Customer Reviews

GNT Holy Bible, Good News Translation

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

 

 

Shopping for a Bible is, in some ways, more complicated than shopping for a car. (And the Bible, in theory at least, is supposed to transport you a lot farther.) So many competing translations, so many different "features". (Would you believe metal covers?) I looked at literally dozens of different products before settling on this slow-but-steady-selling edition and I'm perfectly satisfied.

Before we get to the contentious issue of translation, there's an even more fundamental matter to consider - the physical manufacture of the book. All the "slim" and "compact" volumes are a bad joke - paper so thin you can read both sides at once, and print so miniscule that I defy you to get through ten chapters without getting a splitting headache. The perfect editions for people who want to bestow, own, or be seen owning a Bible but have no expectation of it ever being read. (That's okay. God loves you too.) You can ignore the paperbacks too, unless you've gotten the Good News courtesy of a stretch in one of our penal institutions and are really short of money. The hardcovers are just a little more expensive in most cases, will last ten times as long, and are ten times more pleasant to use. Eliminate all the ones with poor fonts and inadequate margins and you've seriously narrowed the field. This edition doesn't engage in the tacky (but popular) practice of printing the words of Jesus in red, but if you're afraid you'll lose track of them otherwise, you could always mark the pages with a red highlighter and draw arrows labelled "Over Here!"

As for the translations, arguing their respective merits and demerits is as fun (and unsettleable) as picking All-Time sports teams, but unless you're fluent in Koine Greek - in which case you need to get out more - the only important question is whether it reads well enough that you'll actually want to read the blessed thing. (The theological disagreements that arise are so trivial when you really get down to it that it's hard to imagine even God caring about them much. I mean none of the translations out there read: "No one comes to the Father if he's a Presbyterian.") And on that score, the Good News Translation trumps all others, in my considered opinion. I suppose The Message is even easier to read, if you can stomach the idea of Jesus sounding like a used-car salesman with a *really* great deal. But among the serious translations, this is the only one that doesn't have the weird verbal contortions and spasms that scream "I'm translated!" (The best-selling NIV seems to suffer from Tourette's Syndrome, by comparison.) This is real honest-to-God (so to speak) English and it's a pleasure. Put it this way: the NIV has the overwhelming market share [Windows] but the GNT has the superior operating system [Mac].

I can imagine the Proud (shame on you!) bristling at the informative subject headings and the somewhat childish line drawings (unmistakably redolent of the 70s, when they were made, but effective in their simple-minded way) but personally speaking I rather enjoy these pedagogic booster seats.

The Good News Translation is for all intensive purposes a paraphrase (thought for thought as opposed to a word for word translation, and Zondervan publishing even calls it such on their web site). I originally picked this book up for my nephew to help him understand the bible. It is in plain english, and I feel it at least helped give him an accurate tool for understanding the bible. I have grown to regard the GNT as the best paraphrase on the market (in my humble opinion). This truly is a translation that can bring the saving message of the gospel to our next generation. I don't use this bible for personal study, but it's great for just sitting down and reading the bible as you would a good novel. Great for children and adults alike. An A+ indeed.

I use another Bible in my everyday reading. There are times when something is lost in the translation and another version would bring the text into focus. This is how I use the GNT, and I use it quite often.

I received this as a gift and I love it. In turn, I bought it as a gift.

The bible came in great condition and my wife and I absolutely love this edition. It makes reading the bible much easier and more relavent to our lives.