The Bible in Verse

Rob Bellingham

Description

A volume of inspirational rhyming couplets offers a creative, succinct, and memorable look at a very familiar text.
In the beginning, bereshith, the Genesis text begins,
God created heaven, earth, and many other things.
The world was dark, shapeless, with no life or light,
God said “Let’s have light,” so made day and night.
Water, water everywhere, in heaven and down below,
God sorted into clouds and rain, sea, lakes and snow.
Earth was next on the agenda, of God’s creative plan,
He filled it with plants, trees, fish, animals, birds, man.
He made stars, sun and moon, seasons hot and cold,
“Be fruitful and multiply” all creatures were told.
Scholars claim that one third of the bible is poetry, more easily recognized in Hebrew than most English versions.
In a poetic interpretation of the entire bible inspired by a conversation with God in 2010, Rob Bellingham shares a collection of rhyming couplets intended to be theologically sensitive regarding both gender and doctrine.
Bible in Verse is a volume of inspirational rhyming couplets that offers a creative, succinct, and memorable look at a very familiar text.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Inspirational
• Themes
• Subjects
• Religious
• Religious text
• Bellingham, Washington
• Poetry
• Bellingham
• Verse
• Bible

Informations

• Publié par: LifeRich Publishing
• Date de parution: 19 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781489745972
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE BIBLE IN VERSE
A Poetic Interpretation of Holy Scripture
ROB BELLINGHAM


Copyright © 2023 Rob Bellingham.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
 
 
LifeRich Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.liferichpublishing.com
844-686-9607
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4546-0 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4545-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4597-2 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023900109
 
 
 
LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 04/20/2023
CONTENTS
The Old Testament
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
New Testament
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation
DEDICATION
To my parents, George and Joyce Bellingham, and my children, Joanna, Tristan and James, who have kept the faith in remarkable and inspirational ways.
PREFACE
If you are like me, you’ve read the Bible many times – in small snippets for devotions and in larger blocks if studying a theme or, more likely, a passage. This creates a temptation to skim the passages you know best. A new version of the Bible in rhyming couplets might just catch your attention in a fresh way. And when you look at it through the lens of a new genre and author, you might have an ‘aha moment’, when a meaning jumps out of the page for you. That is my prayer as you engage with this book.
THE OLD TESTAMENT
GENESIS
GENESIS 1.
Creation
In the beginning, bereshith, the Genesis text begins,
God created heaven, earth, and many other things.
The world was dark, shapeless, with no life or light,
God said “Let’s have light,” so made day and night.
Water, water everywhere, in heaven and down below,
God sorted into clouds and rain, sea, lakes and snow.
Earth was next on the agenda, of God’s creative plan,
He filled it with plants, trees, fish, animals, birds, man.
He made stars, sun and moon, seasons hot and cold,
“Be fruitful and multiply” all creatures were told.
God said “Good it’s good I like it, good 6 times good,”
“Very good” he said last, as humans before him stood.
Resembling God, Adam and Eve they were named,
God said “Be fruitful multiply, earth must be filled.”
“Rule over fish and birds, and animals on the ground,
All plants, fruit trees, enjoy and eat what you find.”
For animals birds and fish, he provided ample food,
Everything that had life, he gave all they would need.
GENESIS 2.
Creation Version Two
6 days of creating passed, and God said “Now I rest,”
He made day 7 special, that day he chose to bless.
Earth first was dry and bare, no rain watered it yet,
No people existed to till it, springs made earth wet.
God from dust made man, he breathed life into him,
He stood walked and talked, became a living person.
A garden God created there, with rivers all around,
Trees of every hue and fruit, in it could be found.
A river ran right through it, split into 4 branches,
Pishon led to gold land, onyx, stone and treasures.
Stream 2 Gihon circled Cush, 3 rd was river Tigres,
East in Asshur land, and 4 th the great Euphrates.
2 trees stood out in Eden, of knowledge and of life,
“Don’t eat tree of good and evil, not you nor wife.”
Adam got to name all plants, birds and the beasts,
It was a hard, lonely task, and soon he fell asleep.
He woke with a painful side, but joy was in his heart,
For Eve God made for him, to help new life to start.
“She’s bone of my bone, of my flesh” he exclaimed,
“She’s called woman, she’s taken from man” he said.
It explains why a man, leaves his father and mother,
In sex can join together, naked celebrate each other.
GENESIS 3.
The Fall
Eden had a sly serpent, who queried God’s command,
Tempted Eve to eat fruit, that God said was banned.
She and Adam enjoyed it, but then came to realize,
Shame and guilt followed, the opening of their eyes.
At dusk God keen to talk, “Where are you?” he called,
Ashamed they hid, behind fig leaves they’d sewed.
“Who said you were naked?” God asked them then,
“Have you eaten from, the special tree with a ban?”
“Yes” said Adam “Eve gave me, the fruit and I ate it.”
Eve responded “the wily serpent, made me taste it.”
God cursed the serpent to crawl, in dust on it’s belly,
Fear and hostility grew, between snake and humanity.
To Eve he said, “With pain in birth will come children,
You’ll seek to rule your husband, but be ruled by him.”
To Adam he said “Earth’s cursed, because of you,
You’ll struggle to farm, as thorns, thistles grow too.”
“By sweat of your brow, you’ll eat food and grain,
From dust of ground you came, to it you’ll return.”
God in mercy made clothes, of animal skins for them,
Opined “They’re like us now, know right from wrong.”
“What if they take fruit, of the tree of life and eat it,
They’ll live forever” exiled, Eden no more to inhabit.
A mighty cherubim guarded east, flaming sword too,
Cut off access to Eden, for Adam, Eve, me and you.
GENESIS 4.
Results of Rebellion
Now Adam and Eve did, what young marrieds do,
And Eve became pregnant, with boy 1 and lad 2.
The elder was Cain, and the younger one Abel,
Cain tilled the ground, while Able kept a stable.
They each brought an offering, to honor God,
Abel brought a lamb, Cain fruit from the sod.
Abel’s offering of meat, most met God’s favor,
Cain feeling rejected, reacted with great anger.
He said to his brother, “Come out to the field,”
And there he beat him, till Abel lay dead, killed.
God called to Cain, “Where is your brother?”
“I don’t know” replied Cain, “am I his keeper?”
But God knew already, Abel’s blood was shed,
He made Cain a nomad, now Able was dead.
Cain wandered from Eden, east to land of Nod,
Where he built the first city, in defiance of God.
He also got married, had a son called Enoch,
Whose great grandson was, bigamous Lamech.
Lamech like Cain, killed a man and feared death,
Meanwhile Adam and Eve, had a son called Seth.
When Enosh Seth’s son, came into the world,
People began once again, to call on the Lord.
GENESIS 5.
Adam’s Descendants
In Genesis 5 there’s a record, of 10 generations,
From Adam to Noah, the earth’s early humans.
Seth was born when Adam, was 130 years old,
He lived another 800 years, till at 930 he died.
Seth’s son was Enosh, his dad 105 years alive,
He had more children, 812 years he’d survive.
Kenan was next, his dad was 90, 905 his total,
Mahalalel had children, and lived 895 years in all.
Jared his son was dad to Enoch, and lived 962 years,
Enoch loved God dearly, and age 365 he disappears.
God took him home, after having Methusaleh plus,
Methusaleh lived longest of all, 969 years he’d last.
He fathered Lamech, who lived 777 years on earth,
When Noah was born, he prayed for relief from work.
Farming was tough, for God had cursed the ground,
At 500 Noah’s 3, Shem, Ham, Japheth were named.
GENESIS 6.
Sons of God and Noah’s Story
Genesis 6 introduces, a strange story of Nephalim,
These sons of God, saw lovely daughters of men.
They took any they wanted, and bred mighty men,
God despaired at evil, and that he’d made humans.
First he decided they’d live, only 100 and 20 years,
Then decided to judge, the people and their peers.
God was broken hearted, for animals and humans,
Knew Noah was righteous, so planned to save him.
He told him to build, a great ark for animals, family,
Made of cypress wood, with rooms for everybody.
Tar pitch outside and in, size 140 x 23 x 14 metres,
Air vented at top, 3 decks for humans and animals.
“I’m sending a great flood, your family I want to save,