Customer Reviews

The Complete Guide to Bible Versions

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I thought this book was a fair, mediocre overview of different Bible versions, although I would strongly hesitate to call it a "complete guide." It doesn't really go into depth; so if you are looking for a mere skim over different English Bible versions, it may be alright. However, for a more in depth study of the different English Bible versions, I would rather refer to and recommend Jack P. Lewis' The English Bible: From the KJV to the NIV.

Pro - you can read this book in one sitting

Pro - the information is to the point and clear

Pro - the information is presented in a confident tone and seems well researched

Con - My edition was from 1991 but it appears the latest revision is only 1996. It seems that some new revisions have hit the market since so it would be good to have an updated edition of this book to cover the new changes in the market

Pro - I feel more knowledgeable about which translations to use in my study or in general conversation with folks

Con - a small index in the back would have been helpful. Yes, the book isn't very large, but some of the latin terms would have been nice to quickly look up instead of going through each page one by one

Pro - The back section of my copy covered Children's Bibles which was a nice add on I felt

If you can get your hands on one of these, it is more than worth the time to read it.

This guide is well written in my humble opinion: It is friendly & unassuming (very accessible); concise & beautifully succinct; authoritatively objective and nearly complete. You can breeze through it in a day or two and come out feeling like you've been enlightened by a respectable professor of Theology. Find a used copy or just look for it in your local library. I am confident that you won't regret tracking it down and spending just a little time out of your life for this little gem. I especially urge agnostics & atheists to look at this guide willingly, honestly, and with humble & open-mind for understanding the where/what/how & when of the Scriptures. I remember with enthusiasm that, 'There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation.' - (Herbert Spencer) and `The most important thing we can know about a man is what he takes for granted and the most elemental and important facts about a society are those that are seldom debated and generally regarded as settled.' - (Louis Wirth) enjoy enlightenment