Gifts of faith for everyone

By Gemma Osborne
Divine Inspirations

It’s amazing the different types of Bibles that are available. There are audio, Catholic, children’s, large print, church and ministry, devotional, family, student and other language Bibles, to name a few. To fully understand the depth of the different types of Bibles, you need to know which translation you are seeking. There are many translations; here are a few examples of the most popular.
New International Version (NIV): Highly accurate and smooth reading in modern English.
King James Version (KJV): Difficult to read due to the 17th-century English vocabulary and word order.
New King James Version (NKJV): Easier word usage, somewhat choppy whereas it holds the 17th century sentence structure.
New Living Translation (NLT): A readable translation, commonly used by the average person.
New International Readers Version (NIrV): Very easy to understand, short words and simple sentences.
Good News Translation (GNT): Very simple reading without jargon. Uses limited vocabulary. Once you understand the translations then you can opt for the type.
Plain vanilla: These Bibles contain just the scripture in your chosen translation, arranged by book, chapter and verse, the kind most of us are familiar with.
Red letter: This type is often combined with the other types, however the actual words of Jesus are printed in red.
Chronological: In this type, the scripture is arranged in historical chronological order instead of book, chapter and verse.
In a year: Most of these Bibles are arranged in 365 convenient chunks. One for every day of the year.
Parallel Bibles: These have more than one translation, in parallel columns, in the same book. Sometimes seeing the same verse worded differently helps with understanding it to the fullest.
Topical: In these Bibles the scripture is not arranged in the usual book, chapter, verse format. Instead, everything is arranged by topic, for example, marriage. They are handy for people who want to quickly get all of what the Bible says on a certain subject.

For more information, contact Gemma at Divine Inspirations, 386 Minot Ave., Auburn.