Reference: English Versions
Hastings
1. The history of the English Bible begins early in the history of the English people, though not quite at the beginning of it, and only slowly attains to any magnitude. The Bible which was brought into the country by the first missionaries, by Aidan in the north and Augustine in the south, was the Latin Bible; and for some considerable time after the first preaching of Christianity to the English no vernacular version would be required. Nor is there any trace of a vernacular Bible in the Celtic Church, which still existed in Wales and Ireland. The literary language of the educated minority was Latin; and the instruction of the newly converted English tribes was carried on by oral teaching and preaching. As time went on, however, and monasteries were founded, many of whose inmates were imperfectly acquainted either with English or with Latin, a demand arose for English translations of the Scriptures. This took two forms. On the one hand, there was a call for word-for-word translations of the Latin, which might assist readers to a comprehension of the Latin Bible; and, on the other, for continuous versions or paraphrases, which might be read to, or by, those whose skill in reading Latin was small.
2. The earliest form, so far as is known, in which this demand was met was the poem of Caedmon, the work of a monk of Whitby in the third quarter of the 7th cent., which gives a metrical paraphrase of parts of both Testaments. The only extant MS of the poem (in the Bodleian) belongs to the end of the 10th cent., and it is doubtful how much of it really goes back to the time of Caedmon. In any case, the poem as it appears here does not appear to be later than the 8th century. A tradition, originating with Bale, attributed an English version of the Psalms to Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne (d. 707), but it appears to be quite baseless (see A. S. Cook, Bibl. Quot. in Old Eng. Prose Writers, 1878, pp. xiv
See Verses Found in Dictionary
[This is] a record of the family background of Jesus Christ, the descendant of David, who was the descendant of Abraham. [Note: The following is an incomplete lineage through Jesus' step-father Joseph].
[This is] a record of the family background of Jesus Christ, the descendant of David, who was the descendant of Abraham. [Note: The following is an incomplete lineage through Jesus' step-father Joseph].
[This is] a record of the family background of Jesus Christ, the descendant of David, who was the descendant of Abraham. [Note: The following is an incomplete lineage through Jesus' step-father Joseph].
So, do not be like them, for your Father [already] knows what things you need, [even] before you ask Him.
So, do not be like them, for your Father [already] knows what things you need, [even] before you ask Him.
He said to the man, 'Friend, how did you get in here without wearing the proper wedding outfit?' And he could not say a word.
"There is a little boy here who has five [small] loaves of barley bread and two [probably smoked] fish. But what is this amount for [feeding] so many people?"
[Jesus continued], "Do not allow your hearts to be upset. You should believe in God, and believe in me also. There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for each one you [in them]. I would not have told you this if it were not so. read more. And if I go to prepare a place for each of you, I will return to take all you to [be with] me, so that you also will be where I am. And you all know how to get where I am going." Thomas said to Jesus, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how could we [possibly] know the way [to get there]?" Jesus answered him, "I am the way [to God], and the truth [to believe], and the life [to live]. No one can go to the Father, except through [believing in] me. If you have come to know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know Him, and have seen Him."
This is what they wrote [in the letter]: "[This is] from your brothers, the apostles and elders [of the Jerusalem church]: Greetings to [our] Gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We have heard that certain [men] who left here have been upsetting you people and [even] undermining [some people's] spiritual lives by what they have been teaching. This was done without our authorization [or approval]. read more. So, after we came to full agreement, it seemed wise to us to choose [two] men [See verse 22] to accompany our dear Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are sending Judas and Silas [with them] to tell you [these same] things in person. For it was the judgment of the Holy Spirit, and we agreed, that no greater burden be placed on you people than the following necessary things: Avoid [eating] things sacrificed to idols; avoid [drinking] blood; avoid [eating] things [that were] strangled [to death] and avoid sexual immorality. If you avoid [all] these things, you will be doing well. Goodbye."
So, when I made this decision, was I just vacillating [in uncertainty]? Or, do I make plans in a worldly way [i.e., just to suit my own fancy], so that my "yes" and "no" [do not really mean anything]? But just as certainly as God is dependable, our message to you is not [both] "yes" and "no" [at the same time]. read more. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me, [and] Silvanus [i.e., the same as Silas] and Timothy, was not "yes" and "no" [i.e., both our message and Jesus Himself were not contradictory], but with Him, it was "yes" [i.e., Jesus consistently spoke the truth]. For [no matter] how many promises God has made, in Christ [the answer] is "yes" [i.e., Christ has fulfilled all of God's promises to mankind]. Also, through Christ, the "amen" [Note: This word is always translated elsewhere as "May it be so"] can be said by us in order to honor God.
This is the reason that I bow my knees [in prayer] to the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its name. [Note: Here Paul resumes the prayer he began in verse 1]. read more. [I pray] that, according to God's glorious abundance, He would empower you to become [spiritually] strong through His Holy Spirit in your inner person, so that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. [I pray] that you will be rooted and grounded in [your] love, so that you, along with all the saints [i.e., God's holy people], will be [spiritually] strong enough to grasp how wide and long and high and deep [Christ's love is]; and to know that His love for us surpasses [our] knowledge, so that you people will be completely filled with the fullness of God. May there be to God, who is able to do infinitely more [for us] than we could [even] ask or think, according to [His] power at work in us --- [I say] may there be praise to God in the church and in [or, "for"] Christ Jesus throughout all generations of people for ages and ages. May it be so.