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Bibles for New Believers

M

Mike B

New Member
It has been my practice in the past, that when God has allowed me to help bring a lost soul to Jesus
and redemption, I like to give them a new Bible to help guide them in their new life in Christ.

I come from an IFB/KJVO background, but in the past year or so I find myself less IFB and
less KJVO. My own Bible is a Thompson Chain KJV, which I truly love reading and using for
study, however I have come to wonder if the KJV is too "meaty" for new Christians, meaning
the language used in the KJV may add unnecessary challenges for new Christians just beginning
their journey.

When gifting Bibles to new believers, what do you all recommend?
 
Silverhair

Silverhair

Well-Known Member
Mike B said:
It has been my practice in the past, that when God has allowed me to help bring a lost soul to Jesus
and redemption, I like to give them a new Bible to help guide them in their new life in Christ.

I come from an IFB/KJVO background, but in the past year or so I find myself less IFB and
less KJVO. My own Bible is a Thompson Chain KJV, which I truly love reading and using for
study, however I have come to wonder if the KJV is too "meaty" for new Christians, meaning
the language used in the KJV may add unnecessary challenges for new Christians just beginning
their journey.

When gifting Bibles to new believers, what do you all recommend?
Click to expand...

My choice would be the NASB [1995 version not the 2020 version] or the NKJV.

I would not recommend the ESV or NV.
 
David Lamb

David Lamb

Well-Known Member
As I often say in this sort of discussion, the main problem is not so much with archaic words that are now no longer in use. We can easily tell a new believer that such words can be looked up. Rather, it's words that are still in regular use, but have changed their meanings greatly since the KJV was translated. Examples of what I mean, with the 1611 meaning and the 21st century meaning, are: carriages (luggage/wheeled vehicles), prevent (go before/stop something from happening), anon (immediately/abbreviated form of anonymous), publican (Tax collector/person in charge of a pub or public house, where alcoholic beverages are served), shambles (place where meat is sold/a state of chaos or disorder), conversation (behaviour/two or more people talking with each other), fetched a compass (turned around, especially at sea/went and procured a direction-finding device). Because the words are still used today, the reader would not know that he/she need to look up their meaning.
 
M

Mike B

New Member
Thank you brothers for your input..your opinions are very much appreciated.

xlsdraw said:
I would give the convert a KJV, and trust the Holy Spirit to do what He does.
Click to expand...

After prayer and consideration, I agree. She is an intelligent young woman,
but no one has ever sat down and shared the Gospel with her. The Holy Spirit
brings clarity and understanding to that which confuses the lost.
 
Jim D

Jim D

New Member
Mike B said:
It has been my practice in the past, that when God has allowed me to help bring a lost soul to Jesus
and redemption, I like to give them a new Bible to help guide them in their new life in Christ.

I come from an IFB/KJVO background, but in the past year or so I find myself less IFB and
less KJVO. My own Bible is a Thompson Chain KJV, which I truly love reading and using for
study, however I have come to wonder if the KJV is too "meaty" for new Christians, meaning
the language used in the KJV may add unnecessary challenges for new Christians just beginning
their journey.

When gifting Bibles to new believers, what do you all recommend?
Click to expand...
Like you, I have been a KJV-only reader and studier for decades. It was all I used in church for years, and it was all that was acceptable in Bible College. However, while I still use my Scofield Reference Bible daily, there may be times when a new believer struggles with the language of 17th-century English, and this should not be a reason to keep a new Christian from growing. Still, I would be careful not to get a person reliant on a paraphrase or ultra-liberally "translated" text either.
 
JonC

JonC

Moderator
Moderator
I prefer the NIV for new believers (and old ones too).

My "go to" is the NASB. I like the translation, partly because it was the Bible I grew up with (it was the "gold standard" with conservative Baptists in the 70's and 80's... before the NIV won the popularity contest).

I use the NASB as my primary study Bible but normally preached from the NIV (the NASB kinda got me tongue tied at times).
 
JonC

JonC

Moderator
Moderator
Jim D said:
Like you, I have been a KJV-only reader and studier for decades. It was all I used in church for years, and it was all that was acceptable in Bible College. However, while I still use my Scofield Reference Bible daily, there may be times when a new believer struggles with the language of 17th-century English, and this should not be a reason to keep a new Christian from growing. Still, I would be careful not to get a person reliant on a paraphrase or ultra-liberally "translated" text either.
Click to expand...
Comparing translations get weird at times.

I study from the NASB, but sometimes its "word for word" attempt misses the meaning.
The KJV is too archaic for many new believers (and I do not view it as near the best translation...but it may be the most beautifully written).

What I found weird was the times that the NIV provided a better translation than the KJV, NASB, and NKJV. It does better when the source words do not have an equal in English.


The HCSB (I guess it is still around) was odd. It has the most acvurate translation of John 3:16 (most would not change it because it had been memorized so much, but the HCSB was accurate with "thusly").

BUT for some strange reason the HCSB translated "praise the Lord" to "hallelujah" (I think the SBC just wanted a translation they owned rather than paying to use others).
 
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