Today, I realized, mulled over, and concluded that
there is something incredibly, innately, overwhelmingly beautiful about reading the bible in another language
I'm still struggling with how exactly to put words to express this phenomenon...
But I'm going to try because it's mulling over on my heart and I desperately want to try to figure it out, at least a little bit.
I grew up reading the New International Version (NIV). Home, church, school, everywhere. Growing up in a Christian family was truly a blessing, but the bible was just another book that I had been told about and read so many times that it didn't really have any weight.
In college, I switched to the English Standard Version (ESV). I've genuinely loved it. It's a little bit truer to the original texts, just different enough to make me pay attention. Wording changed, so I didn't find myself skimming words and saying them robotically in my head.
I read and heard the NIV (and then the ESV) to the point of having little bits memorized everywhere. Oftentimes, I didn't read...I skimmed (and without purpose at that).
When the words aren't familiar, you have to pay attention. It's why I own the bible in 6+ versions spanning two different languages. Because when it's not something you've heard a million times, you have to think.
The bible isn't meant to be inhaled, swallowed without chewing. You don't just absorb it through being around it and massaging it with your eyes (shout out to you, Aupps, I still love and use that explanation of anti-reading:). Just because you recognize the letter patterns doesn't mean that you're getting to the heart of the text.
When you read the bible, you've got to dig deep. You have to dissect and inspect it. You have to sit with it, let it work on you. Good words impact you. They can (should) change you, but only if you let them.
For me, I've found reading the bible in Spanish to be even more helpful than a different translation in English. I have to sift through every word. I have to look at the tenses. I look at pronouns and reflexive verbs and direct and indirect objects. My side-by-side NLT in English and Spanish has become a welcome part of my routine.
As my vocabulary grows, I realize that one word in Spanish can have many meanings, or a more complex definition than it's English synonym. I get geeky excited about language. I get crazy about my growing comprehension of a second language, another way in which God's words find their way to my heart.
But I'm going to try because it's mulling over on my heart and I desperately want to try to figure it out, at least a little bit.
I grew up reading the New International Version (NIV). Home, church, school, everywhere. Growing up in a Christian family was truly a blessing, but the bible was just another book that I had been told about and read so many times that it didn't really have any weight.
In college, I switched to the English Standard Version (ESV). I've genuinely loved it. It's a little bit truer to the original texts, just different enough to make me pay attention. Wording changed, so I didn't find myself skimming words and saying them robotically in my head.
I read and heard the NIV (and then the ESV) to the point of having little bits memorized everywhere. Oftentimes, I didn't read...I skimmed (and without purpose at that).
When the words aren't familiar, you have to pay attention. It's why I own the bible in 6+ versions spanning two different languages. Because when it's not something you've heard a million times, you have to think.
The bible isn't meant to be inhaled, swallowed without chewing. You don't just absorb it through being around it and massaging it with your eyes (shout out to you, Aupps, I still love and use that explanation of anti-reading:). Just because you recognize the letter patterns doesn't mean that you're getting to the heart of the text.
When you read the bible, you've got to dig deep. You have to dissect and inspect it. You have to sit with it, let it work on you. Good words impact you. They can (should) change you, but only if you let them.
For me, I've found reading the bible in Spanish to be even more helpful than a different translation in English. I have to sift through every word. I have to look at the tenses. I look at pronouns and reflexive verbs and direct and indirect objects. My side-by-side NLT in English and Spanish has become a welcome part of my routine.
As my vocabulary grows, I realize that one word in Spanish can have many meanings, or a more complex definition than it's English synonym. I get geeky excited about language. I get crazy about my growing comprehension of a second language, another way in which God's words find their way to my heart.