Customer Reviews

History of the Bible in English

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I found this book to be thorough and fair in its coverage of the Bible's English evolution. The writing style is accessible, fresh and even compelling. At times I found the book positively entertaining (it's a history book--and I'm NO historian). This book offers a fascinating glimpse at the lives and works of those who were often martyred because they believed that the Bible needed to be accessible to the individual (in English not Latin et al). As Tyndale said in his preface to the 1530 edition, "it hath but one simple literal sense whose light the owls cannot abide." Whether or not that's true, his passion comes across in F.F. Bruce's book.

This book reads like a novel. The Late F.F. Bruce had the ability to make any subject he wrote on lively and entertaining. It may be surprising to some that he does not think very highly of the NASB, stating that the RSV does what the NASB translators tried to do, but did it "better". The review of lesser-know 20th century translations is most excellent, but there is the error when mentioning the lectures in England by Colet on Paul's letters. Daniell in his masterful biography of Tyndale puts this false information to rest! If you read this book and Daniell's great work, you'll know more about the history of the English Bible than 98% of the typical pew-sitters out there! Highly recommended to all!

Prior reviews detail the specific style of F. F. Bruce and what is covered in this book. The only thing I can add is that for a layperson like myself this book is extremely informative and easily understood. I highly recommend the book.