Customer Reviews

The Books of the Bible [Today's New International Version (TNIV)] {Holy Bible}

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Do you ever tire of the endless parade of specialty Bibles that fill the shelves of Christian bookstores? There are Bibles for everyone - teens, kids, women, men, former alcoholics, students, the elderly.

The optimistic side of me rejoices at seeing so many Bible resources available. The cynical side of me can't help but scoff at the ways in which publishers market the Bible to niche audiences.

Yet there are certain specialty Bibles that deserve a place on the shelf. The International Bible Society has recently released a book called The Books of the Bible - which compiles the Bible books in a fresh, creative way while omitting chapter and verse divisions.

Here's what I like about The Books of the Bible:

Easy to Read.

This is not a Bible for study; it's a Bible for reading.
After I received my copy, I started reading Samuel-Kings (a compilation of 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings). To my amazement, after what seemed like only a few minutes, I realized that I had read 13 chapters! Because the chapter divisions, verse numbers and footnotes are absent, The Books of the Bible removes all distractions and puts the focus completely on the text. The layout is one column, so it's easy to follow.

The combination of books.

The Books of the Bible puts books together in ways that help illuminate the relationship between the books.

Take the New Testament, for example. Instead of beginning with the four Gospels, the books are compiled by theme and author. The first book of the New Testament is Luke-Acts (combined into one seamless narrative). Next come all of Paul's letters, in chronological order. (Reading Paul this way helps you follow Paul's thought pattern throughout his life.) The Gospel of Matthew is paired with Hebrews and James (also written for Jewish audiences). The Gospel of Mark starts off Peter's section, since Mark is widely regarded as a compilation of Peter's memoirs. The last part of the New Testament belongs to John. You read his Gospel, his letters, and then Revelation.

The Narratives.

The combining of books helps carry on the Old Testament narrative. To read Samuel and Kings together as one long story avoids chopping up the narrative into different chapters and books. The same benefit comes from reading Luke-Acts, and Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah this way.

The only downside to The Books of the Bible is the translation it uses: the TNIV. I do not subscribe to the dynamic philosophy of translation behind the TNIV, and I believe some key passages get muddled by the attempt to make the language gender-neutral.

At the same time, I like certain aspects of the TNIV (for example, the keeping of "Messiah" instead of "Christ" in several New Testament letters). While the ESV still remains my translation of choice for preaching, memorization, and personal study because of its word-for-word equivalence, I enjoy reading the Bible in other translations, including some of the more dynamic-equivalent translations like the NLT, TNIV and the NRSV.

The Books of the Bible is a creative repackaging of the Bible. Some will dismiss it as just another attempt to profit from the Bible market. But I have found it to be a handy resource and a nice Bible to read for enjoyment.

How much does it matter how the Bible is organized? It turns out it can matter a lot and this book gives a superb job of showing how it can be done along the lines it was done originally.

This is a wonderful version of the Bible. I'm really enjoying reading the Bible without chapter and verses to distract me. It is forcing me to appreciate the context more and I'm not being distracted by the verse and chapter divisions. In my opinion, it makes Bible reading more enjoying and rewarding. I'm not a fan of the TNIV translation, and so I use this Bible alongside my NKJV when I really want to study a particular passage. But in terms of reading any book in the Bible "straight", this is a wonderful tool. I just love the ethos of this edition of the Bible, and how it encourages one to read whole books, and to read scripture in context. I think every Christian should get a copy of this Bible!

I've waited for years for this format! I love reading through the Bible as it was originally written, not chopped up into chapters & verses. It provides new perspective on the overall story of each book and the Bible as a whole. I HIGHLY recommend it!

At the current moment there is only one of these on sale here--and it's for 3 times the price of getting it new if you buy it directly from the International Bible Society. There is no excuse for selling it for so much on here, and you shouldn't spend that much extra for a good, different way of reading the Bible.

The only thing I like about this Bible is the translation and the book groupings.
Beyond that I tend to be cynical about the "new dynamic reading" and the idea that removing verses and chapters will encourage people to read the Bible. Let's be honest with ourselves shall we? Chapters and verses and red letters never kept anyone from reading the Bible. That's pretty much like saying the fork had 5 prongs and that kept me from enjoying the taste of the meal.