The Bible in English Translation

This book is one of the best books on the subjectof English Bible versions. It is concise, well-written,and pleasant to read. One gets the impression thatthe authors are in love with the subject matter.Their enthusiasm for the Bible in English iscontagious. There are many books on the EnglishBible, there are none better than this one. It workswell as an introduction to various translationsand I could see this book being used along withComfort's, _Essential Guide to Bible Versions_ ina classroom setting in the church or a school.Again, this is an excellent book and I highlyrecommend it to all who are interested in thestudy of the English Bible.

This book is incredibly user-friendly and provides a valuable look at the history, making, and various translations of the Bible. As a seminary student, I can assure you that this book is very helpful in explaining the pros and cons of each translation of the Bible. I constantly refer to this work for a quick reference guide to translations. Biblical student or not, everyone should check this book out. I also recommend Sheeley and Nash's "Choosing A Bible: A Guide to Modern English Translations and Editions", which is also an excellent resource.

I found that this book is a must for the person looking for the perfect bible. Sheeley/Nash's book provided a simple, yet thorough, explanations of an exhausted list of bibles. This book answers many questions including: what bible is best for my personal study, which translation is better for my church, why are there different translation anyways? Before beginning a personal or corprate study of the bible this book is well worth the short time it takes to read.

This book provides invaluable guidance for a person interested in buying a Bible. The book provides succinct summaries of nearly all of the English Bible translations on the market today. Many of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the translations are provided by the authors. However, I came across an error in the book. On page 85, the authors criticize the Good News Bible (GNB) for its lack of gender inclusive language. The authors made specific reference to four Bible passages to highlight their point. However, in 1992, a 2nd edition of the GNB was issued. One of the specified purposes of the 2nd edition was to revise passages which were not gender inclusive. Every one of the passages cited by the authors were changed in the 2nd edition to make them gender inclusive. Therefore, this criticism of the GNB is not valid. My only other suggestion is that the authors should have indicated what translations include the books of the Apocrypha or the Deuterocanonical books, since those books are used in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Episcopalian churches. This information was only provided for some of the translations. Nonetheless, a person would benefit by reviewing this book before purchasing a Bible for individual use or for their church.