Rating: 
Summary: Good Translation for the Young Christian
Review: In my humble opinion, the Life Application Bible is an excellent series for learning how to apply the Bible to everyday life.
The Bible contains interesting character sketches describing the importance, successes, failures, and positive/negative impact on other people. The sketches serve to encourage the reader to walk closely with Jesus Christ and to consider how our actions affect others.
The maps are abundant and contain sufficient detail and notes to understand Paul's missionary trips, growth and influence of other countries, and other relevant biblical topics.
The footnotes are especially good in provoking thought as to how a particular verse or chapter in the Bible may apply to your life. Caution: while the notes are thought-provoking, they should not be treated as inspired like God's Word - God's Spirit may give you different insights into Scripture than what is published in the notes.
The concordance is okay but not as comprehensive as I have seen in other study Bibles.
The Living Bible translation is good for the beginning Christian or for someone who just prefers a simpler writing style. Personally, I have been a Christian for a number of years and like the NASB and NKJV because they are more accurate translations of the original text. They also contain more of the majesty and formality that is closer to the original KJV. However, this is my just preference.
Due to the translation, I give the this product a 4-star rating. The Life Application Bible NASB and NKJV version definitely merit a 5-star rating!
Read, enjoy, and be challanged and encourage!
Rating: 
Summary: The best study Bible coupled with the best translation ever!
Review: Incredible. Every Christian should have a Bible in this translation. It's 99% accurate (the most accurate translation ever except for the New Revised Standard Version and its predecessor, RSV). The language is easy to understand, yet it's flowered and flows beautifully. The Bible becomes a page-turner! You won't be able to put it down! Everything from Genesis to the Gospels to the Epistles reads the way it was meant to, in the language of the people. This particular Bible has 10,000 study notes. Practically every verse is talked about! Most of the pages are half taken up by study notes! Also featured are tons of maps, wonderful character profiles, a concordance and so much more. If you want a study Bible, BUY THIS! (you might even want the imitation burgundy version) If you don't want an in-depth study Bible (which this IS), try the Praise and Worship Study Bible. It doesn't have study notes for every verse, just some of them. It's much less "hardcore" than this one, if you'll excuse the cliche. This is the best Bible I have ever encountered. I've already gotten one as a gift for someone else. This is worth every penny of the high price.
Rating:
Summary: BEST TRANSLATION EVER PRINTED...
Review: It is easy to follow and to understand. Study notes on every page explain highlights of the verses and helps clear up or understand many difficult passages. It is easy for young readers as well. Maps and Harmony of the Gospels tie in Old and New Testament Scriptures. Whether you are a brand new baby Christian or a older Christian it is easy to follow. Plus it helps stir up the desire to want to read more of the bible since its easy to understand. Not so dry and hard to understand as it is written in our every day langauge. We have several other Bibles and we compare and they are right on. Any one who is lucky enough to get one will be very happy with it. The price is really extremely resonable too.
Rating:
Summary: The explanation/application notes are GREAT!
Review: It's like having two books in one! The application notes add perspective to your own life compared to the passage(s) read. The explanation notes give you better insight about the situtation, times, events taking place, etc.I bought another one for some friends after they asked me what bible I was reading out of!
Rating:
Summary: Bible made easy to understand!!
Review: My friend heard me saying that I had been trusting God for the Life Application Study Bible and one evening he visited me and brought me the Bible as a present! I have had 3 different versions of the Bible but let me say that I have never understood the Bible before like I have now.It is so well illustrated that you really grasp the teachings.I have really felt elevated in the spirit that I have even been able to make references and explanations of the Bible verses to my friends such that one of them asked me 'from where I have got that sudden annointing and understanding'.Though I have never nursed anbitions of being a Pastor,I can say that I really look forward to an opportunity when I will be asked to talk about the goodness of the Lord to people-at least I will have something to add to the usual reading of verses!!The Bible has become part of me that I really have to keep on referring to it any time I am free. Edward
Rating:
Summary: The finest DEVOTIONAL study Bible on the market.
Review: The Life Application Study Bible perfected a trend in the production of Bibles that began about thirty years ago. Prior to that most of the Bibles published were plain text or reference editions. These were limited in that they provided the uninformed reader with no explanatory guide through the difficult pages of Scripture. Two types of Bibles began to emerge. First, study Bibles, which focused primarily of historical, literary and theological questions. Second, "devotional" Bibles, which catered primarily for individual spirituality (i.e. what does this mean for ME?). The NIV Life Application combines both these approaches in a single attractive volume and is perfectly suited to anyone with no special expertise in biblical studies and especially helpful to those who want to read the Bible as a way of deepening their own spiritual life. The notes are not exclusively "spiritual" and "personal" but do provide answers to difficult critical biblical questions. The format is clear and easy to read. The LAB comes in various translations, including the NIV and the New Living Translation. My own preference is for the New Living edition. In short, the LAB is without question the finest DEVOTIONAL study Bible on the market.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Bible for any Christian!
Review: The Life Application Study Bibles are all terrific. The only difference between them is, obviously, the translation. The New Living Translation is absolutely great for almost any purpose. All too often when you read the King James Version or even the New King James version, you have to read a verse several times to realy understand what it means. The New Living Translation is written just as if the Bible were written today, in English. The only field in which the New Living Translation should not be used is in very serious, historical study of the Bible, as events are often paraphrased for the sake of clarity, and ancient measurements such as talents and cubits are also translated into traditional English measurements.
What makes the Life Application Study Bibles different from other Bibles are the footnotes. They apply just about every verse in the New Testament to our lives. There are thousands of footnotes. You won't find near as many of them in the Old Testament because there's not a whole lot there as far as how to live goes, If you're looking for a Bible that has footnotes that put verses into historical context, check out the extremely popular Zondervan Study Bible(only available in NIV)
There are many other great bonus features to this Bible. Very nice presentation, marriage, births, and family tree pages to start it off. The introductions at the start of each book are also great, showing the author, when written, what the book encompasses, the main message it carries, and much more. It also has an outline of the book so you can find a specific scene quickly. There are also several full color maps in the back. Topping off the package are the extensive concordance and dictionary.
In conclusion, a fantastic Bible.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Bible for any Christian!
Review: The Life Application Study Bibles are all terrific. The only difference between them is, obviously, the translation. The New Living Translation is absolutely great for almost any purpose. All too often when you read the King James Version or even the New King James version, you have to read a verse several times to realy understand what it means. The New Living Translation is written just as if the Bible were written today, in English. The only field in which the New Living Translation should not be used is in very serious, historical study of the Bible, as events are often paraphrased for the sake of clarity, and ancient measurements such as talents and cubits are also translated into traditional English measurements.
What makes the Life Application Study Bibles different from other Bibles are the footnotes. They apply just about every verse in the New Testament to our lives. There are thousands of footnotes. You won't find near as many of them in the Old Testament because there's not a whole lot there as far as how to live goes, If you're looking for a Bible that has footnotes that put verses into historical context, check out the extremely popular Zondervan Study Bible(only available in NIV)
There are many other great bonus features to this Bible. Very nice presentation, marriage, births, and family tree pages to start it off. The introductions at the start of each book are also great, showing the author, when written, what the book encompasses, the main message it carries, and much more. It also has an outline of the book so you can find a specific scene quickly. There are also several full color maps in the back. Topping off the package are the extensive concordance and dictionary.
In conclusion, a fantastic Bible.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Reading; Sloppy, Inconsistent Translating
Review: The New Living Translation (NLT) is a revision of Kenneth Taylor's breezy paraphrase, The Living Bible. Ninety translators checked and modified Taylor's paraphrase against the original manuscripts; thus, this version carries more scholarly authority than its predecessor. The seven-year effort to turn a paraphrase into a translation was meant to make the NLT suitable--not only for devotional use--but also for study, and congregational reading. The editors were only partly successful. The differences in translation styles and theology among the translators were not evened out in the different books they translated. Thus, one can read in one Gospel concerning the Lord's Supper that it represents Christ's body and blood, while another Gospel accurately translates that it is Christ's body and blood. Despite one's theological position, a translator should have enough integrity to translate and not write his own commentary. However, to be even-handed, this reviewer loves the NLT's rendering of Matthew 7:23; only it among the plethora of version gets the gist of the Greek right in this instance: that such prophesying was "unauthorized." In reading style, only the CEV reads more smoothly aloud among the modern versions in print. John Wilson wrote, "Other versions, such as the NIV and the NRSV, have been acclaimed by consensus for their accuracy, but none of the leading general-purpose translations can match the clarity, rhythm, and readability of the NLT." Nevertheless, superior prose can never substitute for superior accuracy; this is the NLT's situation. It is a very worthy effort with mediocre efforts. In the gender-neutral language use, the NLT succumbs to the same poor renderings that most other modern versions make: it often pluralizes what is singular in the original languages. Again this removes the focus from an individual and places it on a group simply to avoid using he, him, or his! In the NLT 1 John 3:17 reads: But if one of you has enough money to live well, and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help-how can God's love be in that person? (NLT) The NLT receives a D in accuracy and an A in readability.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to read, but a poor excuse for a Bible translation
Review: The New Living Translation is very easy to understand, but the translation philosophy is the worst I've ever seen in the English language. 1. First of all, it assumes that the ecclectic Nestle-Aland text is the superior text. The translators obviously do not believe that the Bible has been divinely preserved.... 2. Secondly, the translation philosophy is very loose. Similar ecclectic translations, ie., NIV, NRSV, and the NASB are based on the ecclectic text, but they are generally closer to the original languages. The New Living Translation does not even try to stay close to the original languages. It is known as "dynamic equivelence." In my opinion, the Greek and Hebrew words are inspired by God, and a good English translation should try to stay as close to the original as possible. This translation puts more emphasis on making the Bible easy to read than staying true to the text. Yes, the New Living Translation is easy to read and understand, but it is not worth the lax translation philosophy and lack or respect for the preservation for the text.
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