He Didn’t do so Bad, for an Amateur

I did something I hate to do, today. I marked up a Bible. I know the Bible is a tool, and you have to mark it up if you want to make good use of it. But the notion of defacing books makes me uncomfortable.

I was reading the book of Proverbs, and as usual, I thought to myself how great it would be if I didn’t have to read the stuff that wasn’t particularly useful. Proverbs is full of valuable things, but not everyone needs every verse. For example, I don’t plot against the righteous and seek to pull them down to the pit. I don’t even know where I’d find a pit in my neighborhood. And I don’t have diverse weights and measures. You can’t be guilty of everything that is condemned in Proverbs. You would be busy all day, every day.

I decided to put a little box around every verse I thought was helpful. Now when I read Proverbs, I can avoid re-reading the things that take up time but don’t carry much benefit. I was thinking I might take an online version, do a cut-and-paste job, and create my own tailored edition.

Of course the big down side to this is that I would lose all those verses that confirm my greatness. For example, I would no longer be able to say, “oppressing the widow? I never do that! I’m fantastic!” Instead, I’d have a book full of reminders of all the reasons why I’m a hopeless idiot.

It would be a lot like having a wife.

I think it was a good idea. I have been reading the book of Romans and then comparing it with The Jewish New Testament Commentary, and the going is incredibly slow. The chapter 11 commentary goes on forever. I needed something with a faster pace, to keep me from going crazy. Now I have it.