Maverick - you probably know some or most of this but will
Try and explain.
Old Testament was written in Hebrew and is the same as the Jewish Holy book except books are arranged differently.
Apocrypha is a group of books that were rejected by 'Old Testament times' Jewish or Levitical scholars, claiming they were not Inspired. The Roman Catholic Church decided that those books needed to be included in their version of the Bible.
New Testament was written in Greek.
The Protestant Bible is the basic Old and New Testaments translated into the readers language.
Some religions add to the basic Old and New Testament. The Roman Catholic add in the Apocrypha and the Mormons add in 'The Book of Mormon' claiming it is inspired.
Other religions modify Scripture to fit their belief.
Martin Luther took a great step believing that
All people should be able to read the Holy Scripture for their self. Many Christians gave their life in getting His Holy Word to us. However I believe the greatest effort to translate the Bible into 'common languages came from King James,who gathered scholars and theologians. They took the most original text of that time and created the King James Bible. The KJV was not just translated into English but other languages as well.
There are 2 classes of Bible. Of course one is the Bible and the other is a paraphrase. A paraphrase is not Scripture but a writing in common language of the thoughts someone thinks the Bible is portraying.
Now concerning versions of the Bible. Understand that all versions of the Bible are translations. The KJV is very old and some of the words have changed meaning over time, but is still one of the most accurate versions out there, and I still use it, and use it for reference. There are countless other versions, many
claim to be the most accurate but that is always up for discussion. Some versions appear to be made for economic proposes, and some by people wanting to change what God has said. There is also a Bible that has 3 or 4 versions next to each other (Parallel Bible), which is great for reference and study.
Which version should a person use? I tend to avoid the latest version(s) out there. But living in this age of computers and the Internet is great for Bible study. There are sites and programs and apps that give us access to multiple versions of the Bible at the same time. (Bible.is and Bible Gateway are a couple) Also available are Strongs numbers and definitions with Scripture. A source I use is Online Bible app for tablets and onlinebible.net program for PC.
When you have a question with Scripture - Check out verse(s) with multiple versions, and original text via Strongs. Check out corresponding Scripture verses for verification. You can also ask a question on this site and often get answers.
I know I missed a lot, but it is a start. There are also scholars on this site better than I, that may help clarify or correct some of this writing.
Hope this helps
In Christ Jesus My Lord
Ron
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