I’ve been reflecting a little on the different Bible versions I’ve bought, tried, used, read, given away or filed away over the years.
The first Bible I ever had or was given was the Gideon’s red public high school edition I received in my first year in high school in the mid-1970s. It was, I believe, the Revised Berkeley Edition. I still have this Bible.
The second Bible I got was a Good News for Modern Man New Testament received, again from memory, for being the ‘prayer monitor’ in my year 8/second form Scripture class. I guess I had to read or recite a prayer at the beginning or end of each weekly Scripture class. I have since disposed on this Bible, but did keep the commemorative insert.
My next Bible, and one I bought with my own money, was a Good New Bible replete with simple line drawings. My edition was a vinyl-covered number. I guess I would have bought this in around 1979 after I became a Christian. This Bible, too has been given away.
My next Bible was a Revised Standard Version given to me by my paternal grandparents on the occasion of my confirmation in 1980. It has a small inscription inside the front cover. Interestingly, I am using this Bible this year as I read both Testaments fully in the calendar year as described in this post.
The mid-eighties saw me purchase a couple of New International Version Bibles - firstly, a smallish complete Bible; and then the NIV Study Bible. Both of these lasted me until the early 2000s.
In the mid 1990s my wife and I bought copies of the New Living Translation Daily Study Bible for Men/Women. These includes 365 pages of devotional reflections written by Stuart and Jill Briscoe. We both still have these Bibles. We were also given a large print family NLT Bible which we gave away.
Next was in all likelihood a 2001 English Standard Version. I’ve had three or four ESVs over the years - a hardback centre-column reference edition, a ’legacy’ single column edition (which I used in 2022 and 2023 as I read through both Testaments), and an ESV Study Bible. The single-column Bible was probably bought around 2012 (it contains the 2011 text) and the Study Bible was bought only a few years ago.
In 2006 I bought a New Revised Standard Version as my wife and I were attending Bible College (part time) and that was their preferred version. We still have this NRSV.
I’ve also bought a Holman Christian Standard Bible and their revised Christian Standard Bible. The HCSB has been given away, but I still have the CSB. These were purchased around 2014 and 2018 respectively. The HCSB was a pocket sized edition (for large, fat pockets) and the CSB is a pew-style Bible.
Around the same times I also purchased from the New King James Version stable. First was a compact vinyl-covered NKJV which I bought to check out the style of writing and footnoting. Next was a pew Bible. Both of these have also been given away. The third NKJV was a leather Thompson Chain Reference Bible. I like and appreciate the idea of the chain referencing, but the Bible is too cumbersome to carry far. I have also bought a Spirit Filled Life NKJV Bible with Jack Hayford being the general editor. The latter two of these are still around.
In addition to these my wife also has an Amplified Bible and copy of The Message.
Somewhere amongst these purchases (and perhaps even my first) was a Revised Version of the KJV. It was bought from a fete half price. The listed price was 2 cents and I got it for 1 cent! It was well used and the previous/first owner had highlighted passages she had memorised in red pen and kept a written table in the back of the Bible listing these memorised passages.
Many of the Bibles bought or received last century that are no longer in our possession were given away to a Christian book store in the early 2000s when they collected good quality but no-longer-needed Bibles to donate to believers in poorer countries. We took that opportunity to divest ourselves of around seven or eight surplus Bibles.
The few Bibles we’ve given away in more recent times were donated to a local Op Shop. Hopefully they did good both in the selling and the reading.