Intelligence Lost

I've recently been moved to read Shakespeare again. The Sonnets moved me to pull out my old poetry books. I would get lost for hours in my books as a child and young woman. Poe, Dickson, Tennyson and others were my companions all through college. I even dabbled in poetry, having published a few by the time I graduated. 

Then, I entered divinity school. There was only time for assigned books and papers. Of course, I read the Bible, but the beauty and meter were lost in the dissection of each verse for the sake of scholarship. Now, I only read professional books and journals, or online articles arriving by the minute from various sources. Then, a quick check of Facebook and emails I'm responsible to answer. Finally, as I climb into bed, I take my book of Gaelic poetry to steal a few minutes of pleasure, and fall asleep before I finish a page. 

And the Bible? Yes, I still read it every day. Yet, as the English translations simplify, though increasingly more accurate through solid scholarship, they lose much of the poetry and beauty of earlier versions. I sometimes feel as though we have "dumbed down" the Word of God to the point no one actually studies it anymore except those who preach or teach it. 

Is it truly wise to reduce the scriptures to simple, short, manageable sound bites?

I think I'm going to pull out the old, worn-out Bible with all the writing in the margins written in the old King James English, and read the Psalms, just for fun. That is, if I can stay awake that long.