Customer Reviews

Holy Bible Text Edition NLT (Bible Nlt)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The NLT is my favorite translation of the Bible. I have paper copies, but, I wanted a version for my Kindle.

Unfortunately, there are two problems with it. The red letter sayings of Jesus are rendered a light gray, almost unreadable. In addition, the Chapter links are not arranged wisely. Making it difficult to navigate to certain sections.

Very disappointed with the rendering. With some minor adjustments by the publisher, this would be an excellent addition to a Kindle library.

I started reading the New Living Translation while working through an upper level course on Greek exegesis. I was simply looking for a version that emphasized a sentence-by-sentence translation as opposed to a word-for-word translation (because I was required to do this type of translating for my assignments). I was pleasantly surprised with the NLT. It is a very impressive work, and makes for very smooth reading. The translation team also made the wise decision to translate the dates in the text into their modern equivalents. So, whereas previous translations might read that a certain event happened in, say, the twelfth year of a certain king, the NLT will (based on historical data) read that it happened in "586 BC" or "on April 22nd, 722 BC" They have also done the same thing with other forms of measurement (including currency, weight, and time). This makes the events seem much easier to relate to.
For these reasons (and others too) I think this is a really good version. So, if you are looking for a translation that focuses more on the overall meaning of each sentence, and not just the meaning of each word, I heartily recommend this one.

I find that reading different translations of the Bible helps to keep it "fresh" for me and give me new insights. This NLT is one of my favorite translations for regular reading because it flows so smoothly and I discover new meanings and nuances that I did not realize in reading other versions. The "contemporary" language (things like weights, measures, time, etc.) gives it a modern immediacy that helps me to integrate it into my everyday experience in the secular world.

Several of us at my church use the NLT - and I've noticed that whenever someone reads an NLT aloud in adult Bible class, it seems like at least one other person in the room comments on what a good rendering that was, and asks "what translation is that?"

There's no other bible like it on earth! This bible breaks every single scripture down for clear and concise understanding. It totally reads like a book and it's so difficult for me to put it down. I love it! I highly recommend this bible to all who are ready to accept the knowledge within. This bible is a true blessing!

I am chiming in on the Kindle version's very unfortunate choice of gray lettering for the words of Christ. It really makes reading the gospels a labored experience, trying to discern the gray lettering on the Kindle's light gray screen background.

The obvious decision should have been to make ALL the text black. Some NLT print bibles do just that, so why wasn't that followed?

I do very much like the New Living Translation, a great balance of accuracy and readability in it's dynamic-equivalence approach to translation. It makes for a great reading Bible (versus a more literal study translation).

However, a possible work around for Kindle users is to use the NLT for everything other then the gospels. For the gospels, I would recommend The Voice New Testament, that is also a great readable translation for reading large portions of the bible at one time.

Also, if you own an iPhone, be aware that a free Kindle program is available for it so you can read all your Kindle books. The iPhone renders the words of Christ in red and the white screen background provides great contrast. The iPhone, surprisingly, isn't that bad of an e-reader and may be all you need for a bible study or class. The soon coming iPad also promises to be a great device for this type of problem with it's ability to render color like the iPhone.

Hopefully, Tyndale will get the message. (And while I am at it, I wish the Kindle Bible producers would address the issue of the superscript verse numbering that makes the line spacing very uneven and choppy. As a web designer I know that is an easy fix.)

Update: I now own an iPad and would say, for the Bible, this is the ticket. Olive Tree's NLT app is the answer to all the above mentioned problems. The Words of Christ are robustly red with an option to turn them into any color you want. The superscript verse numbers do not force the line spacing into uneven, choppy paragraphs but keeps all lines nice and consistent like your print Bible.

Best of all, the app has a very fast navigation system to find passages quickly. You'll be able to take it to a Bible study or even keep up with the pastor's sermon. Also, highlighting and note taking is the best I've seen in an eReader yet.

This comment is to aid others planning to get this edition of the NLT and not to aid with an opinion of the translation itself. The words of Christ are dim but readable on the version I downloaded on April 7, 2009. However, they are very readable and I perhaps don't see this as big a draw back as others have. I look forward to reading it and comparing it to other versions of the Bible I have on the Kindle 2 presently. I agree with another reviewer that various translations keep you very interested in reading the Bible.

I just purchased the Kindle version of this today. I believe that the search feature has been updated based on the other reviews I have read. The first page of each book allows you to choose any chapter from that book and go there directly instead of paging through. Each chapter also now has the book title before the number. For example if I am looking up Romans 3:23 I can type in Romans 3 and it will allow me to choose Romans 3 from the bookmarks and takes me to the first verse in the chapter. When paging through, each chapter now lists the book that it came from so you wouldn't become quite so lost. (Romans 1, Romans 2 etc...) You only have to look as far as the closest chapter heading to figure out which book you are in although each page still only lists the locations at the bottom and not the book you are in. Each verse is not bookmarked so I have to page through the verses in each chapter to find the one I am looking for as I cannot search for chapter and verse. Depending on the length of the chapter this could take a while but it is much better than only searching for the book and having to page through each chapter. The words of Christ are still in light gray although I don't find this to be much of a limitation. In some lighting it might be more of a problem. All in all I am quite pleased.

Poorly formatted for the Kindle. It is a"Red Letter Edition" that renders words of Christ in a very light grey - difficult to read - I ran it by some seniors in their '70's and they lost interest quickly. Maps included are copies of color versions from original hard back edition, grey scale limitations of Ink system not factored - maps are unusable. Cannot zoom in to view. Columnized TOC wastes screen space. Search capability of Kindle not taken advantage of. No commentaries, dynamic links or annotations included. Overall I was very disappointed. I hope an update edited for the Kindle will arrive.

The NLT, God's Word Version, and The Contemporary English Version (CEV) are the only 3 I have found using common English terms for "technical theological concepts." Where all others use "theological terminology" meaningless to the non-skilled reader, and require external study aids to understand; terms such as "justification, propitiation, expiation, sanctification, redemption, regeneration," etc. the NLT, GWV and CEV have rendered the Greek roots into common every-day terminology. The NIV, ESV, NAS, NKJV, etc., by opting to maintain/use these "tech terms" have done so to preserve 400 year-old obsolete terminology in vogue in universities/seminaries at the expense of clarity and ease of understanding for the non-theologically trained reader. In my opinion, this puts the NLT, CEV and GWV light-years ahead of the popular NIV/NKJV pack in reader comprehension. For non Christian readers investigating Christianity, and for new Christians (and a lot more of us who enjoy understanding what we are reading), this unique difference/distinction of the above 3 versions (using non-tech terms for key theological concepts) puts them light-years ahead; and puts God's Word where it belongs, out in the open where it can be understood and applied by the average reader. Even if you favor the NIV/NKJV/ESV, etc., consider this new way of evaluating modern English Bibles before you update your Bible inventory.

I don't understand why the prose portions of the text are not properly justified. Neither do I understand that Christ's words are in very light grey, making them hard to read.

I asked for a reimbursement.

Edit: Amazon asked me to delete the file and it's right now in the process of reimbursing the money back to my account. Great for Amazon.