One of the things I was taught to do at Bible college is to use side by side comparisons of biblical texts. This can be especially helpful if you are unsure of what the text is saying or you need clarification.
In the above example I have John 3:3 open in five different translations. It talks about being born again to enter God’s Kingdom but it uses slightly different wordings.
In years gone by I had to do this manually with seperate Bibles. I would go to the library at Bible college and get out a number of versions. If I was at a Bible study I would ask friends to read their versions out to compare them.
These days it is a lot easier with programs like e-Sword (pictured above) and Logos, you can just open them and easily compare them. I generally use a plain English version, a literal word for word translation, a paraphrase idea for idea translation and a devotional translation.
Using this variety sometimes helps us to understand the text and what it is saying. It gives us a wider view of things and broadens our understanding. This helps us to apply God’s Word to our hearts and our lives.
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