Discussions about Bible translations often reveal a faulty understanding of the work of a translator. Translating isn’t just taking a sentence in one language and exchanging each word for another language’s equivalent.

More than exchanging words from one language into another, translators need to overcome language barriers on behalf of new-language recipients. They are building a bridge that new readers can ...

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. — Joshua 1:8

The Author of Scripture “created [your] inmost being” (Psalm 139:13). He designed every aspect of you, so he knows what will—and won’t—help you. He knows what will fill your ...

The gospel tells us that every believer is a new creation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17) and a child of God (see 1 John 3:1). It is out of this new identity that our sense of purpose and work flows. Knowing who we are is critical for knowing what we are called to do. The ability to discern our calling flows ...

All four gospels describe a group of women who were devoted to special ministries to the Savior. These women served, supported and even traveled in order to prepare the way for Jesus and the Twelve. Mary, the mother of James, the younger and Joseph, was one of these women. In fact, she was one of the few followers (mostly ...

In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd stumbled into the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century. He and his cousin found seven scrolls containing ancient Scripture in a cave in Qumran, near the Dead Sea.

Since that fateful day, archaeologists have discovered tens of thousands of scroll fragments and have carefully reassembled them. But the work took decades (some would say decades longer than it should have), and during that ...

Most of the psalms in the Old Testament are prayers of an individual or prayers offered on behalf of an individual. However, many are hymns calling the congregation to praise, and a number record prayer for a community that is suffering or in distress. This last group is called “community laments” Some examples include Psalm 44; 60; ...

History is filled with stories where it appears that those who do evil prosper while righteous and God-loving people suffer without cause. In Psalm 37, troubled people find the encouraging reminder that wrongdoers will not endure forever, and that “the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity” (verse 11). Hundreds of years later, Jesus ...

Wisdom is a capacity of the mind that allows us to understand life from God’s perspective. Throughout the book of Proverbs, Solomon encourages us to “get wisdom” (Proverbs 4:5). He says those who get wisdom love life (see 19:8); that it’s better to get wisdom than gold (see 16:16); and that those who get wisdom find life ...

Romans 8:28 tells us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Yet it is hard to believe lines like this when we witness baffling, horrific events. The primary Old Testament illustration of Romans 8:28 is Genesis 50:20. In that story, Joseph’s brothers ...

The Bible isn’t a single book. It’s a collection of many books that were written, preserved and gathered together so that they could be shared with new generations of readers. Reading, of course, is not an end in itself. Especially in ...