Readings In The REB

The REB is the Revised English Bible . It's an update of the New English Bible .A number have said that its English is the best since the Elizabethan KJV .This translation is more functionally equivalent than the TNIV, though the language is more stately .I would like to quote some of its renderings . I will start off with 1 Corinthians .

1:17 : Christ did not send me to baptize , but to proclaim the gospel ; and to do it without recourse to the skills of rhetoric , lest the cross of Christ be robbed of its effect .

2:1 : So it was , my friends , that I came to you , without any pretentions to eloquence or wisdom in declaring the truth about God .

2:7 : I speak of God's hidden wisdom , though not a wisdom belonging to this present age or to its governing powers , already in decline .

3:18 : Make no mistake about this : if there is anyone among you who fancies himself wise -- wise , I mean , by the standards of this age -- he must become a fool if he is to be truly wise .

4:19 : I shall come very soon , if it is the Lord's will ; and then I shall take the measure of these self-important people , not by what they say , but by what they can do

5:6 : Your self-satisfaction ill becomes you . Have you never heard the saying ,'A little leaven leavens all the dough'?

7:35 : In saying this I am thinking simply of your own good . I have no wish to keep you on a tight rein ; I only want you to be beyond criticism and be free from distraction in your devotion to the Lord .

9:18 : Then what is my pay ? It is the satisfaction of preaching the gospel without expense to anyone ; in other words , of waiving the rights my preaching gives me .

10:11 : All these things that happened to them were symbolic , and were recorded as a warning for us , upon whom the end of the ages has come .

13:9 : For our knowledge and our prophecy alike are partial .

14:7 : Even with inanimate things that produce sounds -- a flute , say , or a lyre -- unless their notes are distinct , how can you tell what tune is being played ?

14:9 : In the same way , if what you say in tongues yields no precise meaning , how can anyone tell what is what is being said ? You will be taliking to empty air .

14:11 : If I do not know the speaker's language , his words will be gibberish to me , and mine to him .

16:2 : Every Sunday each of you is to put aside and keep by him whatever he can afford , so that there need be no collecting when I come .

16:11 : so no one must slight him . Speed him on his way with your blessing ;for he is to join me , and I am waiting for him with our friends .

 

2 Corinthians

Sometimes I'll quote the whole verse , and sometimes just a sentence or so .

2:14 : But thanks be to God , who continually leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession , and uses us to spread abroad the fragrance of the knowledge of himself !

5:4 : We groan indeed , we who are enclosed within this earthly frame

6:16 : Can there be a compact between the temple of God and idols ?

8:2 : yet in all this they have been so exuberantly happy that from the depths of their poverty they have shown themselves lavishly open-handed .

8:14 : At the moment your surplus meets their need , but one day your need may be met from their surplus .

9:6 : sow sparingly , and you will reap sparingly ; sow bountifully , and you will reap bountifully .

10:1 : I , Paul , appeal to you by the gentleness and magnanimity of Christ

10:4,5 : The weapons we wield are not merely human ; they are strong enough with God's help to demolish strongholds , We demolish sophistries and all that rears its proud head against the knowledge of God ;we compel every human thought to sureender in obedience to Christ; and we are prepared to punish any disobedience once your own obedience is complete .

10:12 : What fools they are to measure themselves on their own, to find in themselves their standard of comparison !

10:13 : As for us , our boasting will not go beyond the proper limits ; and our sphere is determined by the limit God laid down for us , which permitted us to come as far as Corinth .

11:13 : Such people are sham apostles , confidence tricksters masquerading as apostles of Christ .

11:20 : If someone tyrannizes over you , exploits you , gets you into his clutches , puts on airs , and hits you in the face , you put up with it .

 

Galatians

Sometimes a complete verse , more often a phrase will be shown .

1:10 : Am I currying favor with men ?

2:6 : As for those reputed to be something (not that their importance matters to me :God does not recognize these personal distinctions)

2:14 : I saw that their conduct did not square with the truth of the gospel

3:15 : My friends , let me give you an illustration . When a man's will and testament has been duly executed , no one else can set it aside or add a codicil .

6:16,17 : All who take this principle for their guide , peace and mercy be upon them , the Israel of God ! In future let no one make trouble for me , for I bear the marks of Jesus branded on my body .

 

Selections From Ephesians

1:1 : From Paul, by the will of God apostle of Christ Jesus , to God's people at Ephesus, to the faithful , incorporate in Christ Jesus .

1:6 : in order that the glory of his gracious gift , so graciously conferred on us in his Beloved, might redound to his praise.

1:11: In Christ indeed we have been given our share in the heritage , as was decreed in his design whose purpose is everywhere at work; for it was his will

1:13 : And in Christ also -- once you had heard the message of the truth, the good news of your salvation, and had believed it--in him you were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.

3:10 : in order that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in its infinite variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.

4:14 : We are no longer to be children, tossed about by the waves and whirled around by every fresh gust of teaching, dupes of clever rogues and their deceitful schemes.

4:16 : and on him the whole body depends. Bonded and held together by every constituent joint, the whole frame grows through the proper functioning of each part, and builds itself up in love.

5:6 : Let no one deceive you with shallow arguments ; it is for these things that divine retribution falls on God's rebel subjects.

 

Oops! I inadvertently copied the last part of verse 6 and ascribed it to verse seven. ( There are incidences of this kind of mistake in the KJV ).Thank you JFOX1.

 

Sal is under the unfortunate impression that 1 Corinthians 2:1b sounds effeminate . Firstly Sal, is it possible for a woman to be effeminate? I thought only a man could be effeminate . But if you harbor the silly notion that the following is effeminate you are in a camp of one.

"... without any pretentions to eloquence or wisdom in declaring the truth about God."

 

Ephesians 3:10 : "in order that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in its infinite variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms."( REB )

Sal apparently doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'manifold' which can be defined as of many and diverse kinds ; variety. I'm surprised that he didn't pick up on this since 'manifold' is used in the KJV.Contrary to having it our own way -- God's wisdom is rich in its variety of expression.Perhaps Sal can be helped by reading from two other translations.

NIV : "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,"

NLTse : "God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places."

 

Philippians

1:8 : God knows how I long for you all with the deep yearning of Christ Jesus himself.

1:17 : the others are moved by selfish ambition and present Christ from mixed motives , meaning to cause me distress as I lie in prison.

1:28 : meeting your opponents without so much as a tremor. This is a sure sign to them that destruction is in store for them and salvation for you, a sign from God himself

 

Colossians

1:11,12 : In his glorious might may he give you ample strength to meet with fortitude and patience whatever comes; and to give joyful thanks to the Father who has made you fit to share the heritage of God's people in the realm of light.

1:15,16 : He is the image of the invisible God; his is the primacy over all creation. In him everything in heaven and earth was created , not only things visible but also the invisible orders of thrones, sovereignties, authorities, and powers: the whole universe has been created through him and for him.

1:18 : He is the head of the body, the church. He is its origin, the first to return from the dead, to become in all things supreme.

1:27 :To them he chose to make known what a wealth of glory is offered to the Gentiles in this secret purpose: Christ in you, the hope of glory.

2:4,5 : I tell you this to make sure no one talks you into error by specious arguments. I may be absent in body, but in spirit I am with you, and rejoice to see your unbroken ranks, and the solid front which your faith in Christ presents.

2:18,19 : You are not to be disqualified by the decision of people who go in for self-mortification and angel-worship and access to some visionary world. Such people , bursting with the futile conceit of worldly minds, lose their hold upon the head; yet it is from the head that the whole body, with all its joints and ligaments , has its needs supplied, and thus knit together grows according to God's design.

2:23 : Such conduct may have an air of wisdom, with its forced piety, its self-mortification, and its severity to the body; but it is of no use at all in combating sensuality.

3:12 : Put on , then, garments that suit God's chosen and beloved people : compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience.

3:21 : Fathers, do not exasperate your children, in case they lose heart.

4:5 : Be wise in your dealings with outsiders, but use your opportunities to the full.

 

1 Thessalonians

2:3 : The appeal we make does not spring from delusion or sordid motive or from any attempt to deceive.

2:5 : We have never resorted to flattery, as you have cause to know; nor, as God is our witness, have our words ever been a cloak for greed.

2:7 : although as Christ's own envoys we might have made our weight felt; but we were as gentle with you as a nurse caring for her children.

 

2 Thessalonians

1:9 : They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, cut off from the presence of the Lord and the splendour of his might.

2:2 :do not suddenly lose your heads, do not be alarmed by any prophetic utterance, any pronouncement, or any letter purporting to come from us, alleging that the day of the Lord is already here.

2:6 : You know, too, about the restraining power which ensures that he will be revealed only at his appointed time

3:14 : If anyone disobeys the instructions given in my letter, single him out, and have nothing to do with him until he is ashamed of himself.

3:17 : This greeting is in my own handwriting; all genuine letters of mine bear the same signature -- Paul.