Bible Info

Bible structure

The Bible is arranged into sections called books. Books are divided for ease of use into chapters, which are then further divided into verses. So, for example, when we say "1 Peter 2:21-25", we mean "the book of 1st Peter, chapter 2, verses 21 to 25". The Bible is also divided into the Old and New Testaments. The OT was written before Jesus was born, and the NT after.

Bible versions

At the end of each Bible reference on this website are some capital letters in brackets, like (ASV). This indicates which Bible version a passage comes from. We use a variety of versions on this site so as to satisfy copyright requirements, but I (Jono) have also found doing so surprisingly interesting and enjoyable. Often different Bible versions use slightly different wording, which can highlight different aspects of a point. You have to be careful not to try and push your own agenda when doing that though. Something else I've learnt is how close in meaning and even wording the different versions we used are. It gives you confidence in them when they agree well. Another interesting thing is how easily readable the older versions like the King James are in places. Sometimes they are pretty impenetrable though.

In researching what Bible versions to use on this site, we kept in mind that we wanted ones which are considered to be comparatively true to the original manuscripts. We generally avoided paraphrase Bibles which put Scripture into other words, or versions which purposely change God's word. We're not Bible scholars or anything, but there is information available about the different versions. We didn't use The Message or the New World Translation versions.

We like the idea of versions which try to be readable but accurate. We don't generally like the thought of paraphrases, at least when they are put on a level with Scripture, because they could lose detail or change the meaning. Of course, any time someone translates old writings, it will be a process of interpreting and re-wording for ease of reading and understanding. No modern Bible we read will be exactly as the original Scriptures are. Even this website is a simplification and interpretation of God's word. So it's not the concept of putting God's word into other words which we aren't sure about. Rather, it's when the result changes God's word but is put on a level with Scripture itself.

I am really happy with the versions we used on this site, but that doesn't mean we think they are the only good ones! We just had easy access to them and some information about their accuracy. Another good and popular version, but one we didn't use, is the New King James Version. We only didn't use that because we didn't like its copyright requirements for use on websites. We are happy to recommend it, or any of the versions we used. All of the Bibles we used can be accessed for free online at www.biblegateway.com.

Bible copyright

We disagree with God's word being copyrighted or its use restricted. That is exactly what happens with modern versions though. If you're doing anything much more extensive than a church bulletin or something, they typically only allow you to quote with the following restrictions unless you seek special permission:

• up to 500 or 1000 verses
• no entire book of the Bible
• no more than 25% or 50% of your work made up of their version
• include a copyright notice

That's a rough outline, and any given version may vary from it. Now, 500 or 1000 verses is quite adequate for everyday use, but it can be quite easy to go over a 25% limit in our experience. And who wants to have a copyright notice associated with God's word?

But we mainly disagree with the principles of (A) usage limits, or (B) commercial considerations and protections, being imposed on the Bible at all. God's word shouldn't be limited and shouldn't be treated like a common commodity which a company protects. We are also doubtful that it helps to maintain the accuracy of the Bible by protecting it. Cults and so on have unfortunately always been able to alter God's word, yet we still have accurate Bibles.

We aren't sure if Christians should obey copyright laws when it comes to the Bible. The Bible teaches us to submit to earthly authorities, but these copyright requirements seem to be placing worldliness and restrictions onto God's word. We still don't know what the answer is. For the website, we ended up getting around the problem by using lots of versions so that none would go over its restrictions. We also used two copyright-free versions. You can see info about the versions we used on the Copyright and Credits (http://www.dansfriends.com/copyright.shtml) page.