Updating the Scripture Memory

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Jason Christ

About a week ago now, I purchased a new Bible from my friends at Life Resources. It’s the first paper Bible in English (2 in Greek) that I’ve purchased in about 3 years. I decided to give the English Standard Version a try. Until I got to First Trinity, I always used the New International Version. Pastor likes the New American Standard Bible. The ESV is closer to the NASB literal–or word for word–translation style than the NIV, but promises to be more readable like the NIV.

So far, I’m enjoying it. It feels familiar and different all at the same time. I’m beginning to see why my grandparents made such a fuss about the switch from KJV to NIV while I was growing up. If I decide to switch to the ESV permanently, I’ll have to re-learn all the passages I’ve memorized, probably over the course of years. To help decide, I’m working through 1 Timothy with an eye for what Paul tells Timothy about being a leader in the church, but also in contexts of the family, among friends and in the world.

I’ll be posting my thoughts here as I go. If you’d like to follow along, you can read the ESV at Bible Gateway. As we go, feel free to share your insights in the comments. Start out by reading the entirety of 1 Timothy (6 chapters) for a big-picture view of what God would have you learn.

Update: My thoughts on the 1st chapter are up.

Filed under: Bible Teaching, Personal Life | Tagged: , , , ,

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4 Responses to “Updating the Scripture Memory”

  1. Notes on 1 Timothy 1 « Intersections, on May 19th, 2008 at 8:44 am Said:

    [...] ESV Bible [...]

  2. Scripture Zealot, on May 21st, 2008 at 11:59 am Said:

    Hi,
    I don’t think it’s necessary to relearn all the memorized passages. I switched from NIV to NRSV two years ago and may switch to HCSB next year. There’s no way I can relearn all that have been memorized. And I decided I can memorize a passage in any translation I would like. Now I have passages memorized in a variety of translations including some in ESV.

    Congrats on getting on the ESV blog.
    Jeff

  3. Jason Christ, on May 21st, 2008 at 12:51 pm Said:

    Thanks for stopping by Jeff!

    Yea, I suppose I don’t have to relearn everything. The immediate problem has been searching for verses in concordances (online or print) from memory. The word I know to be in the verse isn’t in the ESV, but is in the NIV. For now, I find myself looking it up in the NIV if I can’t find it and then looking up the passage in the ESV. Maybe that will go away as I use ESV more.

  4. All New Again « Intersections, on May 27th, 2008 at 5:03 pm Said:

    [...] ESV Bible [...]

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