I say the real way to read and study the bible is to do it in the original languages: Hebrew for the old testament and Greek for the new testament.
I try to learn the Hebrew words but I don't have much time in my life right now to focus on Hebrew bible study, but I can tell you that the Hebrew bible is one thing and the English translations are different and might alter the meaning of passages or words. Hearing someone read the creation in ancient bible Hebrew and the rhymes and sounds was a great experience for me....but if the same passages are read in English they don't have the same effect or even the same meaning.
Hebrew is a very unique language. It works in different ways. Not surprised if translations alter meanings. Besides, I feel like literal interpretation of the bible is wrong and should never be done by a serious believer. It's what fundie Christians do but they have their own messed up views on the bible (especially on the ot) that contradicts every other interpretation, Jewish or Christian and makes no sensecon a theological level. I say some Christians tend to be too literal and that's not the way to do theology and the bible is mysterious, too complex to just be interpreted literally. And when they use it against groups of people then it's really disgusting and offensive.
The bible also shows the culture of ancient Israelites. I doubt it was a lgbt friendly culture. 3000 years ago. No modern science or medicine. Many accuse the bible of things, like being homophobic, but the bible isn't things. It's a book that describes things and not all of them are nice because the world wasn't nice back then and never was. People who wrote it reported things and what do we expect from ancient populations? Progressive ideas? Also the bible, like other books, can be interpreted in various ways. It's the people who interpret it that use it as an anti-lgbt weapon because they hide behind religion but their hatred is within their minds and comes from something else. Religion is just a mask they wear. But I read the same bible as them and I don't use it against people, I use it for my own personal spiritual growth and I don't think we should live like the ancient Israelites because humanity evolved and as some types of Judaism teach, the Torah is alive and humans understanding of it can change over the centuries and society changes and there's rabbis discussing ideas, and Judaism encourages discussing and even questioning things. It's not a static religion. We can't be like we were 3000 years ago. It's 2016. I can't understand people who want to take us back to that ancient era, and it's mostly fundie Christians in America and it scares me because we all know how hostile they are against lgbt people.
Fundie Christians like mentioning certain quotes from the Torah but why is it that they cherry pick and only choose to follow "anti gay" verses and then they ignore all the other verses? Using books amd laws specifically for Jews, cherry picking, twisting things, spreading lies, all of this to justify their hatred.
In the NT, an eununch gets blessed. It's Paul (or St. Paul for Catholics) the one who wrote stuff about women not being allowed to teach or speak in churches and a list of people going to hell. Not Jesus. It was Paul. I like how homophobes focus on Paul's homophobia and ignore the words of Jesus their Lord.
I know there are so many nice Christian brothers and sisters out there. I was one myself. I don't think religion should be used to control others. It should be a positive personal experience, and not a way to control other people.