the paperback Bible

When I was a child at Bellevue United Methodist Church, I along with other knee-high kids my age were given a King James Version Bible.  Lot's of thees and thous and saith untos in there for a little kid.  It was around 1970 that someone gave me a strange looking Bible called Good News For Modern Man.  It was the first paperback Bible I'd ever laid my eyes on.  I didn't see any thees and thous and saith untos in that version.  It did read a little easier for a young boy.

Good News For Modern Man seemed to be everywhere back in the day.  This Bible was illustrated with simple line art by Annie Vallotton (think of stick figures with robes).  I'm not knocking the art, it's what inspired me to drawing simple cartoon characters in the margins of my Bible.  I'd often draw a simple piece of line art which was a way that I would make a note of a verse. 

I read from that Bible for several years.  When I got into my early teens I was given The Living Bible and soon purchased and stuck with the New American Standard Bible for decades after that.  About five years ago my wife bought me a Message Bible.  I didn't read from it much because I have a terrible tendency to accidentally rip out entire pages.  I don't buy Bibles with thin tissue-like pages for that reason.  I only buy Bibles made like text books.  I gave my Message to Gina and went to my local Christian bookstore to see if they had a Message with regular page.  It was a no-go.

I guess I don't have to have scripture paraphrased.  Over the years I found myself enjoying reading from the King James Version.  Even though I've had various versions of the Bible, I've read KJV all along.  I don't mind the thees, thous and saith untos.