Customer Reviews

Gift and Award Bible (New Living Translation - NLT) Burgundy Cover

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The New Living Translation is a very readable revision of The Living Bible, and is an excellent Bible for casual reading. The English is contemporary, the wording generally clear and uncluttered.

Most of the caveats are found in the introduction. By the way, if you're not in the habit of reading Bible translation introductions, I highly recommend it. A little careful reading of the intro. will yield valuable dividends in your studies, and in weighing the pros and cons of different translations.

Basically this is categorized as a "thought-for-thought" translation, as opposed to a literal, or "word-for-word" translation. Which is good in terms of readablity. But something will inevitably be lost in the process, so it weakens its value as a study Bible.

If you believe in the inspiration of scripture, then you would have to believe that the words, as well as the thoughts, are important. Thoughts are more nebulous than words, hence, translation of thoughts becomes much more subjective, and prone to the translator's bias, intentional or unintentional.

Take as an example, Matt. 7:13 in the NLT, "The highway to hell is broad and its gate wide for the many who choose the easy way" As the footnote says, though, it is "the way that leads to destruction" which Jesus is referring to. A check of an interlinear or Greek Bible will reveal that Matthew did not use the Greek word Hades, which translates "Hell". So the translators have added their own spin, changing Jesus' words to fit their own theology. Every translator will do this to some degree, but the reader needs to be aware when he is reading the translator's thoughts, not the Bible writer's thoughts. In almost every case where the New Living Translation has opted to footnote a verse, I find the footnoted rendering to be more accurate, and hence, preferable.

The introduction also reveals that cultural idioms have been revised, to make them more understandable to the modern reader. However, a literal translation that presents them as they were written can offer valuable insights into the cultural milieu of the Bible's writers - you wont get that with the New Living Translation.

The NLT follows the pack of modern translations in substituting LORD or GOD for the divine name. This is a whole area of controversy, and this is not the place to address that controversy. Just to note that the NLT translators, like most others, have taken it upon themselves to eliminate something that the original Bible contained, changing it to fit an agenda which prefers not to include the divine name in those thousands of instances where it was originally included in the Bible.

The footnotes of the NLT, as mentioned, are valuable. The meaning of Bible names are sometimes footnoted, and many times when a verse contains a pun or a play on words, it is footnoted. Footnotes in the New Testament alert readers to quotes from the Old Testament, but unfortunately, the verse quoted is NOT footnoted in the Old Testament portion, a sad omission.

Overall a very readable modern translation, and worth having a copy of. Along with this I would recommend The Interlinear Bible by Jay Green (a very literal translation, along with the interlinear word-for-word), and Truth in Translation by Jason Beduhn.

The New Living Translation of the Bible is loved by many for its readability, yet it does have it's problems. While it is more faithful to the text than its predecessor, there are areas where the translators speculate regarding the true text. This is fine on occasion, but there are areas where the NLT actually stretches the text. For instance, in the narrative of Jacob and Leah, Leah's biggest fault was that she had "pretty eyes." While the meaning of this phrase is difficult in Hebrew, the meaning is clearly NOT the one set forth in the NLT. On the whole, it tends to be faithful to the Greek and Hebrew while being easy to read. Would recommend this for those unfamiliar with the Bible.

Very easy to read and understand. Unlike (Reviewer: HowManyGospelsWereDestroyed?) who rants against everything religious (check out his/her reviews and you'll know), I am actually interested in pursuing the truth, and there is a lot of it here and easier to understand for someone who really wants to understand the all important truth, not rant against it.

I bought this Bible because it was inexpensive and I wanted to use it as a gift, but upon receiving and reviewing this Bible I was suprised that I got such a bargin. All my Christian life (20 years)I used the King James or the NKJ, but now I am reinforcing what the Word of God has to say with added clarity in the New Living Translation. This Bible is Red Lettered and it has popular memory verses amplified all through the Bible with a comment on their meaning. At the beginning of each book it has introductory notes, which is helpful. This is a very good Bible for the price and is worth giving to people who you come in contact with that are seeking an answer to life's problems.

This is what I was looking for all of my life. Language I could relate to. I am not a scholar so I think any one can truly understand this wording....Thank God, I never thought it was meant to be hard to understand God and this makes it easy.

The New Living Translation is one of three versions of the Bible my pastor refers to during his sermons--the other two being the King James and New International Versions. The NIV translation has been (and still remains) my personal favorite, but I recently began reading the NLT Bible during some of my recent Bible studies and devotions, and I really love this version as well. It is very easy to read and understand. It is also quite inexpensive. I do like to cross-reference several translations during my study of the Word--namely the NIV, NLT and New King James Versions. Another version I've recently started to read and also like is the New Century Version. I recommend the Holy Bible: New Living Translation for study of God's Word, and it can also make a great gift for friends and family as well.

I bought this translation because I recently came back to the faith and I wanted a version that doesn't require me to extensively study Elizabethan English in order to understand what is being said (I don't think that's too much to ask). In that purpose, the New Living Translation is a resounding success. There probably isn't any perfect translation out there (which is why it's worth it to own a few different versions), but this one is easy to read, includes notes and brief essays to help set the tone of each book and to help the reader understand the historical, political and social contexts of the various periods and geographical areas. This appears to be more of a "thought-by-thought" translation rather than a "word-by-word" translation, which in the final analysis probably makes for a more accurate translation. At least it does in my opinion, which is sort of the whole point of these Amazon reviews, right? Where appropriate, an actual date is provided and currency revisions are included. Overall, this is an easy recommendation to make. My only real gripes are with the print justification (sometimes the red letters are aligned strangely to the black ones, but at least this version *HAS* the red letters, right?) and the general stiffness of the book sort of prevents you from laying the book down flat and not having to press down on it either with your hands or a heavy object. These are small complaints though and shouldn't disuade you from checking this translation out. And, again, don't rely on any single translation (and yes, this includes you KJV-lovers out there).

Let me start by saying that I love the New Living Translation, and I teach from it in my church. I ordered a case of these for my church recently, and have mixed feelings about it. First, the Bible isn't "Leather Bound", as it's described on the Amazon.com web site, but is, in fact, "imitation leather bound". I don't mind that it's imitation leather, but I feel it's misleading for Amazon to describe it as being leather.

This Bible has a lot of great features for such a reasonable price. I won't list them, because they're described in the blurb. But on the negative side, I found the printing on the pages to be rather faint, and difficult for an older person like myself to read. Also, there is very little inside edge margin on the pages, so one practically has to bend the book backwards to see the printing near the binding. Over time, this becomes rather annoying.

Over all, this isn't a bad Bible for the money. It is suitable for what it's meant for - giving away. I wouldn't recommend it as one's primary Bible, though, for the reasons given above.

This isn't to take anything away from the New Living Translation, which is truly an excellent translation (not a paraphrase, as some reviewers have claimed, but an actual and dynamic translation).

I teach a youth class at my church and got tired of the KJV. The kids just didn't get it. I went shopping for new Bibles for the class and narrowed the list down to the Contemporary English Version (CEV) and NLV. IMHO the CEV reads a little nicer than the NLV (the CEV was designed with just such an application in mind). But this particular edition of the NLV has a price that cannot be beaten. Being on a tight budget I opted for the NLV.

The kids seem to like this version quite well and the comprehension rate is infinitely higher than with KJV. In addition, it is my understanding that it is a bit more accurate than the CEV.

The only real complaint I have is that the type is extremely small. This Bible would not be good for anyone with difficulty reading small print. For a group of young kids it's not really a problem, but I wouldn't use this Bible for an adult class. But hey, what do you expect for such a low price.

This Bible is a very good value.

I absolutely love this translation of the Bible. To clarify, a translator takes the original words from the original language and makes it make the most sense in the new language. There is nothing wrong with a thought by thought translation, rather than a word by word translation, such as the NIV. THis is a wonderful Bible for those just coming into the belief, or those who do not understand some passages in a Word by Word translation. It is relatively inexpensive, and it is a wonderful gift. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone, and have bought several as gifts for friends and family.