Geoffrey's Notebook

Week 17—1st John Bible Nerd-Study *Missed last week?  Click here  for 1st John Bible Nerd-Study - Week 16 Normal translation + Some fact-finding questions from Stephen Kaung. Long ago in Richmond Stephen Kaung had a more thorough/nerdy-type of Bible study once a month on Saturdays. Everyone did some reading (5x at least) and had some questions to figure out. Then he would teach (just those who studied) and go through questions people had afterwards. I found these old type-writer notes and his original notes from that time period some years back when sorting through his notes with him. These are great if you have been reading 1st John over and over. See how many of them you can answer without looking, and try to guess which chapter the answer would be found in. Then open 1st John and check or fill in the places where you were unsure. I'm pasting a page where his complete list of questions are (including different types of questions), but I mainly just wanted to share t...

Week 16—Wuest's expanded translation *Missed last week?  Click here  for 1st John Bible Nerd-Study - Week 15 This translation (or paraphrase?) is not mainly to help explain the passage "in other words" like most paraphrases, but is focused on helping the student understand the Greek language's expression or meaning. This one is handled by a Greek-language scholar. That said, it's still a paraphrase. It's still not a word-for-word translation. It should be our case by this reading that we're able to more quickly notice the added words, at least through 1 John 2:2. As usual, let's share anything that we find helpful from reading through 1st John with this expanded translation. 1 John (Wuest) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z3_gfxtpYgAH7Gas-hjH5KGM6xHPQ_L_/view Done with this week's assignment?  Click here  for the next assignment.

Week 15—1st John Bible Nerd-Study *Missed last week?  Click here  for 1st John Bible Nerd-Study - Week 14 Listen to 1st John I think we need an easier week right? Some are catching up, and it seems like a good time to emphasize the usefulness of listening to someone else read the Bible. Nothing beats sitting quietly in your favorite spot and reading your Bible without distractions. But there is much value in being able to hear the word of God while you are doing chores around the house or driving to work. And sometimes we catch something we normally miss just by hearing it instead of reading it. I've recommended a few audio versions on the bible app. Here I'm posting my reading of 1st John in the Darby translation. I'm gradually working through the Bible and hope to have this up in the various bible websites in the next few years. Feel free to use this Darby audio version, or another one, or have someone read to you. Done with this week's assignment...

Week 14—1st John Bible Nerd-Study *Missed last week? Click here for 1st John Bible Nerd-Study - Week 13 Focus on 1 John 1:5-2:2 (Manna+Memory) + read 1 John in any translation (try an audio bible) This week we'll especially chew on 1:5-2:2 like we did with 1:1-4 recently. As the Lord gives us light and fellowship through these verses let's encourage each other by sharing some of our discoveries. Some of our sharing may be more studious and others more devotional in content. Both are very welcomed. Remember, for our flashcards, we'll use our normal Bible translations (just like we did with 1:1-4). For reading through 1st John this week, any translation is okay. I wanted to suggest trying out an audio Bible. By listening to someone else read the Bible you sometimes catch a phrase or passage in a new way. My favorite readers on the Bible app are ESV, KJV, and I'm especially now liking the NIV-UK version. I've been working my way through all of th...

Week 13—1st John Bible Nerd-Study *Missed last week? Click here for 1st John Bible Nerd-Study - Week 12 The link below is a compared version of the Revised Version and the American Standard Version. These two translations are sister translations. Originally, all of these translators worked together. But the Americans felt the British were being too liberal in certain ways so they wanted to do their own version that was more exact and conservative. They agreed to wait (20 years about) before releasing it. In this attachment, you can see what the differences were between the two with 1st John. In this case, not too many but a few pretty essential ones. And remember, it is completely okay that these translations are almost exactly the same since the very same translators all worked together on both of them. It's possible that the ASV is the very best translation we have in the English language for balancing exactness to the original along with proper use of the English langua...

Week 12—1st John Bible Nerd-Study *Missed last week? Click here for 1st John Bible Nerd-Study - Week 12 Paraphrase! 1:1-4 + read 1 John in your normal translation. So we enjoyed our reading of the Phillips translation and I believe it is a great example of what a paraphrase ought to be. It's not perfect and unsearchable like the real Scriptures. Think of it like you are explaining a verse to someone who doesn't get it. "in other words" = paraphrase We have been meditating and memorizing the first 4 verses. Now we want to go a step further and paraphrase it. Remember that we are all limited. No paraphrase can be perfect according to the Scripture because by default it is going to be watered down or limited in focus. But let's explain these 4 verses in a paraphrase. Consider who it is for. One may do it for their peer and another may do it for a child. If you have a unique audience in mind (uneducated, ESL, child, scholar, yourself 20 years ago, etc.) ple...

Week 11—1st John Bible Nerd-Study *Missed last week? Click here for 1st John Bible Nerd-Study - Week 10 Memorize 1 John 1:1-4 Read from the Phillips paraphrase version. This week we're going to memorize the first 4 verses (1 John 1:1-4). We already contemplated them as daily manna. Now we want to purpose to memorize them. For memory use your good study translation (no paraphrases or slight paraphrases). For reading, we'll use the Phillips paraphrase. It's one of the better ones. Remember that it's a paraphrase and not a word-for-word translation. So this brother is trying to express the thought. Because of that, he cannot put it into verses exactly but uses clusters of verses. You'll see that in the references. Some parts of this paraphrase will not match the full light that we have in the verses so you may be bothered. That's the problem with any paraphrase, it is limited to the person's understanding as well as what they are currently emphasizi...