One Week Bible CEB

One Week Bible CEB

Scripture Summarizing the Holy Bible

Dr. Dustin Joel Massingale

Published by Dustin Massingale in High Point, NC, USA

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Dustin Joel Massingale

from the Common English Bible © 2012 Common English Bible

All rights reserved.

www.oneweekbible.com

eBook ISBN: 9781301140107

paperback ISBN: 1492134368

paperback ISBN-13: 978-1492134367

CONTENTS

Introduction to One Week Bible

Plan of Salvation

Why Can We Believe the Bible?

Ch1 Day One, In the Beginning

Ch2 Day Two, Hebrews in Canaan

Ch3 Day Three, The Good News

Ch4 Day Four, The Passion of Jesus Christ

Ch5 Day Five, The Early Church

Ch6 Day Six, The Epistles

Ch7 Day Seven, Eschatology: The End Times

Appendix 1: Congratulations! Now What?

Appendix 2: Bible Answers to Commonly Asked Questions

Introduction to One Week Bible

Welcome to One Week Bible

Inspiration

The struggles that I had growing up, wondering if I had a full picture of God’s Word, were incredible. I learned some things through church, but we concentrated on specific stories. As a teen, I finally decided to read the Bible. It was mostly a skim and I switched versions quite a bit. When I lost my place, I would try to start over. I completed my reading in four or five years. I really did not have a complete understanding. This is why, in my adult life, I finally re-read the bible with a daily reading structure. It took about a year.

In my Doctorate of Biblical Studies curriculum, I had to take a survey course on the Bible. The survey contained an outline and paraphrased summary of every book of the Bible, but only quoted a verse or two for the points in the outline. When I looked on my own for other alternatives, I found Bible story books that only paraphrased selected events in the Bible that they found appealing to kids.

As I prayerfully read through the Bible in another year, and discussed with others, we found that the Bible was filled with repetition; many passages summarize events written in other books of the Bible. I asked, why don’t seminaries today provide a short survey course of the Bible that is the Bible? This led me to write an online Bible survey course for my doctoral practical work. As time went on, and I received feedback, I began feeling called to write this easy-to-read, One Week Bible for everyone to use.

Bible Reading with Prayer

Every time I read the Bible, I find it most beneficial when I pray about what I am about to read. When you pray, it doesn’t need to be a long prayer:

Ecclesiastes 5:2

Don’t be quick with your mouth or say anything hastily before God, because God is in heaven, but you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few.

Jesus Christ tells us how to pray, and gives us this example:

Matthew 6

⁹ Pray like this:

Our Father who is in heaven,

uphold the holiness of your name.

¹⁰ Bring in your kingdom

so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.

¹¹ Give us the bread we need for today.

¹² Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,

just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.

¹³ And don’t lead us into temptation,

but rescue us from the evil one.

Each day that you read the One Week Bible, remember to pray for understanding.

John 14:3

I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father can be glorified in the Son.

The One Week Bible has prayer tips, but God knows your situation and knows how to help guide you when you ask.

English Versions of the Bible

The text of the Bible has been transmitted faithfully for thousands of years. Scribes have written everything word for word, and the oldest texts found have only had minor differences. The language, however, was primarily Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic. In 382, the Catholic Church authorized St. Jerome to translate these texts into Latin, with a translation called the Latin Vulgate.

The Church did not support having an English language Bible. For centuries, people in England and France, like William Tyndale illegally translated at the penalty of death. A group of Puritans fled to Geneva and published the Geneva Translation in 1557. Soon after, the English Bibles finally became legal in England. The Church of England first established and authorized the Bishops’ Bible in 1568, then updated it in 1572. The Bishop’s Bible was the prescribed textual basis for the King James Version (KJV).

English translations like this allowed scientific endeavors. Starting in the late 1800's, English-speaking archeologists began uncovering many of the ancient artifacts that support the people, places, culture, and historicity of the Bible

Introduction to the King James Version

Today, the King James Version serves as one of the most quoted, best loved translations of the English Language. The introduction to the 1611 edition explains that it is intended to be a translation in the common tongue. According to the Passages traveling museum exhibit, the translation team worked primarily in Latin, even discussing in Latin. A series of original Hebrew language text was consulted, known as the Textus Receptus or Received text. The New Testament was heavily Latin based, using St Jerome’s, Latin Vulgate 382. The Greek text used in the New Testament was primarily Erasumus’ Novum Instrumentum Omne 1516, which was partly based on the Latin Vulgate.

The King James Version was updated in 1769. It became authorized by many English-speaking Churches in the 1700’s, and is commonly referred to as the Authorized King James Version. In her 2011 King James Anniversary address, Queen Elizabeth of England said, Although we may pause for a moment, even have a long moment, at the modern translations, we must always return to the elegance of the King James. The King James Version was used throughout the first edition of One Week Bible: Scripture Summarizing the Holy bible ™.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Between 1946 and 1956, archeologists uncovered caves in Qumran on the West Bank that contained 972 scrolls and fragments. The scrolls contained portions of text from the Old Testament and from the New Testament, in their original language. This discovery became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Incredibly about 98% of the text matched the translations derived from the Latin versions. This means that the portions of King James text that used Latin as its base is still accurate. Some of the Old Testament text that had been lost was also recovered. A new era of English translations emerged allowing greater understanding by translating directly from the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic languages.

Introduction to One Week Bible, Common English Bible

Modern translations were paired with the King James Version in the original One Week Bible. After releasing this Original One Week Bible, Dr. Massingale earnestly prayed and sought out a text that would be more affordable, reliable, and understandable. Careful consideration went into the ten most popular English translations of 2012.

The Common English Bible incorporated 120 translators from 24 denominations to provide an understandable English text. Most modern translations use no more 3 texts. Translating and comparing from 5 original language texts makes the Common English Bible one of the most academically rigorous English translations to date. More than 700 people were involved in making sure that the text was relevant, readable, and reliable. One Week Bible is proud to use this translation.

Introduction to One Week Bible - CEB Footnotes

a Job 5:13

trapping the wise in their cleverness

so that the plans of the devious don’t succeed.

Plan of Salvation

God’s Promise for You