Michelle:But isn't this in effect what you are saying you are doing? You don't need to rely upon only one Bible, as I can and do, but you must rely upon a different variety of translations
It's not a matter of relyng, but a matter of using more than one of the tools God has provided. A mechanic doesn't rely on just one tool, but uses every tool in his toolbox as needed, and if he needs a tool he doesn't have, he goes out & buys it, rather than try to do a job with a tool not made for that job.
God has provided us with quite a few tools, and He will add to our "toolbox" as necessary.
and to take the time and effort to look them up,
What's wrong with using time & effore to learn what God makes available for us to learn?
when your time would have already been well spent focusing your attention, time, energy, with no added costs, to reading God's words to you in one Bible, with understanding from the Holy Spirit of truth and a dictionary.
So it's alright to take the time & effort to interrupt your Bible reading to use a dictionary??? Kowabunga!
Reading a variety of Bibles to get the full understanding of what God is saying to you, is making more work for yourself, when God has already provided it for you and many others for hundreds of years.
And in many versions. And every version has some rather klunky renderings here & there which are often much better in another version.
Do you not see the cirlce you put yourself in, in trying to understand God's word? All you need is the Holy Bible that he provided for you, study it, and rely upon the understanding He gives to you.
I have the Holy Bible, eleven English versions of it. God isn't limited to any one version & neither am I.
Do you need others to interpret it for you?
I certainly listen to what other Christians have to say. God gives EACH INDIVIDUAL BELIEVER a unique "download" of his wisdom, for his/her own edification, and to share with others for mutual edification. God may have given one believer a better understanding of a certain Scripture(s) than He's given me or my neighbor.
Why not let God do the interpreting for you?
I do. That's why I read His word in several valid versions. God is NOT LIMITED in His methods of interpretation. he may directly tell someone, or He may lead them to a certain passage in a certain version in a such a manner that the person may not know right away that he/she is being led. With God, all things are possible.
And why does God need you to use a variety of translations, when he has already preserved one?
God has provided several English versions for our use. Proof? He didn't preserve the earthly originals, did He, or at least he didn't leave them on earth.(The ark, containing the 10 Commandments written by God on stone, is in the Temple in heaven, Rev. 11:19)
Do you expect God to simply fill you with knowledge without any effort on your part? Even though He could jolly well evangelize without any help from us whatsoever, He's training us for higher office and He expects us to make the effort to learn, and to work for Him at whatever work He presents us. Every job is different & every one is important to God or He wouldn't have us do it. God has no "make-work" jobs! The custodian who dusts the pews & runs the carpet cleaner is just as important to God as the pastor is. He/she who witnesses to one neighbor is just as important to God as is the world-renowned televangelist.
But to know exactly how to do whatever work God has for you, you must read His word, with prayer & supplication-and use the tools He has for you.
