Today's Parallel Bible

Rating:
Summary: A great help for serious students
Review: Given the inevitable shortcomings of translating from one language to the next, a serious Bible reader needs to consult more than one version in order to get the clearest rendering. This parallel Bible includes a complete translation of 2 word-for-word literal translations (the KJV and NASB, based on slightly different original-manuscript traditions), today's best-selling thought-for-thought translation (the NIV), and the most scholarly, up-to-date, readable paraphrase on the market (the NLT).

While only reading one translation, you have no way to know at what points modern translators might differ. But while reading two or more, differences are flagged, thus encouraging further study. I believe these are the four best translations to compare, if this is your goal.

In case you're wondering, this review is based on a reasonably thorough study of the Bible's original languages which earned me a Master of Divinity degree from Talbot Theological Seminary (Biola University) in 1982.

Rating:
Summary: comparing the Word of God
Review: I found this bible to be just what many people are looking for; understanding. When comparing the 4 translations you can basically understand the text better. Very good choice.

Rating:
Summary: Useful comparisons of the various translations of Scripture
Review: I remember reading once that in Genesis 2:18 the word that is used to describe Eve's relationship to Adam appears only this one time in the entire Bible. The word is translated variously as "help meet" and "helper." But it always struck me that whatever word was used to describe the unique relationship between men and women has been left to the interpretation of scholars. Whether this "fact" is true or not is somewhat beside the point, because it serves to underscore that translation is ALWAYS a question of interpretation. What is wonderful about "Today's Parallel Bible" is that by laying out these four translations in four parallel columns allow you to see the range of interpretation for yourself. There are also the detailed footnotes, primarily with the New International version, that gives you even more information about the original Hebrew or Greek words being translated. I believe that a thoughtful reading of the Bible is truly helped by comparing and contrasting these various versions and coming to terms with your own understanding of the meaning and import of the text. This is not such a volume useful to Biblical scholars. This one is useful for everybody.

Rating:
Summary: Easy to read and easy to understand
Review: I was devasted to find my "old" parallel bible, The New Layman's Parallel Bible, 1981, had been damaged by water. I called a local bookstore and was told it was no longer available. I just knew I would find it at Amazon.com and now I even have a newer version. I am thrilled beyond words that I am able to replace my other book with my new book. I intend to pass this book on to my grandson and hopefully he will get as much understanding from it as I have. I get excited when I read it -- I actually enjoy and look forward to sitting down and reading the Bible and being able to understand and comprehend the words. Thank you Amazon.com and Zondervan for making it possible for me to replace my other book.

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate study bible!
Review: This bible is finally everything I have been looking for in a study bible. It has all the versions I was interested in comparing and is more than just the New Testament. At the Christian bookstores near my house, this bible runs almost twice the cost of what Amazon.com carries it for, so even if you're paying for shipping, this is a great deal! Open anywhere in the book and find all four translations looking back at you so you can easily compare line to line, verse to verse. Also included, being a study bible, are notes and references that lead you elsewhere to learn more about what you just read. This is a must have for anyone delving further into their studies and having some limited room on their bookshelf!!

Rating:
Summary: complete footnotes
Review: This edition has complete translator's footnotes (as far as I can determine) for all four translations. Excellent format to compare all four translations.

Rating:
Summary: "Ugly Duckling" Quickly Becomes Christian's Useful Swan
Review: This is a long review, designed to justify the case for buying a Parallel Bible for oneself or as a gift, and then discussing the considerable merits of *Today's Parallel Bible*. I hope people who aren't quite familiar with the merits of a multi-version Bible will read it and benefit from the review.

I don't want to sound crass or irreverent, but at some level the buyer has to consider value, relevance and intellectual import when looking to buy Scripture outside of his/her home tradition and Scripture. Every denomination advocates a particular version of the Bible--and there are at least ten widely-distributed versions suitable for laity and pulpit alike among the various large American affiliations. (Tons of minor ones, too.)

With the very best of intentions, religion majors, seminarians and even Divinity School Ph.D. candidates can get set up for the fall by taking their various schools' dictates literally. With various degrees of authoritarianism, these groves of academe are almost obliged to parrot Denominational Doctrine and try to enforce use of Headquarters' preferred translation: the language used can be as blunt as "It is heresy to read any version other than that approved by the Holy [Headquarters] in [European City]; to the public-relations-friendly but equally authoritarian "Our denomiantion recommends the [New Blank] version because it has its roots in the [Blank] version, the most popular new book of 1953; also our newest version is fully [historically accurate, gender-neutral, etc.]."

Here's the irony: sooner or later, whatever the bureaucrats tell you, you're going to want to consult other translations. After all, that's all the Scriptures we have access to are: TRANSLATIONS. Most, if not all, of your teachers will be scholars and theologians, not disciplinarians and dogmaticians, and they have few scruples about consulting other texts. You'll probably even be asked to compare a few on your own. Inerrancy and doctrine is not the point for informed laity and clergy so much as further enlightenment and truth; and after all, Jesus had plenty to say about truth in the Sermon on the Mount.

In Exodus 3, God says to Moses, "And I am sure that the King of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand." This is a tad difficult to understand, yet far from the most obscure KJV reference translatable into 21st Century English. Consulting the other versions in this volume--NASB, NIV and TLV--will open up that verse much more handsomely. It's important to remember that Moses didn't communicate in the 1611 English of the King James Bible. In America, we have freedom of religion, and if you want to hold the KJV the only inerrant version of God's Word, that's your privilege; nonetheless you or someone you know will eventually consult other versions, even if late at night in the dorm room with a flashlight (seriously!). And even the most straight-laced study groups, in my experience, develop curiosity and cross the fence now and again.

Ironically, buying a parallel bible at first looks like a waste of money, like buying four backpacks or four college pennants when you already have what you need. But it's a savings in the long run because of the consolidation effect, let alone the convenience of having four major translations laid out for you side-by-side (two on each side of the page). If you steal a march now and spend the money, I've a hunch you'll be glad you did.

Of course, the less duplication you already have, the better. In this case, if your denomination is Roman Catholic and insists on the NAB, or "Oldline" Protestant and joneses the NRSV, you're home free. 'Most everyone respects the NIV for its readability, authority and efficiency. (Don't be thrown by the assumption that a low "word count" in the NIV indicates that subject matter has been omitted--it hasn't, but has simply been rendered more idiomatically.) The KJV is, and probably always shall be, a cornerstone of Modern English ("For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.")

The NASB traces back to a pre-World War One ancestor; at that time its origin lay in theological schism but more recent versions have to do with accuracy, readability and exactness of thought. (While bibles like the NAB or NRSV can be called "Literal," the NASB is "Strictly Literal"; happily, though, while thorough it is felicitous and does not read like a clunker.) On the other hand, the TLV is a very successful paraphrase, an intelligent and thoughtful one that is nothing like some of the "dumbed down" versions we're getting these days that translate Shekels into dollar amounts or "afternoon" into "three o'clock" in a sorry attempt to housebreak everything to the American pre-adolescent reading standard. TLV is fresh, lively, makes no pretense to carry forward any pre-existing literary tradition, but can quite often and surprisingly shed extra light on the subject matter.

Students: Spend the money; you'll be glad you did in the long run. Grandparents, parents, girl/boyfriends: forget the scarves and CD's and gift certs and go for this one--it will truly grow in value as long as your cherished one owns it.

I have a couple of minor quibbles. The KJV is in the public-domain. The NIV is licensed to lots of different publishers. The TLV is owned by a particular publishing house but like the other two, beginner's versions are quite inexpensive. Considered simply as a combination of texts, this makes *Today's Parallel Bible* expensive--but I must say, that is well counterweighted by Amazon's generous discount and the book's usefulness as a study bible. For its size and weight, this tome is not spectacularly well bound, and it's better to use a book bag or backpack lest it develop "wiggle cover." Nonetheless few, if any, Christians who want to study various Bible translations in depth can go wrong here. Go for it! :)