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Pilgrim said:

When a paraphrase purports itself to be a "translation" of the Bible, it is lying and/or the translators have denied the doctrine of inspiration to one degree or another. Did not the Holy Spirit inspire the authors? Was not every "jot" and "tittle" the very Word of God written? They by what authority does any man have the right to cast off the words for some alleged "meaning" so as to make the very revelation of God more "readable"?

Think about this, just for a couple of seconds. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> How does one come to understand what another is saying? Is it not from the individual words themselves and then in the array in which he speaks them? Thus, if you hold that the "meaning" is most important and not the individual words . . . then from whence does one "meaning" come from, if not from the individual words set in a specific grammatical structure? [Linked Image]

One final thought/comment. I am of the mind which believes that in the majority of cases, the inability to comprehend the Word of God is due to the fact that the reader is "dead"... spiritual dead. It is only when the Holy Spirit gives eyes to see, a mind to comprehend and a heart to embrace God's special revelation, that one is able to grasp the truth of which he/she reads.

In His Grace,
I do agree with you, so don't think I am just argueing or something. I do see your point. I just think that, at least for me personally, when it comes to reading my Old Testament homework for school (which is usually a bit more reading than I really have time for) it helps me get the main ideas. I do go back and read it in an actual translation. But I do think that it can be helpful if used in the right context, just like a commentary. Then again, being a fallible human, maybe I am just completely wrong.