm most partial to (notwithstanding Mark being sparse on detail).

It's worthwhile simply for the fact that most of Western canon is built upon it.

why would you pirate the Bible? It's free on multiple places online and can be physically gotten for free from a number of churches (i.e. the Mormons but be careful giving them your address lmao)

I guess but why recommend it to someone on a literature board? Job, Ecclesiastes, stories from all of the Gospels, etc. have had a far larger impact on Western literature than a lot of the books you've recommended

Pointless. There are other updates in the KJV lineage that use the latest sources and scholarship; while the NKJV only uses the sources available to the original KJV translators, resulting in an inferior translation.

For a modern but traditionally-minded KJV update I'd recommend the NASB, which uses all the latest sources and scholarship.

Different user here, but if you're only reading for it's impact on English lit, you're totally correct. However if you want to understand the Bible on its own terms I think starting with a narrative read-through is excellent since it puts so much else into context.

Stick to Hewbrew bible and Jewish scholarship. Then you can whiz through the New Testament in a couple of hours, its pretty much fanfic SF in comic sans.

Its not popular but I'm a Christian personally so I'll get that out of the way.

I think the Bible is a beautiful work of literature. Worthwhile even for a secular audience. I would read exerts of Mimesis to appreciate it fully. The writer notes how the Bible changed the narrative story line of literature itself. I don't know. Like I said, I'm a Christian so I am biased, but regardless i think it is is worthwhile and I think it is worth while to study in how it shaped western civ.

Most people focus on the NT amd Pauline epistles.

third testament best testament