“Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”

Martin Luther thought so, and painstakingly translated the Bible into German, putting it into the hands of the common person.

William Tyndale agreed, taking the Greek and Hebrew texts—at the risk of his life—and translating them into English. The King James Bible translators drew from his work, and those of us who’ve grown up reading a Bible in English still benefit from his efforts.

The staff members at Wycliffe Bible Translators signed on with the same mind—to put the words of Scripture in the first language of everyone in the world. 167 million people still don’t have any portion of the Bible in their language.

Life fire, the words of God contained in this book are dangerous—handle them with care. The truths contained smash our preconceived notions of right and wrong and patterns of life. Small wonder dictators and autocrats ban the Bible from the people they hope to control.

No one reads and studies the Bible “out of an abundance of caution.” If you’re cautious, put your Bible on a shelf and cover it with a doily.

Me? I decided to read the Bible from front to back years ago, and have done so over and over. I’ve been burned and smashed more than a few times.

Nothing compares. Take a risk and dig in.

Jeremiah 23:29 in week forty of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Moritz Mentges