Biblia bilingüe (Revisión Reina-Valera 1960 / King James Version) Bilingual Bible

Rating:
Summary: The best Bilingual Bible in English and Spanish
Review: If you are looking for a bilingual bible in English and Spanish, you can't beat this one. The text size is OK for reading without squinting like some bilingual and paralles bibles. The hardcover version is the best as the pages are a little thin, and a hardcover does the best in protecting the pages. A hardcover is also the best for soul-winning purposes as you can use it when knocking on a metal framed security door by putting the bible next to the frame and knocking on the cover. It also does the best when it rains, and you can use it as a writing board more easily. The low price of the hardcover also allows you to piece of mind if it is stolen or destroyed! The King James and Reina-Valera 1960 are also the best translations you can get for serious christians. Despite the older words of these translations, they are still the most accurate (compared to the NIV/NVI bilingual, the Version Popular/TEV, or the NIV/RVR 1960 that are available) for those who require such. They are also easier to memorize than the newer translations, believe it or not! It only takes a few weeks for a person to adjust to the older style languages of these translations, if used regularly (as should be). The only flaws in this otherwise great bible is the size (it is on the large size due to the large type) and the lack of concordance and cross-references (which would make it even larger).

Rating:
Summary: Less useful than a bilingual Bible ought to be
Review: The two Bible vesrions presented herein are the revered but now archaic-language King James Version in English and the Spanish Versión Reina-Valera, Revisión de 1960. The latter is one of the more popular Spanish versions and among the better translations into that language. But being revised in 1960 from an older Spanish version about as old as the King James Version, it is in much more modern language than the English version present in parallel columns herein. But the two translations are still more mismatched than that discrepancy as to which was last in the most up-to-date language would indicate. For a student of Spanish as a second language, it will be surprising how often the two versions seem not to come from consistent textual bases, or seem to represent quite different stages in understanding of the underlying text. So it seems that as often as not that when such a reader encounters an unfamiliar Spanish word or phrase, the parallel English text can be more misleading than useful in trying to understand the passage and/or increase one's Spanish vocabulary. For native speakers of Spanish studying English as a second language, a comparable problem must be further complicated by the challenging archaic nature of the English text. A few years after this came out, a different parallel Bible, with the same Spanish version but paralled with the English New International Version, came out. That was little improvement, because those were two versions definitely differing in textual basis -- the Reina Valera 1960 is based on the "received text" (textus receptus), while the NIV is based on the NU-text. Even though the Reina Valera 1960 may be one of the better Spanish versions, it seems no English translation is a very good match to it for a bilingual Bible. Still later, other bilingual versions came out with more definitely consistent textual bases and translation approaches. One is the aforementioned New International Version, paired with its Spanish counterpart, the Nueva Versión Internacional. There at last was a better pairing for language study purposes, and the translations are more easily readable than some, so that it could have an advantage for students whose knowledge of one of the two languages is limited. The downside is that the simplicity of those Bible translations is at the expense of accuracy. They are popular but overrated translations. For better Bible accuracy, and for those a bit more advanced in their konwledge of English or Spanish, whichever is a second language, a better parallel version is that of the Biblia de las Americas with the New American Standard Version. That parallel edition is also based on consistent textual bases and similar translational approach. ...

Rating:
Summary: Less useful than a bilingual Bible ought to be
Review: The two Bible vesrions presented herein are the revered but now archaic-language King James Version in English and the Spanish Versión Reina-Valera, Revisión de 1960. The latter is one of the more popular Spanish versions and among the better translations into that language. But being revised in 1960 from an older Spanish version about as old as the King James Version, it is in much more modern language than the English version present in parallel columns herein. But the two translations are still more mismatched than that discrepancy as to which was last in the most up-to-date language would indicate. For a student of Spanish as a second language, it will be surprising how often the two versions seem not to come from consistent textual bases, or seem to represent quite different stages in understanding of the underlying text. So it seems that as often as not that when such a reader encounters an unfamiliar Spanish word or phrase, the parallel English text can be more misleading than useful in trying to understand the passage and/or increase one's Spanish vocabulary. For native speakers of Spanish studying English as a second language, a comparable problem must be further complicated by the challenging archaic nature of the English text. A few years after this came out, a different parallel Bible, with the same Spanish version but paralled with the English New International Version, came out. That was little improvement, because those were two versions definitely differing in textual basis -- the Reina Valera 1960 is based on the "received text" (textus receptus), while the NIV is based on the NU-text. Even though the Reina Valera 1960 may be one of the better Spanish versions, it seems no English translation is a very good match to it for a bilingual Bible. Still later, other bilingual versions came out with more definitely consistent textual bases and translation approaches. One is the aforementioned New International Version, paired with its Spanish counterpart, the Nueva Versión Internacional. There at last was a better pairing for language study purposes, and the translations are more easily readable than some, so that it could have an advantage for students whose knowledge of one of the two languages is limited. The downside is that the simplicity of those Bible translations is at the expense of accuracy. They are popular but overrated translations. For better Bible accuracy, and for those a bit more advanced in their konwledge of English or Spanish, whichever is a second language, a better parallel version is that of the Biblia de las Americas with the New American Standard Version. That parallel edition is also based on consistent textual bases and similar translational approach.