Hmmm.  Is “wastefulness” a word?  I feel so wasteful!  

I have just about every version of the Bible.  Before biblegateway.com, I would spread out all of my different versions on my table and really search the scriptures and compare them.

In 1992 I purchased a NIV Study Bible.  I love my Bible.  It is full of years of notes … falling apart and well worn.  

Now that I am required to bring my Bible to the altar at our church when ministering there, I needed something a little less bulky (plus I didn’t want my pages falling out).

I went to a Christian bookstore and finally decided to purchase this lovely pink and brown leather GIANT PRINT (I can read without my glasses!) NIV Bible (thinner because it isn’t a study Bible).  It is lovely and soft (remember how much I love the feel of books?!?!?!)!  

I thought all was well.  I went through my new bible, highlighted, took notes — made it ALL mine!  I began to notice as I was reading, “Is that how that scripture is supposed to read?”  It just didn’t seem “right” or “familiar” to me.  I thought it was just me, “Maybe I haven’t read this scripture in awhile.”  After it happened again and again, I looked in the front of my new bible to discover it was a NEWER 2011 version!  Huh? NO WONDER!

Well, here comes the wasteful part.  Now I don’t want to keep reading in it.  Bummed!

I went back to the Christian bookstore to find a New King James Version GIANT print Bible.  Why NKJV?  I originally learned the scriptures in the King James Version and I like the way some of them read.  I’ll give an example (which was the final scripture that made me scratch my head …) in just a minute.  

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find GIANT print in the NKJV, so I decided to purchase a $19 KJV with “giant” print.  Another bummer — the “GIANT” print for the KJV is only like a “large” print.  Not nearly as big or nice as the NIV print.  Sniff, sniff. 

Ok, back to being wasteful.  I don’t want the KJV — I want the NEW KJV!  So, now I have a brand new KJV that I am going to give away.  Would any of you like it?  First friend requesting will get it.  I ordered a NKJV in their “giant” (really just large) print.  KJV doesn’t come in the soft feminine looking bible covers — so I’ll be using my Bible cover again.  

Here is the scripture that I knew in the NKJV:

3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.  

Here is the same scripture in my NIV:

3 John 1:2
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

There is nothing wrong with the NIV, but I like it the way I learned it.  

Yes, I am rich to have so many Bibles.  I love God’s Word and I feel so wasteful!  I do hope someone is in need of my new KJV bible and that this will be a gift from God.


Any takers?