Category: BibleReading

A man with an unsmiling face stood at the dimly-lit lectern of the large church. In the sing-song-not¬ordinary voice many use in preaching, he read from the Bible. The congregation sat politely silent. The sonorous voice droned on. The listeners’ attention was lost after the first few verses. His ‘reverent’ but monotonous voice finished, “Here endeth the second lesson”. The reading was over – and forgotten.
The same words read as they are meant to be are living, powerful, surgically sharp and effective. But it means work. Another man spent two hours preparing the chapter to be read. There was a glow inside him when he realised that the meaning of the passage was clearer in his mind than ever before. He marked his Bible for emphasis and pauses, read the chapter, recording it on his cassette player and listening to it back. As he did this his pen marked one place where he had overlooked a contrast, another where a pause would make the meaning clearer.
In the church his face was relaxed in a smile, his eyes greeted his listeners as he told them the book and chapter from which he was reading. (He had checked the microphone before the service.)
People listened as he read clearly, enthusiastically in a normal voice. They heard, understood and appreciated as their ears and eyes were held by a reader who loved God and His word and prepared the reading as carefully as he would a talk.
Reading to others, sounding natural, and making the meaning clear is easy – if you work at it. The clues are in this book. They’ll work for you, if you work for them. Owning a tool does not make you an expert, but using it produces results. The more you use it the better the results. The rewards go to those who persist.

WHEN READING ALOUD
Keep your finger on the place.
Make sure the people in the back can hear. Have someone there to signal you should your voice fade.
Check the microphone – don’t tap it, blow gently on it – Make sure it is turned on.
Check your distance from the mike – generally a span.
Articulate words from your lips.
Listen to your practice reading on your cassette recorder. (You may not like what you hear! Don’t blame the recorder.)

Expression is the third key point in Reading Aloud. Expression is your tone of voice when you use words.
Do you speak with anger, or compassion?
Is there fear in your voice or pride or humility? It sounds in your expression.
How do you know what expression to use? The sense of the text should tell you.
When Paul is talking to the Philippians he talks with great joy; to the Galatians with disappointment; to Timothy he brings loving concern.
Expression can carry a wide variety of emotions.

In reading out loud try Matthew 22:23 and what follows. The Sadducees came to Jesus with the problem story of the seven brothers and the one wife. Their spokesman presented what sounded like a very serious proposition. As his argument built up he seemed to feel that he was doing very well. A smugness came into his voice. The Lord answered crisply, that he didn’t know the power of God or the Scriptures and inferred he did not properly understand what Moses had written.
How do you get the right tone of voice into a reading of this situation?

It is not achieved by on-the-spur-of-the-moment reading, but calls for careful preparation, understanding and the use of all the principles, to give the meaning.
You then colour the words with careful expression. It is the sense that gives you the tone of voice.
Expression adds colour, warmth, depth, to words. The emphasis cannot be changed without changing the meaning. However, in expression there is wide scope for individuality with variation in pace, pitch and volume, but always in a normal not a “professional” voice. It is essential to sound natural.
Unusual voices distract and discourage people from listening.

THE MEANING COMES IN THE EXPRESSION

WHICH MEAL WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
It was to be a popular lecture by a world famous continental chef.
A wonderful aroma came from his kitchen. The audience leaned forward expectantly as the dapper, smiling, culinary expert stepped onto the platform. Assistants carried a number of loaded trays.
With a flourish he announced, “The materials are the best and the cooking is of fine quality.” He paused dramatically. “So far so good. But serving it. . . . How important that is.”
He whisked off a cover to display coarse china, chipped and smeary. Beside it was dull looking cutlery that spoke of sketchy washing in tepid water. Onto the unattractive plates he carelessly dumped the food.
Turning to his astonished audience, he shrugged, “This is one way of serving a notable meal.”
A second cover was lifted. This time there was fine sparkling china. Knives gleamed, the silver of the spoons and forks shone. With care and artistry he served the meal.
The lecturer paused and smiled whimsically. “Ladies and Gentlemen, which meal would you choose?”

MEANINGFUL EXPRESSION

There is high importance in putting expression into meaning.
The precision tools are the big three:
VOLUME, PACE, PITCH.
Writers change feelings. Stories change moods.
The responsible reader will communicate these changes of mood and emotion. It is essential to give all the ideas meaningful expression.
The tone of voice used must fit the meaning of the words to be read. This is done through the use of the big three: volume, pace and pitch.
The reader speaks at a moderate volume, pace or pitch. When the story becomes exciting increase the “big
three”.
If it becomes full of suspense decrease them.
Use them to show changes of time or place; also to distinguish narration from dialogue.
Understand the written words and read them with expression that fully brings out the meaning.
When Paul wrote to the Galatians he used clear, emotional, and intensely personal language.
The apostle does not write a cold theological treatise but a warm person-to-person letter full of loving concern tinged with some taut phrases. He is obviously deeply affected by their actions.
To read Galatians with unawareness or without appreciation of these built-in emotions, is to rob the listener of the true meaning of the epistle.

The PAUSE – A valuable tool
Actors and announcers use pauses to accomplish many things.
First and foremost a correctly placed pause makes meaning clear and helps the audience to grasp that meaning.
The skilled reader will use a pause to indicate a change of time or place.
A pause can also separate ideas.
A major use of the pause is to point to an idea in the text; to draw the audience’s attention to a particular idea pause before or after that idea.
To point to the subject of a sentence, pause after it.
To point to the action the subject takes, pause before the verb.
To point to the object, pause before it.
As well as PAUSING, REDUCE PACE when speaking the key idea to which you’re pointing.

There are a number of ways of saying, “Peter, put the cat out”.
If the tone of voice has “please” built into it the request is readily heard.
The words can come with an imperative sound. Exasperation makes itself transparently clear.

WHAT YOU SEE AS YOU READ IS THE WORD OF
GOD.
BUT WHEN YOU READ ALOUD, WHAT YOU SAY IS
NOT NECESSARILY THE WORD OF GOD.

ILLUSTRATIONS FOR PAUSING TO POINT
A. I tell you the very truth, before the cock crows you will have denied me / three times!
B. And when he had exhausted every kind of temptation, the devil withdrew / until his next opportunity.
C. It is the shepherd of the flock / who goes in by the door.
D. I do assure you that / I myself / am the door for the sheep.
E. Now concerning / food offered to idols.
Theatre critics gave a French actor rave reviews for his roles in Moliere’s plays. They said “He brought fresh life to these classics of the French theatre, his pausing was brilliant.” That line made the actor glow with satisfaction. He said “Ah, the words are Moliere’s but the pauses are mine.”
What did he accomplish by pausing in the right place?
1. He made the meaning of the text clear and gave the audience the opportunity to register that meaning.
2. By his pausing he drew their attention to ideas and thoughts they might have missed.

NON-RESTRICTING PHRASES
A Non-restricting phrase does not limit its subject.
Read this sentence below noting that you pause before the non-restricting phrase, “in the straw hat”.
“My wife, in the straw hat, planted those roses.”
If you don’t pause you’re a bigamist; if you do you’re reading correctly.
Non-restricting phrases need to be suitably supplied with commas. If the author or printer has not used a comma before the non-restricting phrase you must see the meaning and still pause before the phrase.
“If you do not honour the Son, you do not honour the Father who sent Him.”
“Who sent Him” is a non-restricting phrase.
It does not restrict “the Father” to being one particular Father.
There is only one God the Father.
“Who sent Him” just adds information about the Father.
It is a non-restricting phrase.
So, pause before it!

THE NON-RESTRICTING PHRASE SIMPLY ADDS INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUBJECT.
PAUSE BEFORE A NON-RESTRICTING PHRASE.
A. Stephen, who was full of grace and power, began to work great miracles and signs among the people.
B. Our Prime Minister, who speaks French, is visiting Paris.
C. And He came to Nazareth, where He was brought up.
D. The Sadducees who say there is no resurrection, came to Him with a question.
CHECK
IN THE MATTER OF RESTRICTING PHRASES
Leave it out of the sentence. If the meaning then is NOT clear, the phrase is a restricting one.
IN THE MATTER OF NON-RESTRICTING PHRASES
Leave it out of the sentence. If the meaning is still clear, the phrase is Non-restricting.

RESTRICTING PHRASES
A Restricting phrase restricts or limits the person or thing spoken about to being one particular person or thing.
A Restricting phrase is as essential to the meaning as a rock is to an oyster. The oyster is never the same again if you separate it from its rock.
The sense of the subject is spoiled if you separate subject from restricting phrase.
This comes into focus if you look into the sentence: “The tiger with the circus clown in his mouth must be shot immediately.”
There are six tigers in the cage. Which one must be shot?
The restricting phrase (with the circus clown in his mouth) makes it very clear what must be done by the man with the rifle.
With restricting phrases DO NOT PAUSE between subject and phrase. It is essential to the sense of the subject.
There is no place for commas in restricting phrases. “The doctor with the knife in his hand will operate.” Which doctor?
Not the doctors in the gallery or those standing in the corner but “the doctor with the knife in his hand” is the one. There is no pause. You are quick to explain the situation.

RESTRICTING PHRASES
THE RESTRICTING PHRASE RESTRICTS THE SUBJECT TO BEING ONE PARTICULAR PERSON OR THING.
A. God listens to men who are devout and do His will.
What kind of men?
Men who are devout and do His will.
“Who are devout and do His will” restricts “men” to be of a particular kind.
B. If there is one of you who has not sinned let him be the first to cast a stone.
Which one of you?
The one of you who has not sinned.
“Who has not sinned” restricts “one” to being a particular “one”.
C. The man who enters by the gate is the Shepherd of the Sheep.
Which man?
The man who enters by the gate.
“Who enters by the gate” restricts “the man” to being a particular man.
THE RESTRICTING PHRASE IS SO ESSENTIAL TO THE SENSE OF ITS SUBJECT, YOU CAN’T SEPARATE THEM!
SO – DON’T PAUSE BEFORE A RESTRICTING PHRASE.
A. The man in the moon is a myth.
B. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs.
C. It was works of this kind done on the Sabbath that stirred up the Jews to persecute Jesus.
D. Many a man who keeps out of trouble gets credit for a cool head when it’s really cold feet.

Wrong Ideas about Phrasing –  COMMAS

Don’t be mesmerised by commas. There is NO rule that says you must pause at commas. Why? Because often the meaning of the text calls for a pause where there is no comma.
In John 3:16 the King James Version and the Revised Version have three commas. Only one is to be found in the Revised Standard Version, the Good News Bible, the Jerusalem Bible and the New English Bible. While J. B. Phillips puts in two!
“Where does the Bible say that children should be baptised?”
There are three possible meanings. On which part of the body?
In which part of the church? In which part of the Bible?
“Where does the Bible say that / children / should be baptised?”
Obviously, the meaning is – In which part of the Bible. Note: pauses needed before “children” and after “children”.
The meaning, not commas, calls for the pauses.

There is NO rule that says you must pause at commas because sometimes the meaning of a text does not want a pause where there is a comma.
“Whilst riding a ferry with Enrico Caruso, the entertainer, Al Jolson asked him would he appear with him on a concert program.”
In his day Caruso was known as the world’s greatest tenor. Jolson was known as the world’s greatest entertainer. Although Caruso entertained his audience, in this context the word “entertainer” refers to Jolson. So you would pause between “Caruso” and “the entertainer”, but you would riot pause between “the entertainer” and “Al Jolson” – regardless of that second comma!

It is well known that you cannot always trust an author’s punctuation be he Shakespeare or be she Agatha Christie.
In the original Greek of the New Testament there is no punctuation.
All this brings out the question, “What then is the value of punctuation if it doesn’t tell you where to pause?”
Punctuation should assist in giving the meaning and you decide from the meaning where you will pause.
The meaning tells you where you should pause not the punctuation.

WRONG IDEAS ABOUT PHRASING BE WARNED ABOUT 2 WRONG IDEAS
1. NO rule says: The only place you need pause is at punctuation marks.
IF THERE WAS NO MORE TO THE ART OF READING THAN PAUSING AT PUNCTUATION MARKS EVERYONE WOULD READ WELL.
ALL THEY WOULD NEED TO DO IS PAUSE AT COMMAS, COLONS, ETC.
YOU WILL NEVER MAKE MEANING CLEAR DOING THIS THOUGHTLESSLY.
2. NO rule says: Pause at commas. WHY? FOR 3 REASONS.
1. Sometimes long sentences don’t have commas.
You will need to pause during the sentence or expire!
2. You can’t trust an author’s punctuation.
Many good books have bad punctuation, even Bible translations.
“From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ / who has been called to be an apostle.”
Without a pause after Jesus Christ, Jesus is classified as an apostle. The reference of course is to Paul. So pause to separate “Jesus” from “who has been called to be an apostle”.
3. Often the meaning of the text wants a pause where there is no comma.
Often the meaning of the text does NOT want a pause where there is a comma.

Who has not heard a reader take a deep breath and then gallop through a reading at a speed that often leaves the listener’s mind staggering.
What a relief to hear another who pauses to bring deeper meaning into his reading.
That valuable device, the pause, is a short period of silence following a word or a group of related words conveying a thought – a phrase.
A pause gives the listener the chance to understand and remember what he has just heard.
The reader has the double opportunity to breathe in quietly and to let his eye take in the words immediately ahead.
Look at John 3:16. If it is read in one breath the listener battles to grasp the meaning even though only the right words have been emphasised. The speed, together with absence of pauses, gives little opportunity for those magnificent words and ideas to register in the mind.
How different if you hear it this way. (The mark / indicates a pause.) God loved the world so much, / He gave His only Son / that everyone who has faith in Him / may not die / but have everlasting life.
If the appropriate pause is made each of these vital ideas has the opportunity to sink in.
An inexperienced or uninformed reader may pause wrongly and lose the whole impact and message of this tremendous verse.

A GROUP OF RELATED WORDS, IS CALLED A PHRASE.
YOU GROUP TOGETHER THE RELATED WORDS BY PAUSING AT THE END OF THEM.
A PAUSE IS A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOLLOWING A WORD OR PHRASE.
A. In my opinion / whatever we may have to go through now / is less than nothing / compared with the magnificent future God has in store for us.
B. In the light of the grace I have received / I want to urge each one among you, / not to exaggerate his real importance.
C. It is plain to anyone with eyes to see / that at the present time / all created life groans in a sort of universal travail.
D. We who have strong faith / ought to shoulder the burden of the doubts and qualms of the weak / and not to just go our own sweet way.

A reader who had not prepared, read without any pause “And the shepherds came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger.”

The correct reading is “. . . and found Mary and Joseph / and the baby lying in the manger.”
There is the uncomfortable story of a certain inept chairman who paused unwisely in his introduction of an after dinner speaker, “And now I would like you to meet that well-known pest / extermination expert, Mr. Flip”.
PAUSES IN THE WRONG PLACES
Misplaced pauses can produce shudders. Try a pause before the last word of the sentence, “What’s the dog chewing on Grandpa?”
Or more gruesome still, “What’s that on the road ahead?”
There was the rather dreamy minister who remarked, “We had twenty odd people in church last Sunday”. He would have saved himself many explanations if he had paused in the right place. (Pause AFTER “odd”.)
PAUSE IN THE WRONG PLACE OR FAIL TO PAUSE IN THE RIGHT PLACE
AND YOU’LL CLOUD, CONFUSE OR CHANGE THE MEANING

MARKING YOUR BIBLE TO ASSIST READING ALOUD
Don’t hesitate to mark your Bible to guide your pausing and emphasis. Your memory can easily let you down.
Below is a practical way to mark up a passage for phrasing and pausing.
Then Jesus said to them, / “I myself / am the bread of life. // The man who comes to me will never be hungry / and the man who believes in me will never be thirsty. / Yet I have told you / that you have seen me and do not believe. // Everything that my Father gives me will come to me / and I will never refuse anyone who comes to me. / For I have come down from Heaven, / not to do what I want, / but to do the will of Him who sent me. / The will of Him who sent me is / that I should not lose anything of what He has given me, / but should raise it up when the last day comes. / And this is the will of the One who sent me, / that everyone who sees the Son and trusts Him / should have eternal life, / and I will raise him up when the last day comes. //
At this, / the Jews began grumbling.. .
Some find value in a large type copy of the Bible to make marking easier and more visible.
Watch the type of paper and pen used. If the ink is unduly absorbed difficulty may be experienced on reading overleaf.

Stress on certain words is emphasis. In the language of the News Reader you hit these words. If you emphasise the wrong word, you will cloud, confuse or, even worse, change the meaning of the text.

The church was full. An enthusiastic young man offered to read the first lesson.
1 Kings 13 was written on the slip of paper handed to him. He ran his eye over the chapter.
Later as he read aloud he wondered at the sound of subdued laughter as he read, “He said, ‘Saddle me the ass’. So they saddled him the ass.” He was not aware that he had made an ass of himself.
How different it would have been if he had read, “Saddle me the ass, so they saddled him the ass.”

Luke 2:5 from the Living Bible:
“Joseph took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was obviously pregnant by this time.” (Obviously pregnant, meaning great with child.) A reader who had not fully understood produced a disastrous result by reading, “Joseph took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was obviously pregnant by this time.”

Recently at a communion service the minister kept on emphasising the pronoun in the commandments:
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not commit murder.

He should have read:
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not commit murder.

THE EMPHASIS MUST BE ON THE RIGHT WORDS
A beautifully modulated voice on the radio read, “He loved the good things of this life.” And why shouldn’t we all love the good things of this life? What we were meant to understand was, “He loved the good things of this life,” conveying the idea that he preferred, not the spiritual life but the earthly one. This gives a very different meaning.

You may well ask, “Shouldn’t the audience make out the meaning for themselves?”
The moment people start asking themselves, “What was that?” or “What did he say?” they miss the next sentence and lose the thread of the reading. The audience thinks many times faster than the reader speaks. Distraction makes the mind stray from the thought track.

CHANGE EMPHASIS AND YOU CHANGE MEANING
Emphasis can lead up a variety of paths. For instance here is a sentence: “All the girls like Peter.”
If you put the accent on “all“, you’re saying every girl likes Peter.
If your emphasis in on “girls“, you imply the boys don’t.
If you read, “All the girls like Peter”, you’re assuring us of their attitude to Peter.
If you emphasise “Peter“, you’re saying that he is preferred to others.
Thus by changing emphasis you change meaning.

RULE 1: EMPHASISE THOSE WORDS WHICH
INTRODUCE EACH NEW IDEA
First, understand what the text says. See ALL the ideas in the text.
Find the meaning words, the words that bring out each idea.
These meaning words have a gong inside them. Hit these words and they ring. Hit the others and there is only a dull thud.
Look at John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, the Word was God.”
The new ideas in the first phrase are, ‘the Word’, and the Word existing from ‘the beginning.’
In the second, ‘with God’ is the new idea.
In the third, the new idea is, ‘was God.’
“You will be ready to suffer with me for the Lord, for He will give you strength in suffering.”
In the second half of the sentence ‘in suffering’ is the old idea. Subdue it.
`He will give you strength’ is the new idea. Stress it. Emphasis is not put on ‘in suffering’ because it is an old idea.

RULE 1: EMPHASISE NEW IDEAS
Try these examples.
A. John made a model of the Opera House. He made the model in five days.
B. Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray.
C. In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy; and I never give up praying for you.
D. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
E. Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful nor conceited, nor rude.
F. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
G. By calling God his own Father, he claimed equality with God.
You will now recognise what are new ideas and will emphasise them. This rule has a reverse. See Rule 2.

RULE 2: SOFT PEDAL OLD IDEAS
DON’T EMPHASISE OLD IDEAS mentioned earlier. Old ideas may have been mentioned three or four sentences before, or even further back. Old ideas are NOT to be emphasised.
“In these colonnades there lay a crowd of sick people, blind, lame, and paralysed. Among them was a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and was aware that he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to recover’?”
You would not emphasise “lying there” or “he had been ill for a long time.” The new ideas are “when Jesus saw him . . . and was aware. . . .”

RULE 2: DON’T EMPHASISE OLD IDEAS WHICH WERE MENTIONED EARLIER IN THE TEXT
A. Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
B. “It is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven, for the bread that God gives is He who comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.” “Sir” they asked Him, “give us this bread always.” Jesus told them “I am the bread of life.”

RULE 3: BE CAREFUL OF SYNONYMS. YOU DON’T EMPHASISE OLD IDEAS, EVEN WHEN THEY’RE DRESSED UP IN NEW WORDS
Different words may still express an old idea and therefore must be played down.
3A. “He gave up chocolate and ice cream, and tried hard to avoid eating all kinds of sweets.”
As chocolate and ice cream are kinds of sweets we don’t emphasise kinds of sweets but all. That’s the new idea. We would emphasise “tried hard” but subdue “to avoid eating” as it’s an old idea expressed in “gave up”.
3B. “Have you seen inside the Cathedral? It’s a beautiful place of worship.”
Cathedral is a place of worship, beautiful is the new idea. Stress “beautiful”. Subdue “place of worship.”
3C. “I wasn’t interested in buying the clock. I thought he was asking too much for such an ancient time¬piece.”
A clock is a time-piece therefore don’t emphasise an old idea in new words.
Stress “ancient”. Subdue “time-piece”.

RULE 3: DON’T EMPHASISE SYNONYMS (OLD IDEAS DRESSED UP IN NEW WORDS OR PHRASES)
You, however, are controlled not by your sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.
And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

RULE 4: EMPHASISE WORDS WHICH MAKE A CONTRAST
Some words do more than tell us new ideas, they also make a contrast with an idea already expressed. Therefore emphasise them.
4A. “Hatred provokes disputes. Love covers over all offences.”
We emphasise “love” because it is in contrast with “hatred”.
4B. “To feel sorry for the needy is not the mark of a Christian, to help them is.”
The contrast is between “feeling sorry” and “helping”.
4C. “Don’t let others spoil your faith and joy with their philosophies, their wrong and shallow answers built on men’s thoughts and ideas, instead of on what Christ has said.” (Living Bible)
The contrast is between what men teach and what Christ teaches.
The Bible contains many examples of contrast. King Solomon produced hundreds in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. As an exercise try reading Proverbs Chapter II.

RULE 4: EMPHASISE WORDS THAT MAKE A CONTRAST
A. If it’s difficult for a good man to be saved, what will become of sinful men?
B. Ask God to bless those who persecute you. Yes, ask Him to bless, not curse.
C. For our fight is not against any physical enemy. It is against organisations and powers which are spiritual.
D. There are two kinds of leaders: those interested in
the flock and those interested in the fleece.
E. Never help an old lady across the street – escort her.

RULE 5A and 5B: WATCH FOR AND EMPHASISE DOUBLE CONTRASTS, AND MULTIPLE CONTRASTS
Sometimes a writer records more than one contrast. He may use a double contrast, when the first idea contrasts with the second, then a third idea contrasts with a fourth.
“Righteousness is the road to life; wickedness is the road to death.”
Contrast “righteousness” with “wickedness”; and “life” with “death”.
“Thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely spoken words can heal.” Contrast “thoughtless” with “wisely”; and “wound” with “heal”.
Writers also use Multiple Contrasts where the first idea contrasts with the second and the third with the fourth, the fifth with the sixth and so on.
“Everyone serves the best wine first, and waits until the guests have drunk freely before serving the poorer sort, but you have kept the best wine till now.”
1ST CONTRAST: “Everyone” with “you”. 2ND CONTRAST: “Best” with “poorer”. 3RD CONTRAST: “First” with “now”.
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.”
1ST CONTRAST: “Wages” with “gift”.
2ND CONTRAST: “Sin” with “God”.
3ND CONTRAST: “Death” with “eternal life”.
Now emphasise the multiple contrasts in the exercises.

RULE 5A: WATCH FOR DOUBLE CONTRASTS. EMPHASISE WORDS WHICH MAKE THE CONTRASTS
A. It’s the duty of government to make it difficult for people to do wrong, easy to do right.
B. For the message of Christ’s death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost; but for those who are being saved, it is God’s power.
C. I don’t understand what I do. I don’t do what I’d like to do, but instead I do what I hate.
D. If you forgive the sins of others, God will forgive you.
E. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.
RULE 5B: WATCH FOR MULTIPLE CONTRASTS. EMPHASISE THE WORDS WHICH MAKE THE CONTRASTS
A. Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundations on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
B. I have come accredited by my Father, and you have no welcome for me, if another comes self-credited you will welcome him.

RULE 6: WATCH FOR AND EMPHASISE SUGGESTED CONTRASTS
Sometimes the writer suggests a contrast when he only expresses half the contrast.
How do you see a suggested contrast?
The meaning makes the suggestion.
6A They said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple. Are you going to raise it again in three days?”
But the temple He was speaking of was His body.
Here we have a suggested contrast between the Temple THEY were speaking of and the Temple HE was speaking of. So stress “HE” suggesting a contrast with the unwritten “THEY”.
6B. “For the Scripture says: I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord.”
The accent is on “I” both times because the Lord is saying “Vengeance is ‘mine, not yours’. You don’t take revenge – I do.”

RULE 6: WATCH FOR SUGGESTED CONTRASTS. EMPHASISE THAT WORD WHICH SUGGESTS THE CONTRAST
A. You must work, not for this perishable food, but
for the food that lasts, the food of eternal life.

B. There is no difference in the Lord’s sight between
one day and a thousand years; to Him the two are the same.

RULE 7: STRESS THE CONTRASTING PRONOUNS
Pronouns are substitutes for nouns so they are usually old ideas and as such should not generally be stressed. However, when the meaning calls for it they should be stressed. This occurs when they make a contrast.
7A Ask her, not him.
7B. This is mine, not yours.
7C. Let us sing, not them.

ANY WORD YOU CAN LEAVE OUT
NEED NOT BE EMPHASISED

RULE 7: STRESS THE CONTRASTING PRONOUNS
A. I am the vine, you are the branches.
B. If we disown Him, He also will disown us.
C. Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world.
D. Keep them safe by the power of your name, so that they may be one as you and I are one.
E. I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world.
F. As He grows greater, I must grow less.

WHEN AN ADJECTIVE AND NOUN COME TOGETHER, WHAT DO YOU EMPHASISE? WHATEVER THE MEANING TELLS YOU TO EMPHASISE
A. He spoke to an OLD MAN.
B. He spoke to an OLD man. (Implies the man wasn’t young.)
C. He spoke to an old MAN. (Implies the person wasn’t a woman.)

SO THE MEANING DETERMINES WHETHER YOU EMPHASISE BOTH ADJECTIVE AND NOUN; OR THE ADJECTIVE; OR THE NOUN.
But look at these examples.
D. He was a Chinese teacher.
E. He was a giant killer.
F. He was an antique lover.
EACH OF THE PREVIOUS STATEMENTS CAN BE READ TWO WAYS. YOU COULD ONLY KNOW WHAT TO EMPHASISE IF YOU KNEW THE MEANING, AND HERE WE HAVEN’T ENOUGH INFORMATION. SO, FIRST FIND THE MEANING, THEN EMPHASISE THE WORD OR WORDS THAT MAKE THE MEANING CLEAR.

RULE 8: WHEN AN ADJECTIVE AND NOUN COME TOGETHER, MOST OFTEN YOU EMPHASISE THE ADJECTIVE BECAUSE IT DESCRIBES THE NOUN
8A I saw a new film called the Poseidon Adventure. Next week they’re showing the Lawless Bunch. Which Adventure? The POSEIDON Adventure. Which Week? NEXT week.
Which Bunch? The LAWLESS Bunch.
8B God has saved us and called us to live a holy life. What kind of life? A HOLY life.
8C Live as obedient children before God.
What kind of children? OBEDIENT children.

RULE 8: WHEN AN ADJECTIVE AND NOUN COME TOGETHER, MOST OFTEN YOU EMPHASISE THE ADJECTIVE BECAUSE IT DESCRIBES THE NOUN
A. Don’t let your character be moulded by the desires of your ignorant days.
B. A raving beauty is the girl who came second in the beauty contest.
C. In the days when you were still pagan, you worshipped those dumb heathen gods.
D. Our old sinful nature is against God.
E. Any child raised by the book must be a first edition.
F. Here is a trustworthy saying.

RULE 9: BE CAREFUL OF THE WORD “THING” OR “THINGS”.

EMPHASISE THE WORD OR PHRASE WHICH DESCRIBES THE THING
By itself, the word “thing” has no meaning. You find its meaning in the word or words which describe the thing. So, emphasise the word or phrase describing the thing. These are adjectives or adjectival phrases.
“The easiest thing is to find fault.”
Which thing? The easiest thing. So emphasise “easiest”.

RULE 9: BEWARE OF THE WORD “THING”
A. He gave us His Son. Will He not also freely give us all things?
B. Don’t touch unclean thing’s.
C. Most folk pay too much for the things they get for nothing.
D. Away then with sinful earthly things! Deaden the evil desires lurking within you.
E. The wisest of us is a fool in some things.
F. Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing.
G. By Him all things were created; things in Heaven and on earth.
H. After a man says “I do”, he discovers a long list of things he’d better not do.
I. One nice thing about your enemies is that they don’t try to borrow money from you.
J. One of the hardest things about business is minding your own.

RULE 10: EMPHASISE VERBS WHEN THE MEANING WANTS THEM EMPHASISED
There is a strong temptation to say, “Ah, the verb, that’s where the action is, Let’s hit it.”
If this is done the voice starts to sound unnatural for this is rarely done in everyday conversation.
Only emphasise the verb when the meaning requires it to be emphasised.
For example: When it talks of something new or makes a contrast.
One occasion when emphasis is required is when the verb commands.
Jump on it! Cut the string! Stop that!

RULE 10: EMPHASISE VERBS WHEN THEY COMMAND
A. Close the door.
B. Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
C. Obey your parents.
D. Leave the box there, and get the lid from Jim. E. Go to mother, tell her Mrs. Smith has arrived and ask her for the parcel.

RULE 11: DON’T STRESS “WHEN”
Beware of over-emphasising the word when. The question to ask yourself is, “when what?”
It is what follows when that is important.
In the sentence, “When they came to the other side of the lake.” The emphasis is on “came” or on “other” not on “when”.

RULE 11: DON’T STRESS “WHEN”
A. When they came to the other side of the lake .. .
B. When Pilate saw that the crowd was getting out of hand .
C. When they realised the child was dead .. .
D. When they came to the tomb .. .
E. When he had taken the wine, he said ..

RULE 12: SUBDUE WORDS IN PARENTHESIS
What is in parenthesis can be left out without changing the meaning. Anything that can be left out without changing the meaning does not need to be emphasised.
On a road map the main road is shown as a thick strong line. Detours and side roads are mere dotted tines. The printer has emphasised the main road and played down the detour.
In reading out loud we emphasise the main road argument and subdue the extra bits of information.

RULE 12: SUBDUE INFORMATION IN PARENTHESIS
THIS INFORMATION CAN BE LEFT OUT WITHOUT AFFECTING THE MAIN STORYLINE OR LINE OF ARGUMENT.
INFORMATION IN PARENTHESIS MIGHT BE ENCLOSED IN BRACKETS, DASHES, OR COMMAS. SUBDUE IT.
A. Jesus said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
B. Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
C. Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”

FOR READING OUT LOUD

Some people who think the Bible has nothing to say to them, do so not because they’ve read it, but because they’ve only heard it read. An unprepared or careless reading of God’s Book meant to them blurring of meaning and boredom.
These are days of trained news readers on television and radio. Why should we not have skilful Bible readers in church?
For the reader, learning, using and mastering the few rules set out in this book will make the Scriptures live in a new way.
For those who listen it can mean a new understanding of the Bible and a desire to read it for themselves.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER IN READING ALOUD
IS
TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU READ
TO SOUND NATURAL and
TO MAKE THE MEANING CLEAR.

When words are spoken, the meaning is not in the words alone, but in

UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU READ

Read the portion of scripture you have been given, carefully.  Make sure you understand and grasp all the ideas behind the words, then mark for emphasis the words that bring out those ideas.

IN PREPARATION A HASTY READ-THROUGH IS NOT ENOUGH. IT IS IRRESPONSIBLE HANDLING OF GOD’S OWN BOOK.

MEANING MATTERS MOST

Why do some readers emphasise wrong words, pause in wrong places and use the wrong expression?

Because THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND FULLY WHAT THEY READ.

If you wish to read aloud, sound natural and make the meaning clear. See it, understand it and say it correctly.

OTHERWISE

What you see as you read is the word of God. But what you read aloud, what you say, is not necessarily the word of God.

UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU READ

“Will you please read the New Testament tonight?” is a common enough request.  This can merely mean a rapid read-through to make sure there are no unpronounceable names and a book mark in your Bible to find the place later.

ACTUALLY IN BEING ASKED TO READ YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A SPLENDID CHANCE TO VOICE GOD’S WORD TO PEOPLE; OF PASSING ON HIS WORDS THAT CAN CHANGE LIVES AND INFLUENCE THE CONDUCT OF THOSE WHO HEAR.

Listeners will either lose interest as your voice drones on, or THEY WILL SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE AS GOD’S WORD COMES TO THEM CLEARLY, EXPRESSIVELY AND UNDERSTANDABLY. This can and will happen when you understand what you are reading and grasp the simple technique of making printed words ring in the ear and glow in the mind. But doing this takes know-how and time. You must give the time. The know-how is in the pages that follow.

IT IS THE MEANING THAT MATTERS

TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE. Choose the one which best fits the age of the audience, their grip on the language, and their spiritual understanding.  The Amplified Bible gives alternate meaning of words and is often helpful when you need to consult another version during preparation.

A Commentary and a Bible Dictionary are important. It is essential to understand technical words such as repentance, justification and righteousness. The New Bible Dictionary (IVP) and the New Bible Commentary (IVP), are excellent for the purpose.

BEFORE YOU READ HAVE CLEARLY IN YOUR MIND:

• WHERE A panoramic picture of where events are happening and a close up of immediate detail. The Photo Guides to the Old and New Testament (ANZEA and LION) are recommended.
• WHEN do the events take place?
• WHO are the people involved?
• HOW do they act and react?
• WHY do they act and react as they do?

ABOVE ALL ELSE IT IS MEANING THAT MATTERS

Sentence by sentence needs to be examined closely for meaning. Preparation is essential; you cannot make up your mind in the split second when your eye takes in the line you are reading. For instance – What did Paul mean when he wrote, “We preach Christ to all men?”
Six words and you have four possibilities.

1. We preach Christ to all men – Contrasting himself with others.
2. We preach Christ to all men – Was Paul telling about the subject?
3. Did he say, We preach Christ to all men? – Like John Wesley saying “The whole world is my parish”.
4. Or did he say: We preach Christ to all men? – We’re the Men’s Society and we don’t talk to women and children!

Unless you understand the idea in the passage to be read, you can’t emphasise the right words.
Make yourself familiar with the text both before and after the portion you are to read. This gives you a much wider view.

You will be wise to have on your shelf the Bible in several translations. Paraphrases are useful. They can give the additional information which is not always seen in the text. This may help you to understand the meaning in order to make it clear to others.

Don’t read aloud to others until you yourself understand the page before you. Incomplete understanding of what you read, no matter how warm your voice, polished your accent, or skilled your diction, takes most of the value out of your communication.

This is so important that WE SAY IT AGAIN.

THEN EMPHASISE THE WORDS THAT BRING OUT THESE IDEAS. FOR THE MEANING OF SPOKEN WORDS IS MADE CLEAR WHEN YOU EMPHASISE THE WORDS WHICH BRING OUT THE TRUE MEANING OF THE TEXT.