Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

How to teach your children to read and understand the King James Version of the Bible
Fr. John Whiteford's News, Comments, & Reflections ^ | 06-09-2017 | Fr. John Whiteford

Posted on 06/25/2017 7:13:19 PM PDT by NRx

How to teach your children to read and understand the King James Version of the Bible



Why?

Before getting into the question of how you can teach your children to read and understand the King James Version, we should probably first discuss why you should want to do so.

If you are an English speaker, even if you are an atheist you should want your child to be familiar with the great works in the history of the English Language, and the King James Version is certainly close to the top of the list, if not at the very top.

Even some of the greatest skeptics were of this opinion:
“It is the most beautiful of all translations of the Bible; indeed it is probably the most beautiful piece of writing in all the literature of the world.”  -H. L. Mencken 
“The translation was extraordinarily well done because to the translators what they were translating was not merely a curious collection of ancient books written by different authors in different stages of culture, but the Word of God divinely revealed through His chosen and expressly inspired scribes.  In this conviction they carried out their work with boundless reverence and care and achieved a beautifully artistic result.” –George Bernard Shaw
"It is written in the noblest and purest English, and abounds in exquisite beauties of mere literary form."  -Aldous Huxley 
The influence of the King James Version on the English language has been huge, and there aren't many other texts that would be comparable in that regard.

It also happens to be a very fine translation. It is not perfect, but it has many advantages over most other options. See: An Orthodox Look at English Translations of the Bible.

Isn't it too hard?

For many centuries, even poorly educated people read and understood the King James Bible, because they made the effort to do so. For the most part, the King James Version is perfectly understandable for a modern reader. There are perhaps a hundred words or so that one would have to acquaint themselves with, if they were not already familiar with them. All of these words are found in a standard dictionary, and the intended meaning of the word in question will usually be listed as the primary or secondary meaning. There are also some handy guides online and in print that provide quick definitions with these words. And you could always look up a difficult text in the New King James Version, for clarification.

How?

First off, you have to teach them how to read, and teach them to love reading.

My wife and I home schooled our children, and the single best text we used was a book entitled "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons," by Siegfried Engelmann. It provides a parent with simple and clear instructions as to how to use the text, and it effectively teaches a child how to read phonetically, and also how to understand the many quirks we have in English spelling (something that is often not taught in public schools in our times). Most importantly, it works. I started teaching both of my children how to read with this text when they were three, and had them reading on a basic level within a few months.

The first books I had my children read were in a series of Bible story booklets from Concordia Press that are designed for beginning readers -- the closest thing that they have to what we used in print now is in a series called "Hear Me Read.".

You should regularly read to your children. For very young children, I found reading them stories that rhymed got their attention, and so I read them rhyming Bible stories. Concordia Press has a large collection of short Bible stories that rhyme -- many of which I remember from my own childhood.

As they got a bit older, I read them a comic book collection of Bible Stories (The Picture Bible), and as their reading improved, they would read it on their own. This gave them an overall understanding of the Bible in broad strokes, and helped to improve their own reading.

In addition to reading books directly connected to the Bible, reading other classic texts to your children helps to develop a love for reading.

We did not have our children read much of Shakespeare, because Shakespeare's plays were not meant to be read -- they were meant to be watched. We had them watch all of his major plays -- some in multiple versions, and they enjoyed them. And this helped to familiarize them with Elizabethan English, and in a way that was not at all tedious.

Finally, when their reading level got to the point that they could begin to do it, I had them read the Bible to me. This helped their reading and pronunciation, and it also gave me a chance to explain any words that were obscure, and to discuss the meaning of the text. We started with Genesis, and stuck to the narrative portions of the Law and the Historical books. We eventually brought in the Wisdom books, the prophets, and also the Gospels and Epistles.

A very important help to this whole process was to get an edition of the King James that had modern spelling, punctuation, and paragraphing -- and to have the same edition in everyone's hand, so we were literally all on the same page. At the time, we used the Third Millennium Bible, but what I would recommend now is using the Cambridge New Paragraph Bible with the "Apocrypha". This edition is laid out in a way that is much easier for contemporary readers, and the more I use it myself, the more I have come to like it.

One other thing I did was to have my children memorize the names and order of the books of the Bible, and then we would do something which I learned from Sunday School as a child -- "Sword drills". When we finished reading the Bible, I would call out random Scripture references, and we would see which child could find it first. This taught them how to navigate their way around the Bible.

For more information:

An Orthodox Look at English Translations of the Bible

A Simple Approach to Reading the Entire Bible

King James English and Orthodox Worship


TOPICS: General Discusssion; Orthodox Christian
KEYWORDS: children; childrenkjv; kjv; kjvchildren; pointless; reading
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-104 next last
To: AppyPappy

But all translations are just an opinion of what the Greek and Hebrew say so it is rather meaningless.


I think i know what you mean, i have a problem trusting some of them, for instance the living Bible is not a translation but only paraphrased version of the KJV, yet many of the so called versions put out by religious institutes are much like the living bible.

They call them translations but are they? or are they just to reinforce their preexisting views?


81 posted on 06/27/2017 9:18:43 AM PDT by ravenwolf (If the Bible does not say it in plain words, please don`t preach it to me.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: Albion Wilde

I did not. I do not know the history of every protestant denomination. I had heard of Methodists and Episcopalian, but not the two as one.


82 posted on 06/27/2017 10:28:24 AM PDT by piusv (Pray for a return to the pre-Vatican II (Catholic) Faith)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 80 | View Replies]

To: piusv
I do not know the history of every protestant denomination.

Sorry -- I should have deduced from your screenname.

83 posted on 06/27/2017 12:20:20 PM PDT by Albion Wilde ("We will be one people, under one God, saluting one American flag." --Donald Trump)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 82 | View Replies]

To: Albion Wilde

No big deal and no apologies necessary.


84 posted on 06/27/2017 1:53:24 PM PDT by piusv (Pray for a return to the pre-Vatican II (Catholic) Faith)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 83 | View Replies]

To: Bodleian_Girl

Check the margins.


85 posted on 06/27/2017 2:21:51 PM PDT by dartuser
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Bodleian_Girl
Same ...

the readings from newer MSS (i.e. KJV texts) are in the margins ...

86 posted on 06/27/2017 2:24:35 PM PDT by dartuser
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: Bodleian_Girl
they denigrate the position and God-head of Christ.

Col 2:9 in the NASB ...

For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form

Clearest affirmation of the deity of Christ in ANY translation ...

Let's stop the nonsense of a systematic attack on the deity of Christ with the modern translations.

KJV is an excellent translation because it is a LITERAL translation ...

If you want the best possible ... translate it yourself from the Greek.

87 posted on 06/27/2017 2:33:02 PM PDT by dartuser
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: dartuser; pilgrim

What does Luke 4:4 say in the NASB?


88 posted on 06/27/2017 4:34:14 PM PDT by Bodleian_Girl (Don't check the news, check Cernovich on Twitter)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 87 | View Replies]

To: Salvation
With Douay-Rheims?

I've compared the King James Bible with the Challoner Douay-Rheims and I just don't know what you guys are on about, the Challoner Douay-Rheims reads practically word for word with the KJV that largely inspired it, since the previous Douay-Rheims was a total dud and practically unreadable. Bishop Challoner admitted as much.

89 posted on 06/27/2017 4:39:50 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: RegulatorCountry

My son loves the Douay Rheims. Just remember that it has more books than the KJV.

It is complete.


90 posted on 06/27/2017 4:42:01 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 89 | View Replies]

To: Salvation

There you go again. It does not have more books than the KJV. The uninspired Apocrypha were isolated from the Inspired Word of God but deemed good for edification, however they most certainly were included.

Then again, I’ve seen you post numerous times an apparent belief that Martin Luther somehow had a hand in the King James Bible, so it appears that there’s a certain amount of disinterest in furthering the truth of the matter, here.


91 posted on 06/27/2017 4:47:03 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 90 | View Replies]

To: RegulatorCountry
Some KJV may have the Apocrypha printed in the back.

However, please check out this link for the truth:

The Bible - 73 or 66 Books? (Ecumenical Thread)

92 posted on 06/27/2017 5:40:28 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 91 | View Replies]

To: Salvation

You specifically stated that the KJV did not have all the books, when in fact the Challoner Douay-Rheims that you hold in such high regard used it for the vast majority of it’s translation including Apocrypha.

Now, what was it you were saying again?


93 posted on 06/27/2017 5:45:12 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 92 | View Replies]

To: RegulatorCountry

Did you read the link I posted above?

I’m not going to argue anymore about this. Bye.


94 posted on 06/27/2017 5:52:06 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 93 | View Replies]

To: Salvation

Thank you.


95 posted on 06/27/2017 6:04:25 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 94 | View Replies]

To: Bodleian_Girl
What does Luke 4:4 say in the NASB?

Don't have my NASB in front of me ... but my Holman (which is very close to NASB) says:

But Jesus answered him, 'It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.'

And in the margin the following note:

Other mss add but on every word of God.

The other mss (manuscripts) the translator is talking about would refer to the Greek mss that underlie the KJV.

That has been my point all along. Modern translations relegate variant readings to the margin. And if you would read the preface to the original 1611 version you would see the translators recommend multiple translations when studying the scriptures ... because when you lock yourself into one version (for study) you can possibly arrive at the wrong sense of a particular passage.

The best possible scenario is to take the time to learn the NT Greek language ... then you can translate it yourself and interact with all the versions in print.

96 posted on 06/28/2017 6:33:49 AM PDT by dartuser
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: stylecouncilor

...ping.....


97 posted on 06/28/2017 8:58:51 AM PDT by onedoug
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dartuser

Why would Jesus say “Man must not live on bread alone,” and just leave that hanging out there?


98 posted on 06/28/2017 11:14:50 AM PDT by Bodleian_Girl (Don't check the news, check Cernovich on Twitter)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 96 | View Replies]

To: Bodleian_Girl
Why would the NASB say in Col. 2:9 "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" if they were systematically trying to remove the deity of Christ?
99 posted on 06/28/2017 1:37:35 PM PDT by dartuser
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 98 | View Replies]

To: ravenwolf

ESV and NASV are two such versions.


100 posted on 06/28/2017 10:55:57 PM PDT by free_life (If you ask Jesus to forgive you and to save you, He will.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-104 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson