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Scripture memorization: what translation?


tristangrace
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We use NIV mostly because we're in a program called Junior Bible Quiz & the vast majority of the kids use NIV. However, there are just some passages that just cry out for KJV such as Psalm 23, The Lord's Prayer, and "For unto us a child is born...(sorry can't think of the full reference from Isaiah just now, blush). KJV is just more majestic sounding but NIV is more widely used. Jacqui

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Our church uses NASB, preferred denominational schools are going toward NASB, and we use NASB in the home, so that's what we memorize. I think memorization in any of the common translations is good. Just pick the one that is most practical and least confusing in your situation, that's my two cents. You could have just as easily inserted NIV into the above paradigm. I grew up with KJV btw and would update that to an NKJV if that's the direction your church goes.

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Generally, we memorize from NASB, because that's the version we read/study from.

 

However, there are some verses that we memorize with another translations (such as NKJ and/or NIV). We do this for one of two reasons:

1-If we want to memorize a "popular" verse that is frequently quoted from a particular version, we would probably use that version because of the familiarity.

2-We would also do this if we just happen to like the way another version words a particular verse/passage.

(Overall, we prefer NASB; but on occasion will read across the translations. If something from another translation seems to flow better, or use wording more meaningful to us, we would choose to memorize it in that version.)

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My dc memorize from the NIV version. Our church has adopted the ESV but it is a much much more complex version for young ones. Zondervan has the NIV listed as a 7.9 reading level and the ESV as an 8.0 reading level though. We will use NIV until the boys are old enough to memorize from ESV.

 

Here is a link to the Zondervan site. You can click on any version along the left side bar and it will explain all about the particular version you are interested in.

 

Zondervan Bible Comparisons:

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Thanks for all the replies, and I'm interested in more thoughts as well.

 

I "grew up on" NIV, but recently I've begun to feel it's almost TOO familiar--getting harder to really pay attention--so I've been using other versions for personal reading.

 

My kids are too little to have this issue, though, so I'm going back and forth between having them memorize in the most commonly used versions in our church subcultures (probably NIV and NASV), and looking for translations that are still respected for accuracy but have a prettier "sound" and "flow" (and are thus supposedly easier to memorize).

 

I don't have a problem with using different translations for different passages, but I'm thinking of having us all memorize an entire book (prob'ly Gospel of John) over the next few years, and whatever we start with, we're stuck with--hence the indecision.

 

Susan

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