April 14, 2007
Thinking along the same lines as I have previously written regarding reading and understanding Scripture, I would like to point you to a few resources that I use quite often and even a resource or two that I just found.
New Testament Transcripts Prototype (HT: Philip Gons)
This site looks really good. Of course, you need to be familiar with Greek. It is definitely on the technical side of Scripture study. This one is not for the novice, however, it can be a good tool to learn Greek as well. As Philip explains, it "allows you to read and compare many of the extent [sic] manuscripts of the Greek New Testament."
Scripture 4 All
Scripture4All has become one of my favorite resources. They provide an interlinear program called Interlinear Scripture Analyzer (FREE download), as well as each chapter as its own PDF document for quick referencing.
Linked Word Project
Many people do not realize Bob Jones University has provided a resource for Bible study. Based on the TDNT (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament) and TWOT (Theological Word Book of the Old Testament), it is a good way to help understand the etymology of words, as well as, the various meanings each word/phrase possesses. However, they do not provide any help for which meaning should be used in any given context. They simply provide all of the meanings for each word regardless of context. This is not a bad thing. It's a good resource, nonetheless.
Blue Letter Bible
The Blue Letter Bible provided by the Blue Letter Bible Institute is a good resource that is similar to the Linked Word Project, yet I believe BLB is slightly better simply because they offer more options for study, such as, Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Concordance of Hebrew/Greek, Links to many commentaries, Hymns, Images, and Maps, side-by-side comparison of versions, as well as, dictionary aids.
English Standard Version
I believe my favorite translation of Scripture is the ESV. They have provided a great resource where one can read Scripture from any internet-enabled computer, as well as the ability to listen to the spoken Word. And with its (advanced) search capabilities, it is a wonderful resource. And if you want to take it with you, $50 isn't too bad for their audio mp3. I use those constantly. Again, I reiterate that it is not only a good thing to read Scripture, it is a good thing to listen to Scripture as spoken Word and even better when you can both read and listen at the same time!
Although I can not remember where I found this (recently), I read that if you listen to Scripture being read audibly for 17 (or so) minutes a day, you will be able to listen to all of Scripture in a year. Just think, how much time do you drive your car?
What other resources do you recommend?