My Bible

Latish last year I bought something I have grown to treasure immensely.

There are many reasons why I love this Bible so very much. First of all, it's God's personal letter to me! Wow. I don't grasp the truth of that statement the way I want to, but I hope that God will help me to, in time. The translation is English Standard Version, and I have to say I plan on raising my kids with the ESV.
I do appreciate the King James Version, and up to the past year it is the version I have used my whole life. I checked out the ESV online before I bought a hard copy. Alex and Brett Harris from the Rebelution used the ESV, so I figured it was worth checking out. I fell in love with it! I can understand it so much quicker than I can understand the King James. I love how poetic "thee" and "thou" and etc. sound, but when it comes down to every day life I am thrilled to have a version I can trust that says "you" instead. I know what the fancy words mean, but when I'm reading to myself having my Bible in language I regularly speak makes it so much easier for me to comprehend and apply it to my life.
In so many ways I can understand and comprehend what I am reading in the ESV sooner than I do reading it in the KJV. The content is exactly the same, just using slightly different words/wording.
For example, take Romans 6:22 in KJV
22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Now in ESV
22  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Wow. Reading it in the ESV brings it to life - makes it real for me.

I read a verse in James that confused me when I first read it.  James 3:1 (KJV)
1  My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
Then I read it in the ESV and said, "Duh!'
1  Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Just a couple of examples.

Another reason I LOVE my Bible so much is the style. It's small, flexible, the text is a great size, and it has a great concordance in the back! It has footnotes at the bottom, too. It's also terribly pretty. It's a beautiful cranberry red. I love cranberry red. There is only one color I love almost as much as blue, and that is red. However, I am very picky about my shades of red, and this Bible is a beautiful shade. And the filigree design on it is just gorgeous.

The reason I love my Bible that inspired me to write this post today is this: it is laid out in paragraph form with small numbers noting the different verse numbers INSTEAD of each new verse starting on a new line. I can follow the train of thought so much better this way.

So, for today, I am so grateful for my Bible. Thank you Lord for letting me live in a country where I have such easy access to a Bible, and the freedom to read it wherever I please!