In the attendance inserts from last Sunday, we received updates from sixteen people telling how they’ve been doing while participating in our 90 Day New Testament Reading Plan for Lent and Easter. We’re happy with that response and hope everyone is able to keep it up. If you haven’t started yet, it’s never to late to begin (although it is to late to finish by Pentecost, unless you double up on readings).
I’ve been reading in the Common English Bible (CEB) on the 90 day reading plan for a little more than forty days now (I started early) and I’m in the book of Acts. I thought I might share a few of my thoughts about this new translation so far:
- I think it is an excellent translation to hand out to people who are unfamiliar with the Bible and/or who don’t have a church, or a well-informed disciple, or a commentary to help explain it to them.
- I also think it’s a great supplemental translation to use as a commentary. By this I mean that one of the easiest ways to come to a better understanding of a difficult Bible passage is to read the passage in several translations (sometimes Bibles with multiple translations side by side (or parallel) are sold for this express purpose.
- Some of the choices of translation, such as “Happy” instead of “Blessed” or “the Human One” instead of “the Son of Man” are jarring to someone who grew up with more traditional translations, but nonetheless helpful in assisting me to see the text anew.
- The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), with Today’s New International Version running a close second, is still my preferred translation for study and for worship. This is because NRSV is more literal and flows better (in my opinion). The Bible contains not only difficult words, but complicated lines of thought, it seems to me that the CEB’s attempt to simplify difficult language sometimes makes the complicated lines of thought even harder to follow. In addition, in a setting such as worship or a Bible study where there is help and explanation of the Biblical message, accuracy is to be preferred over perceived ease of understanding. (I say perceived because understanding a less accurate translation is not the same as understanding the message of a Bible passage itself.)
None of what I’ve written above should be taken to mean that I don’t think reading the CEB isn’t an excellent exercise. It is. I, myself, have experienced the peace and presence of the Holy Spirit while reading it. That said, in addition to the people who have expressed great satisfaction with this new translation, I’ve also heard from others who are having a difficult time with it. If you’re one of those people I would encourage you to put the CEB down and continue the rest of the reading plan with a translation you find more amenable.