Customer Reviews

Extreme Faith Bible: Contemporary English Version

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a children's pastor and have done studies verse by verse which compare this version to the NIV, and NKJ (which I had originally compared with King James). It is easier for young people and new Christians of any age to understand the Extreme Bible, without loosing the True interpretation of what the Bible is saying. It does vary "some" in the wording from NIV and NKJ. BUT NOT from the original meaning-which is the important point. This is NOT a paraphrase type version. Some people feel anything other then King James is not acceptable--BUT remember the KJ itself is also a translation from yet another language which had also been translated! I believe Gods Spoken and Written Word has still made it across most of the translations! In short I would highly recommend the Extreme Bible for Home reading and studies for any age alone or with your NIV, NKJ or standard KJ.

This is such a cool bible. You can actually understand what it's talking about better.

The kids in my Sunday School Class (Grades 4-6) (Age 10-12) really like this Bible. This is the one they pick (over KidsQuest) to look up bible verses. It is written in very understandable and readable english and it looks really "cool" on the outside. A real winner for this age group!!

I have a number of different versions of Bibles and when I started looking for a Bible for my 7 yr old who has a paperback NIV and has been reading from that since he was 4 yrs old, though he was able to read the NIV, it didn't always meant he understood what he was reading. So, I wanted to get him an inexpensive Bible that was close to the NIV's translation without deviating a lot like some other versions, where it would make memorizing Scripture a greater challenge. Anyway, with the Bible being under $5, I figured even if we didn't totally like it, it was not a huge waste to find out how we would do with this Bible.

A review from a children's pastor convinced me to get this Bible and I and my kids are super happy with this it. In fact, we are reading through the whole Bible together, my kids and I, out loud and we have read through 183 days' worth of readings.

This is NOT a study Bible. There are very few footnotes, the margins are small, so you have to write tiny, if you want to write in it. Unlike my NIV Applications Bible that only has 1 column per page with lots of study and footnotes and bigger margins, this CEV Extreme Faith Bible has 2 columns per page and is basically the reading of the Bible. Each book of the Bible begins with a summary of the book. At the back of the Bible are some maps, a read through the Bible in 1-yr schedule (we are following this at an accelerated rate), and a few other FYI or study things, but it's not many pages.

I have the NKJV, KJV, NASB, NIV, NIrV, the Message, ECV translations and have compared them to the CEV. The CEV more closely resembles the NIV, but is less wordy. For example, in the books of the Law, like Numbers & Deuteronomy, it will list the names of the descendents but not repeatedly in the CEV as it does in the NIV. When you're reading this outloud, that makes a HUGE difference, as many of those names are hard to pronounce. There are many instances in which in the CEV it may use 15 words for the sentence where in the NIV it will use 22 words. Now, that may not be a huge difference, but multiply that over paragraph over paragraph through 66 books of the Bible. That's a lot of extra words.

The CEV is understandable even for a 7-yr, but then, my 7-yr old is quite sharp already doing 5th grade math. It is enjoyable to read and there are times some of the way it's translated into more modern language makes it funny to read. I can't remember where, but it talks about something being like a toilet (using a metaphor) and it cracked my kids and I up.

One of the things that I did notice of the CEV other than modern lanugage is some of the names of God. In the KJV, in 1 Chronicles 14:11, it uses the word Baalperazim, but the CEV says that God is the 'The Lord Broke Through'. The Hebrew meaning for Baalperizim is "The Lord of the Breakthrough". For me, reading that the Lord Broke Through is much more meaningful than Baalperazim, and for a 7 yr old or 10 yr old (my daughter), this is more descriptive. There are many other examples similar to this through what we've read.

The schedule of reading through the Bible in the back of the Bible is awesome. It splits the reading into 3 different section for each day. One is about the first half of the OT, 2nd half of the OT and the NT. It does not go exactly in canonical order and does periodically do some skipping around. Psalm isn't read altogether but split up. Most of the books are read from start to finish, a little each day. Sometimes what is read in one section is reiterated in another section of the OT or NT. That just reinforces the point.

We chose to read out of the CEV over the other translations because it was just easily read and easier to understand.

Note that this Bible is a paperback, but the pages are sturdy as compared to my NIV applications Bible where the pages are almost thin like rice paper. The font is small, but that's not a problem for my kids and I. This is a no frills Bible, but for the under $5 price, it's easily well worth more.

I purchased a number of these Bibles to donate to a residential treatment center for children (ages 12-18)being treated for emotional trauma stemming from severe abuse. They were using King James Version Gideon Bibles. Since these kids are usually way behind in reading levels for their respective ages, they were very frustrated trying to read/understand the KJV. They were so hungry for God's word, we needed to find a version they would love to read AND understand. This version fits perfectly! The chaplains, who are local pastors, reviewed this version and were very impressed with how they made something so similar to KJV a readable text for young people unfamiliar with the Bible, and who are not drawn to the poetic wording in the KJV. Highly recommended.

I purchased this Bible for one of the teenagers in my Confirmation Class. She likes the CEV translation and paperback format.

Excellent replacement for my son who lost his Bible and needed one who needed one for a good price until we had more money for a higher quality print format.

I grew up in a "King James only" church and still love the KJV. But my kids have always seemed to struggle with the archaic English. I never cared for Modern versions, especially the NIV (which seems to go out of it's way to not be the King James, and usually seems to use more words than needed to get the point across).

After comparing Genesis 1 & John 1 online in all of the modern versions, I really like the CEV and we bought my 6 year old a CEV Children's Bible. She loved it. So I ended up getting our 3 older kids and my wife and I CEV Bibles as well. Since there were several CEV Bibles to choose from, I ended up ordering one of each kind. Out of all six, this paperback version seemed the best suited for our teens. And with the low price we plan on buying some in bulk to give to our kids' friends as well.

Extreme Faith Bible is what we chose to give the families we presented with Christmas Food Boxes. Our church is trying to provide for physical and spiritual needs of underprivileged families.

Just a note to say that this Bible is not the true Word of GOD. It is showing a Love towards God that is not true but that is just written so that people can feel better about themselves. Sorry for a real believer, this is not good. I suggest reading the KJV - the true version. It is not hard to understand, well it is if you think about it, but these new bibles really are not any easier, just put in a more complicated way.