For our readers: an explanatory Bible with detailed descriptions from various sources.

New Testament

Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of John
Acts of the Apostles
The Epistle of Jacob
1 Peter
2 Peter

1 John
2 John
3 John
The Epistle of Jude
Romans
1 Epistle to the Corinthians
2 Epistle to the Corinthians
Galatians

Epistle to the Ephesians
Epistle to the Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Epistle to Timothy
2 Timothy
Epistle to Titus

Epistle to Philemon
Hebrews
John's revelation

Old Testament

Genesis
Book of Exodus
Book of Leviticus
Book of Numbers
Book of Deuteronomy
Book of Joshua
Judges
Book of Ruth
1st Book of Kings
2nd Book of Kings

3rd Book of Kings
4th Book of Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Book of Ezra
Book of Nehemiah
Book of Esther
The Book of Job
Psalter
Book of Proverbs of Solomon

Book of Ecclesiastes
Book of Song of Songs
Isaiah
Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Lamentations of Jeremiah
The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
The Book of the Prophet Daniel
The Book of the Prophet Hosea
The Book of the Prophet Joel
The Book of the Prophet Amos

The Book of the Prophet Obadiah
Book of the Prophet Jonah
Book of the Prophet Micah
The Book of the Prophet Nahum
The Book of the Prophet Habakkuk
The Book of the Prophet Zephaniah
The Book of the Prophet Haggai
Book of the Prophet Zechariah
Book of the Prophet Malachi

This Interpretation of the Bible was compiled from research conducted by scholarly theologians at Dallas Theological Seminary.

About edition:

The books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, canonical, in Russian translation with an explanatory introduction to each book of the Bible and notes by Ch.I. Scofield from the 1909 English edition.

Distinctive writings of this edition of the Bible:

If necessary, the reader on each page can check auxiliary material with the texts of the Holy Scriptures.
All subjects related to each other by a common theme are placed in an analytical summary, in which the reader will find everything that the Bible says on this issue.
The most important concepts of the Bible are conveyed in simple accessible language.
To facilitate the study and assimilation of the Holy Scriptures, each of the 66 books of the Bible is provided with an introduction and analysis with a corresponding subheading.
The entire Bible is divided into paragraphs with special subheadings. At the same time, the traditional division into chapters and verses has been preserved.
The explanatory notes provide the results of a modern study of the books of the prophets.
The most important covenants of God, those that determine human life and divine redemption, around which the entire Bible is centered, are subjected to special analysis. revealed the relationship between these covenants and the teachings of Christ.
From the above footnotes and summaries, the reader will be able to understand what are the periods of God's economy, how God's relationship with humanity has progressed.

The Bible is a collection of sacred texts of Christians and Jews. On our website, we provide you with a great opportunity read the bible online.

Why read the Bible?

For every person, the Bible has its own meaning, its own meaning. For believers, this is a code of norms and rules, a source of faith and meaning. For people of culture, it is a masterpiece of world culture, the literary heritage of our ancestors. For creative people, the Bible can become a source of inspiration, inexhaustible, endless ... How often and for what purpose to read the Bible is everyone's business, but any person who considers himself intellectual and spiritual should read the Bible at least once in his life. We provide you with a good opportunity to read the Bible online. Our online Bible is replete with paintings by famous artists on Bible motives. We have selected the pictures carefully and scrupulously so that you can fully immerse yourself in the meaning of each chapter of the Bible.

The Bible is a book of books.

The word Bible itself or βιβλία is translated from Greek as "book", and therefore it is often called a book of books. 66 books of the Bible are canonical for all Christian denominations. To be precise, Protestants consider 66 books canonical, Catholics - 73 books, and Orthodox - 77 books.

Bible books

The Christian Bible consists of the Old and New Testaments, while the books of the New Testament are the same for all denominations. The Old Testament consists of the books of the Tanach - the Hebrew Bible and additional. The number of books in the Old Testament differs depending on the denomination.

Additional books of the Old Testament are called non-canonical in the Russian Orthodox Church, recommended reading in the Greek Orthodox Churches, second-canonical in Catholicism and apocryphain Protestantism. Not only does the number of books in the Bible differ, but also their sequence.

The Bible is Holy Scripture.

The Bible is often referred to as Holy Scripture or Holy Bible. The entire canonical text of the Bible, and especially the book of Leviticus, is permeated with the idea of \u200b\u200bholiness. The texts of the Bible are divinely revealed and inspired, which means they were written under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Thus, to read the Bible means to get acquainted with the primary source and fundamental principle of faith.

In the XIII century the English theologian Stephen Langton divided the books of the Bible into chapters. In the 16th century, Robert Etienne, a French book printer and lexicographer, divided the Bible into verses. Today the Bible is quoted by book, chapter, and verse. On the site we adhere to a similar approach, therefore you will be able to read the Bible online convenient and familiar.

The language of Holy Scripture.

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, with the exception of some parts in Aramaic. The New Testament is written in ancient Greek. For a long time, the Jews managed to preserve the original text of the Holy Scriptures without distortions in content and language. However, after the Babylonian captivity, the original text of Scripture became incomprehensible to the Jews, who by that time began to speak en masse in Aramaic. This was reflected in the texts of Scripture, which began to be translated / created in Aramaic.

Despite this, the ancient Hebrew language, no longer used in everyday life, remained the language of religion and the prophets who lived after the captivity wrote sacred texts in Hebrew.

Creation time and authorship.

The Bible has been written since the 15th century. BC e. to the 1st century n. e. (Some scholars date the Bible to a later period.) The Bible is a collective work, with at least forty authors believed to be the authorship. According to scholars Most of the books of the Old Testament and all of the Gospels were written by anonymous authors, and authorship was attributed to them in the second century.

Scholars believe that the books of the Old Testament were put together by the divinely inspired scribe Ezra, who lived about 450 BC. e. The books of the New Testament were canonized by the Christian church at the Ecumenical Councils.

The most ancient manuscripts of the New Testament are codices of the 4th century. n. BC, written in Greek:

Alexandrian Codex
Vatican Codex
Sinai Codex

Bible translations

The Bible was translated into English in 1380 by John Wyclif, a professor at Oxford.

The Bible was first translated into Armenian in 431.

In the 9th century, Cyril and Methodius translated the Bible into a language understandable to the Eastern Slavs. Unfortunately, not a single text translated by Cyril and Methodius has survived, and therefore it is not known for certain which of the Slavic languages \u200b\u200bthe missionary brothers translated the Bible into. This was probably one of the variants of the Old Bulgarian. The fact of translating the Bible into one of the East Slavic languages, undoubtedly, contributed to the baptism of Russia.

The Bible was translated into Western Russian by Francis Skaryna in the first half of the 16th century

The Bible in Modern Culture.

Several interesting facts about the Bible.

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time (about 100 million copies sold annually);
The Bible is the first example of mass literature;
Bible stories are the most cited in world literature;
The name Bible is not in the Bible itself, such a name appeared in the IV century, used by John Chrysostom and Epiphanius of Cyprus.
The current system of chapters and verses first appeared in the English Bible in 1560.
Other religions also draw inspiration from the Bible. For example. It is considered an important scripture in Unitarian universalism.
Bible translated into 2,377 languages \u200b\u200band published in full in 422 languages
The list of biblical characters has more than 1000 names
The Bible has had a tremendous impact on European music, both religious and secular. There are more masses, oratorios, cantatas, operas, and other pieces of music dedicated to biblical themes than any other theme.

Reading the Bible online is an easy way to get acquainted with this phenomenon of world culture, get in touch with the history of ancestors, plunge into imperishable biblical plots, which for some have become the basis of faith, and for others can become lessons of simple morality.

Explanatory Bible of Lopukhin (Russian pre-doc. Explanatory Bible or commentary on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament edited by A.P. Lopukhin) is a popular biblical commentary published in 1904-1913. first under the editorship of AP Lopukhin (only the Pentateuch of Moiseevo), and, after his death, by his successors in the form of an appendix to the magazine "Wanderer" (as part of the "Public Theological Library").

Description

The preparation and publication in 1876 of a complete translation of the Bible into Russian set a new task for Russian biblical scholars - to provide this text with popular scientific and theological commentaries in order to “give the pastors of the church, as well as all general lovers of reading the Word of God, a guide to the correct understanding of the Bible, justification and protection of the truth from its distortion by false teachers, as well as a guide to the understanding of many unclear places in it ... ". In 1903, the outstanding Russian biblical scholar, professor of theology Alexander Pavlovich Lopukhin took on this task, who managed not only to assemble a highly professional editorial team (professors AA Glagolev, F.G. Eleonsky, I.G. Troitsky, Archimandrite (later Bishop) Joseph ( Petrovs), A.I. Pokrovsky and many others), but also infect them with your idea that the publication did not stop for 9 years after the death of the organizer and was successfully completed in 1913.

The editor and his successors see the publication as primarily an educational role, therefore they deliberately reject both exclusively theological and exclusively scientific commentary, trying to synthesize the interpretation of St. fathers with modern (at the time of publication) data of biblical science. This innovative method is the secret of the longevity of the "Explanatory Bible": "unlike most works on biblical studies, which annually lose their relevance in the light of new discoveries of scholars, the patristic" backbone "of the Lopukhin text cannot be outdated by definition." Despite the fact that the work is intended for a wide range of readers, its general availability does not in the least reduce the high scientific and theological level.

In 1988, in Stockholm, the second, reprinted, edition of Lopukhin's "Explanatory Bible" was published, timed to coincide with the celebration of the millennium of the baptism of Rus. This interpretation of the Bible was aimed at re-acquainting the broad readership of the Soviet Union with the summit achievement of the Russian biblical-historical science of the pre-revolutionary time. The publishers did not intend to make any changes to the text of the comments, limiting themselves to changing the format of the publication - for example, all twelve volumes of the original edition were placed in three volumes due to the use of extra thin paper, with the preservation of the old pagination.

The founder of the Institute for Bible Translation, Dr. Borislav Arapovich recalls:

In the summer of 1987, the Institute sent a letter to the Russian Orthodox Church, offering it 150 thousand sets of the reprinted Explanatory Bible as a gift from the peoples of Northern Europe to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Christianity in Russia ... Printing and transporting such a circulation alone was beyond the Institute's strength - for this we needed about 20 million SEK and therefore we turned to the Bible Societies of the Nordic countries - Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands and Finland, which organized a fundraiser in their countries. In addition, the Danish government added DKK 3.5 million, the Norwegian parliament allocated NOK 3 million, and the Faroe Islands parliament 150,000 DKK. The Institute organized the printing and transportation of books to Moscow, and also entered into official contacts with the Russian Orthodox Church, which donated part of the gift to other churches and various scientific organizations in the Soviet Union. So the Bible in this gift united the peoples of Northern Europe and helped to strengthen their friendship with their eastern neighbors.

After the collapse of the USSR, Lopukhin's Explanatory Bible was reprinted several times in Russia and Belarus. At the colloquial level, the Explanatory Bible firmly entrenched the name "lopukhinskaya". However, the name of Alexander Pavlovich was also preserved on the title pages of books published after his death - in all eleven volumes there is an inscription: "Edition of A. P. Lopukhin's successors."

Notes

Men A. prot. Explanatory Bibles // Bibliological Dictionary. - 2002. - T. 3. - S. 249.
"Wanderer". - 1903 .-- October. - S. 345.
Koskello A. Fighter for the People's Bible // Living water. - 2014. - No. 9.
Men A. prot. On the history of Russian Orthodox biblical studies // Theological works. - 1987. - No. 28. - S. 282.
Zverev N. Life and works of the professor of SPbDA Alexander Pavlovich Lopukhin // Christian reading. - 2006. - No. 26. - P. 158.

Edition

Edition of A.P. Lopukhin and his successors - in 11 volumes with additional. (1904-1913):

1st volume (1904) - Pentateuch of Moses.
2nd volume (1905) - Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Kings.
Volume 3 (1906) - Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith and Esther.
4th volume (1907) - Books of Job, Psalter and Book of Proverbs of Solomon.
5th volume (1908) - Books of Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon, Jesus son of Sirach and Prophet Isaiah.
6th volume (1909) - Books of the Prophet. Jeremiah, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Epistle of Jeremiah, Prop. Ezekiel and the Prophet. Baruch.
7th volume (1910) - Books of the Prophet. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
7th volume A (1913) - Books of Maccabees and Third Book of Ezra.
8th volume (1911) - the Gospel of Matthew.
9th volume (1912) - Gospels of Mark, Luke and John.
10th volume (1913) - Acts of the Holy Apostles, Epistles of the Synod of James, Peter, John, Jude and the Epistle of Ap. Paul to the Romans.
11th volume (1913) - Epistles of Ap. Paul: to the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon and the Hebrews and the Revelation of St. John the Theologian.

Bible Commentaries. We asked - we answer, p. 2

ASKES TATIANA
Did the people know God's law before God gave the commandments to the Jews on Mount Sinai?

ASKING STANISLAV
Please help me figure it out. Jehovah's Witnesses quite logically prove by the Bible that Jesus Christ was not born of God, but was created by Him.

ASKING NATALIA
Are Jehovah's Witnesses right when they say that only God the Father is worthy of true human worship?

ASKING OLGA
Jehovah's Witnesses talk a lot about God's name and use the Scriptures to substantiate its importance. Are they right? Help me to understand

ASKES RAIS
You can hear the interpretation of the Beatitudes of Jesus Christ - the Gospel of Matthew 5 chapter from 3 to 12 verses

ASKING DENIS
I would like to learn from you about the gift of tongues, it is practiced in our church all the time. How does it relate to prayers in other tongues?

QUESTION ABOUT THE BIBLE FROM SERGEY
Hello. Points of Interest: Jude 20, what does this verse say? Are we talking about other languages \u200b\u200bhere?

ASKED BY SERGEY
I have read your articles on the Holy Spirit and prayer in other tongues and I have a question: Rom. 8:26 “Likewise, the Spirit also strengthens us in our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for, as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings unspeakable. " How to consider the inexpressible sighs?

ASKED BY JULIA
What does the phrase in the fourth commandment mean: "A stranger in your house should rest on the Sabbath day"? I am interested in specifically who is meant by the alien? thank!

ASKED BY ALEXANDER
Any tips for studying the Bible?

ASKED BY SERGEY
When, in your opinion, did the Christian Church begin to deviate from its original foundations?

ASKES IGOR
What does the Bible say about the dangers of tobacco smoking as a sin? more about it

ASKING ALEKEY
I would like to ask one question about the Bible's relation to meat. There are Scriptures that show a negative attitude towards killing animals and eating their meat. So vegetarians are right that they don't eat meat?

ASKED BY ALEXANDER
The resurrection of the dead is the day that will take place at the second coming of Christ or is it a process that happens to the believer while he lives his life in his physical body as it is written “rise up, asleep, rise from the dead, may Christ sanctify you” and this process stops with the death of a person?

ASKING OLGA
Why did Noah curse not Ham, but Canaan?

ASKING YURI
What did Jesus mean when he said, “Not everyone who says to Me," Lord, Lord, "will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven”?

ASKES LOLITA
Why and in what other form did Christ appear to his disciples after his resurrection that they did not recognize him? And why did you have to change your appearance when it comes to the physical body?

ASKING VASILY
Studying the Bible raises questions. Here are some of them: Is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire taking place now, and what is it?

ASKING ARTHUR
I am just starting to read spiritual literature, to know God. I have such an opinion about God, about the attitude towards Him. I would like to know your opinion. Is our life reduced to constant work, continuous knowledge and search for God? If we constantly work and gain knowledge, will we reach the “divine” state and His disposition? Otherwise, why did He create the Universe and us in His likeness, why did He endow us with thinking and consciousness?

ASKES EVGENIY
Please answer in the Gospel of John, chapter 9, while healing a blind man, Jesus did not just heal, but sent to the pool to wash, why? The pool is called the Sent one, is it to the point that Jesus is the messenger of God?

ASKING ELIZABETH
We are told in the church that only we are the one church of God. Therefore, I do not understand, does this mean that besides our parishioners, believers from other churches will not be saved?

FAITH ASKS
In answering questions about who will enter the Kingdom of God, you often refer to the Lord's Sermon on the Mount. The question arises: Who can be saved?

ASKING HOPE
What really happened to the inhabitants of the Rabbah and the cities of Ammonites? In 2 Kings. 12:31 and 1 Chron. 20: 3 in the Synodal translation it is written that they were placed under saws, iron axes and kilns. And in the modern translation of the Russian Bible Society it is written that David took them captive, and destroyed the city itself with saws, iron spades and axes.

ASKES OKSANA
Hello, I have been looking for a very long time where you can get answers to your questions and it seems that I have found))) You have reasoned enough answers that are based on the Bible, this is important to me. Please tell me what the Bible means in Gen. 6: 1-4 under the names "sons of God" and "daughters of men" - who are we talking about?

ASKING ALEXEI
Hello, please answer, why is there so much evil in the Bible? God allows evil, murder, and even brings calamities Himself. What does it mean?

ASKED BY GENNADY
In 1 Cor. 10: 2 is written about baptism in Moses. How can you be baptized into a person? How is this passage translated in the modern Bible or in other translations? Thank.

ASKING GALINA
Good day! I can't figure out what can and cannot be done on Saturdays. Thank!

ASKING GREGORY
Greetings! I am concerned with the topic of predestination. Do you have anything for this?

ASKES TATIANA
Can't figure out how to do the right thing in the Bible? Many people say that women need to cover their heads in church, and some churches do not. And it is not at all clear why there is a difference for men and women?

ASKED BY ANATOLY
The first part of Jer. 48:10 "Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord carelessly, and cursed is he who keeps His sword from blood!" often acts as a Christian "horror story". So why and to whom was this word said?

ASKES OKSANA
My husband has become addicted to the computer, he plays computer games. At the same time, he considers himself a believer and regularly attends church. Is there any therapy similar to drug addiction therapy?

ASKING NATALIA
According to Matthew 4: 1, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. I cannot understand what kind of Spirit? Is it the Holy Spirit? What for?? No, I understand why, for temptation, but why?

ASKING DAVID
The question is about dreams. For the first time in my life, dreams manifest themselves in such a way that how do they come true or maybe I didn't pay attention to it before? I cannot understand what all this means and how to act? If possible in detail.

ASKING DANIK
When Moses led Israel out of Egypt, he told Pharaoh that they were going to the wilderness for sacrifice for 3 days' journey. But Moses knew that they were leaving for Canaan forever, how did he say so? It turns out that God permits lies for salvation?

ELENA ASKS
A person pays with death for his original sin and sins committed during life, but why do animals, birds, insects die? - they are sinless. The question is not for doubt, but for the strengthening of faith.

ASKING MAXIM
The New Testament says that believers now enter the sanctuary with boldness. What does this mean?

ASKING YURI
In Matt. 11:17 says: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang sad songs for you, and you did not cry. ”What is this talking about?

ASKES TATIANA
At 1 Corinthians 6:12 it says, "All things are lawful for me ..." Why then do you write about unclean food on your website? Thank you in advance!

ASKING NATALIA
There are many examples in the Bible that when a city, or rather the people living in it, sin, He leaves them ... Ukraine probably deserves this ... Half of the people simply do not understand, or do not want to understand what is happening. .. people are divided, and everyone believes that he is right. Where is the greater evil?

ASKENIA ASKES
Hello! Please write down what prayers it is desirable for a believer to know by heart? Thank you in advance.

ASKES EVGENIYA
In our church they teach that the law is no longer needed for Christians. But I know that many Christians continue to honor God's law. Who is right? Help me understand. thank

ASKING RUSTAM
Hello, brother Valery. I thank you for the book I downloaded over the Internet to my tablet. I have a question for you about Kabbalah. How do you feel about the teachings of Kabbalah? I think this teaching equates to divination. Thank you in advance

ASKING ELIZABETH
Hello. Tell me who needs to pray? Tell me your opinion, everyone says different things about it. Thank you

ASKES ANDRIAN
Why do you write that the law of Moses is relevant. But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus changed the law of Moses beyond recognition. "It is written in the law .., and I say .." "It is written - fulfill your oaths before God, and I say - do not swear at all." Those. With these words, the commandment to swear from the law is actually REMOVED!

IRINA ASKS
How can I know God's will if God is silent or I cannot hear him? Can I make my own choices without waiting for His answer? The choice concerns the profession. But for me the profession is like a vocation. How to figure it out?

ASKING STANISLAV
How to explain the fact that people in a coma fly away from their bodies and tell that they were somewhere in a beautiful bright world and saw the room where they lay and even themselves from the side?

ASKING BENIAMIN
My mother is not a believer, but very decent. There are also many excellent people among the believers of other religions. Who do you think will be saved?

ASKES TATIANA
It is not clear what kind of a goat as a sacrifice for the sin of the people is described in chapter 16 of the book of Levites and what is a scapegoat? Why were other sacrifices needed, if people constantly offered sacrifices for their sins in the sanctuary?

ASKES IGOR
There are many churches and everyone says that they have the truth, that they are the people of God. I heard that the Bible mentions God's remnant. I wonder who belongs to him?

ASKED BY DMITRY
Recently I heard such a version that when receiving a new passport, where biometric data is taken, we give our consent to voluntarily draw us three sixes, the sign of the devil. Should we take this as something very dangerous?

ASKING ROMAN
Answer my question: why Jesus, when he drove out demons from the possessed, put them in pigs and they threw themselves into the sea, this question is very worried.

ASKING VLADIMIR
The words from the Gospel "From the days of John the Baptist until now" imply a period of time for the gospel. And the Kingdom itself, probably, came during the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles on the day of the Five Ladies. Have I interpreted these fragments correctly?

ASKES LYUDMILA
My relative attends a popular church and says that the church I attend is not true, as it was formed just a few centuries ago. How can you determine how true the church is?

QUESTION FROM PETER
How to understand that those who have wives should be as if they had not? Is this a call to celibacy? Also confusing is the text from Revelation about 144,000 virgins. Is celibacy pleasing to God?

QUESTION FROM ANATOLY
Greetings! I am interested to know your account of the rebirth from above. Can you introduce me to them?

QUESTION FROM EVGENIY
Peace to you! Why can't we understand the heavenly tabernacle and the ministry in it simply as a symbolic reference to the human spiritual?

QUESTION FROM DMITRY
Look at Rev. 14:11 "they will have no rest day or night." You write in your book that fire and smoke will be eternal, not suffering, and this verse says that torment will be eternal.

Hello brother Ivan!

I had the same thing at first. But the more time I devoted to God: service and His Word, the more clear it became to me. I wrote about this in the chapter "The Bible Must Be Studied" of my book "Returning to the Origins of the Christian Doctrine". To understand the Bible correctly, you need to follow certain rules when interpreting it, which can be read by clicking on the link. However, knowing how important this issue is, we will speculate about it a little more.

Bible interpretation - not a simple matter. Scripture needs to be analyzed and understood in context. Today many Christians are accustomed to paying attention to individual verses of the Bible, and even often a doctrine is built on a single text. However, these verses often tell a different story when looked at in the context of nearby chapters or the epistle as a whole. Previously, there was no division of texts into verses and chapters, they were read as indivisible books (scrolls). Therefore, attention was rarely focused on individual verses without taking into account the entire message. Also, when interpreting the Bible, it must be borne in mind that these words were pronounced in a different historical setting. The messengers of God spoke not only to future generations, but also directly to those to whom they spoke. Real people spoke with real people in their language, taking into account their mentality inherent in that time and that area, and naturally understood each other. So for us to correctly understand (interpret) the Bible, we need to delve into the nuances of their life and everyday life as much as possible. And then a lot will become more clear to us.

Therefore, my advice to you is to seriously study the Bible, not forgetting to familiarize yourself with the history of the peoples about which it tells. And at the same time, do not "get hung up" on individual texts, but look at them solely taking into account the context. And of course, he prays before reading the Bible with a request to God for the gift of wisdom to interpret the Bible, understand and memorize His Word.

Today, the spiritual authorities of mainstream churches claim that they alone have the right to interpret the Bible. They say that such an important matter as understanding Scripture is possible only within the church by its faithful holy subjects. And of course, each denomination believes that only their spiritual teachers interpret the Bible correctly. The flock of these churches believes their spiritual mentors that they are the ones who correctly understand the Word of God, while other Christian churches are mistaken. It turns out a strange picture: there are many churches, there seem to be many positive "holy" people in them ... But they all interpret the Bible in different ways. One gets the impression that it is generally impossible to understand the Holy Scriptures, since so many educated theologians argue over its texts.

However, it is not. It's all about authority - setting priorities. It was not in vain that Jesus warned that believers should consider their true teacher and mentor (see Matt. 23 chapter) not any person (or a group of people), but directly God - His Word. Then it would be difficult for believers who study the Bible to be led astray, since the authority for them would not be their spiritual mentors, but the Lord. Meanwhile, the interpretation of the Bible was taken over by "sinful" mortal people, and other people recognized this right for them. Eventually different teachers led their flocks in different directions. This problem is not new to Christianity, it was inherent in the Jews too. Remember how Jesus repeatedly rebuked the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people (Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes) for misinterpreting Scripture. Then (and still) any Jew, expressing his thought about the teachings and the text of the Holy Scriptures, had to refer to the words of some famous rabbi. Does this remind you of anything? Today in widespread churches it is also customary to quote the holy fathers in support of their statements about the teachings of the Bible. So it turns out that people themselves do little to delve into the essence of the Word of God, and each trust their spiritual mentors. It is also worth noting that both earlier and still in Judaism there are many currents, each led by their own teachers. The New Testament mentions the Pharisees, Sadducees. Also in those days there were large religious groups of Zealots and Isseans. So the division into confessions is not new for Christianity.

Meanwhile, both the Old Testament and the New were given not to teachers for teaching and interpretation to the flock, but to ordinary believers. The Word of God was to be studied by everyone - kings and common people, including women and children. All this is clearly seen from the texts of the Old and New Testaments, which is discussed in the chapter the Word of God you need to know. How to Study the Holy Scriptures of the book "Returning to the Origins of the Christian Doctrine"). The interpretation of the Bible is not a magical and esoteric secret knowledge, but the result of a simple knowledge of all the books of Scripture and analysis of their texts, taking into account the fact that it is necessary to interpret the biblical controversial phrases taking into account the context of the entire message, while realizing that the Bible is one and cannot itself contradict. That is, when understanding the Holy Scripture, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that its texts, when interpreted, do not conflict with its other texts. After all, the Bible is whole, and its author is one, "with whom there is no change and not a shadow of change" (James 1:17).

Valery Tatarkin

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Tags: understanding Scripture, INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

Modern interpretation of the Bible. Ten Outstanding Bible Interpreters. Bible - Holy Scripture