Zondervan Bible Study Library: Scholar's Edition 5.0

Rating:
Summary: Weak on Greek but still good value at AUD$200
Review: I like the NIV and was looking for something which would help me read through the New Testament in Greek. I specifically wanted (1) parsing word-by-word of the Greek into tense, voice, mood etc (2) a good lexicon which gave both the basic literal meaning and an authoritative discussion of its scope of meaning and (3) the ability to search on both Greek & English simultaneously, e.g. "G1234 AND love" to find out where certain Greek words are translated certain ways.
I got the Zondervan Scholar's edition on appro for 30 days for AUD$200. It performs well on (1) the parsing. I was disappointed with (2) the lexicon as it doesn't make it clear which is the basic root meaning, but generally just gives a list of meanings that translators have given to the word. The morpheme lexicon might have made up for this deficiency if it hadn't had a bug in its links which rendered it virtually useless. The package doesn't contain Bauer's (BAGD), which is generally accepted as THE definitive Greek lexicon; nor can it be bought as an add-on. As for (3), it can't do it.

It would have been nice too if it had contained a Greek-English interlinear, but it doesn't.

In the end I decided to keep it, mainly because it was much cheaper than the alternatives and it did do the parsing nicely. I plan to buy the Libronix version of BAGD also in order to have a decent lexicon, though this won't integrate of course.

Rating:
Summary: Weak on Greek but still good value at AUD$200
Review: I like the NIV and was looking for something which would help me read through the New Testament in Greek. I specifically wanted (1) parsing word-by-word of the Greek into tense, voice, mood etc (2) a good lexicon which gave both the basic literal meaning and an authoritative discussion of its scope of meaning and (3) the ability to search on both Greek & English simultaneously, e.g. "G1234 AND love" to find out where certain Greek words are translated certain ways.
I got the Zondervan Scholar's edition on appro for 30 days for AUD$200. It performs well on (1) the parsing. I was disappointed with (2) the lexicon as it doesn't make it clear which is the basic root meaning, but generally just gives a list of meanings that translators have given to the word. The morpheme lexicon might have made up for this deficiency if it hadn't had a bug in its links which rendered it virtually useless. The package doesn't contain Bauer's (BAGD), which is generally accepted as THE definitive Greek lexicon; nor can it be bought as an add-on. As for (3), it can't do it.

It would have been nice too if it had contained a Greek-English interlinear, but it doesn't.

In the end I decided to keep it, mainly because it was much cheaper than the alternatives and it did do the parsing nicely. I plan to buy the Libronix version of BAGD also in order to have a decent lexicon, though this won't integrate of course.

Rating:
Summary: Don't have the feature I wanted...
Review: I like the NIV translation and I have been jotting down many study notes besides the relevant verses in a hardcopy NIV bible. I thought that the computer age must have created something better than pen and paper to jot notes and I have been looking for software programs that allow me to take notes and attach them to verses in the bible. What attracted me to this software of course the NIV translation but more importantly, their mentioning of the ability to take notes. I thought that's exactly what I was looking for. After I installed the software and looked at the "take notes" functionality, I discover that the content of notes can link to different documents but you could not link your note into the verses of the bible. Big disappointment.... Previously, I tried out Laridian's PocketBible with the note taking feature, that's great. I would have bought that if it was available for a PC....

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Reference
Review: I purchased this reference about six months ago. It has been one of the best refereneces I have ever used. To have access to all the cross references for reading while I'm reading a particular book is wonderful. This tool has been wonderful for my Men's Bible studies. I am always able to give a complete study of a particular chapter, with references to maps, cross-references, and the commentaries. Granted I could do that before I had this software, but doing it this way saves me hours.

I only wish I had purchased the Scholars edition so that I could look up the greek and hebrew words and get a better understanding as to what the direct translation is saying.

Long story short. An excellent value for all the references that you get!

Rating:
Summary: An Exciting, Well Produced Product - Absolutely Tops
Review: This is quite simply the most complete and exciting Bible study program on the market today. With over 70 different books in the Scholar's edition it is a tremendous resource for anyone engaged in serious Bible Study. The various Bible translations can be linked to each other creating the ultimate parallel translation covering up to 10 versions (New International, King James, New American Standard, Amplified, New Revised Standard, American Standard, Darby, New Living, Hebrew, and Greek ).

Because this library is based on the New International Version there are additional Study Bibles such as the New International Reader's, NIV Study Bible, New Student Bible, and New International Thematic Reference. In addition there are several commentaries, seminary-level textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference books. It includes the ability to do complete research on word meanings and etymologies, archaeological and historical information. Print, search, save study, add notes, make bookmarks, you can do it all easily with this system. With its ease of navigate and ease of use this is one of the most powerful tools available for serious Bible students.

There are currently four versions available (Family, Leader's, Professional, and Scholar's). As you move up the version list each one included the prior level plus additional books. To give you an idea of what you are getting, the Family Version includes all of the following books: NIVBible, NirV Bible, KJV Bible, KJV Apocrypha, NAS Bible, Amplified Bible, NIV Study Bible, NIV New Student Bible, Comparative Study Bible, NIV Nave's Topical Bible, Zondervan Study Bible Cross Reference System, Study Bible Maps, Charts, Full-Color Photographs, Streams in the Desert, Inspirational Readings, Zondervan Quick Reference Series, and The NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible. Plus you effectively have the best concordance and parallel Bible system around since you can word search any word and can choose any translation or number of translations to view in parallel.

The Leader's Version contains all of the Family version plus these additional books: NRS Bible, American Standard Bible, Darby Bible, All the Men of the Bible, All the Women of the Bible, Fruit of the Spirit Bible Studies, Discipleship Bible Studies, Hebrew Old Testament BHS, Hebrew Text behind the NIV, Greek New Testament UBS4, Greek Text behind the NIV, Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary (2 volumes),
Matthew Henry's Commentary (6 volumes), New International Bible Commentary, Asbury Bible Commentary, Zondervan Quick Reference Series, Understanding the Bible, New International Bible Dictionary, New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words, and the New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties

The Professional Version has everything in the Leader's Version plus these additional books: New Living Bible, NIV Thematic Reference Bible, Hebrew-English Reader's Lexicon of the Old Testament, Greek-English Reader's Lexicon of the New Testament, Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Eadie's commentaries on Colossians, Galatians, and Philippians, Godet's commentaries on 1 Corinithians, John (2 volumes), Luke (2 volumes), and Romans, Lightfoot's commentaries on Paul's Epistles to the Colossians & Philemon, St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, Notes on the Epistles, and Philippians, Wescott's Gospel According to St. John, St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, Epistle to the Hebrews, and Epistle of St. John, Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Nicene Creed, the Apostles Creed, the Athanasian Creed, the Ninety-Five Thesis, the Augsburg Confession, the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Confession, the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms, An Introduction to the Old Testament, Introduction to the New Testament, and the Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult

The largest and most complete collection is the Scholar's Version which contains all of the books of the Professional Version plus the following: Complete Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew & Aramaic, Analytical Lexicon to the Hebrew Old Testament, Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament, New Testament Greek Morpheme Lexicon, Groves-Wheeler Westminster Morphology, Morphology of Biblical Greek, Complete Vocabulary Guide for Biblical Greek, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, Biblical Greek Exegesis, New Linguistic & Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, Hort: The Apocalypse of St. John 1-3, The Epistle of St. James, The First Epistle of St. Peter 1, Prolegomenon to St. Paul's Epistle, Eadie's commentary on Ephesians, A General Introduction to the Bible, Is There Meaning in this Text, New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia (5 volumes).

The "Zondervan Bible Study Library" is the most comprehensive, easy to use Study Library available today. It gives the serious Bible student the ability to research with a complete study library anywhere they can plug in a laptop computer. This is the most exciting product available from any publisher of Christian products today and is a very highly recommended product.

Rating:
Summary: An Exciting, Well Produced Product - Absolutely Tops
Review: This is quite simply the most complete and exciting Bible study program on the market today. With over 70 different books in the Scholar's edition it is a tremendous resource for anyone engaged in serious Bible Study. The various Bible translations can be linked to each other creating the ultimate parallel translation covering up to 10 versions (New International, King James, New American Standard, Amplified, New Revised Standard, American Standard, Darby, New Living, Hebrew, and Greek ).

Because this library is based on the New International Version there are additional Study Bibles such as the New International Reader's, NIV Study Bible, New Student Bible, and New International Thematic Reference. In addition there are several commentaries, seminary-level textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference books. It includes the ability to do complete research on word meanings and etymologies, archaeological and historical information. Print, search, save study, add notes, make bookmarks, you can do it all easily with this system. With its ease of navigate and ease of use this is one of the most powerful tools available for serious Bible students.

There are currently four versions available (Family, Leader's, Professional, and Scholar's). As you move up the version list each one included the prior level plus additional books. To give you an idea of what you are getting, the Family Version includes all of the following books: NIVBible, NirV Bible, KJV Bible, KJV Apocrypha, NAS Bible, Amplified Bible, NIV Study Bible, NIV New Student Bible, Comparative Study Bible, NIV Nave's Topical Bible, Zondervan Study Bible Cross Reference System, Study Bible Maps, Charts, Full-Color Photographs, Streams in the Desert, Inspirational Readings, Zondervan Quick Reference Series, and The NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible. Plus you effectively have the best concordance and parallel Bible system around since you can word search any word and can choose any translation or number of translations to view in parallel.

The Leader's Version contains all of the Family version plus these additional books: NRS Bible, American Standard Bible, Darby Bible, All the Men of the Bible, All the Women of the Bible, Fruit of the Spirit Bible Studies, Discipleship Bible Studies, Hebrew Old Testament BHS, Hebrew Text behind the NIV, Greek New Testament UBS4, Greek Text behind the NIV, Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary (2 volumes),
Matthew Henry's Commentary (6 volumes), New International Bible Commentary, Asbury Bible Commentary, Zondervan Quick Reference Series, Understanding the Bible, New International Bible Dictionary, New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words, and the New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties

The Professional Version has everything in the Leader's Version plus these additional books: New Living Bible, NIV Thematic Reference Bible, Hebrew-English Reader's Lexicon of the Old Testament, Greek-English Reader's Lexicon of the New Testament, Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Eadie's commentaries on Colossians, Galatians, and Philippians, Godet's commentaries on 1 Corinithians, John (2 volumes), Luke (2 volumes), and Romans, Lightfoot's commentaries on Paul's Epistles to the Colossians & Philemon, St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, Notes on the Epistles, and Philippians, Wescott's Gospel According to St. John, St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, Epistle to the Hebrews, and Epistle of St. John, Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Nicene Creed, the Apostles Creed, the Athanasian Creed, the Ninety-Five Thesis, the Augsburg Confession, the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Confession, the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms, An Introduction to the Old Testament, Introduction to the New Testament, and the Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult

The largest and most complete collection is the Scholar's Version which contains all of the books of the Professional Version plus the following: Complete Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew & Aramaic, Analytical Lexicon to the Hebrew Old Testament, Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament, New Testament Greek Morpheme Lexicon, Groves-Wheeler Westminster Morphology, Morphology of Biblical Greek, Complete Vocabulary Guide for Biblical Greek, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, Biblical Greek Exegesis, New Linguistic & Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament, Hort: The Apocalypse of St. John 1-3, The Epistle of St. James, The First Epistle of St. Peter 1, Prolegomenon to St. Paul's Epistle, Eadie's commentary on Ephesians, A General Introduction to the Bible, Is There Meaning in this Text, New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia (5 volumes).

The "Zondervan Bible Study Library" is the most comprehensive, easy to use Study Library available today. It gives the serious Bible student the ability to research with a complete study library anywhere they can plug in a laptop computer. This is the most exciting product available from any publisher of Christian products today and is a very highly recommended product.