NASB/The Message Parallel Bible [Leather Bound]

Zondervan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2004

The most literal translation and bestselling paraphrase together in one volume * The NASB and The Message side by side * Instant comparison deepens your grasp of Scripture * Double-column format If your translation of choice is the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and if you appreciate The Message for the freshness and clarity it brings to your reading of the Bible then you'll love NASB/The Message Parallel Bible. Setting the NASB and The Message together for the first time ever, this Bible allows you to instantly compare today's most literal word-for-word modern translation and Eugene Peterson's bestselling paraphrase. NASB/The Message Parallel Bible features: * The trustworthy, literal interpretation of the Updated NASB, today's foremost word-for-word modern translation. The NASB is used by millions of people, from scholars to pastors to everyday Bible readers who appreciate a more literal translation of God's Word. * The story-like flow and penetrating insights of The Message. Emphasizing a narrative reading of the Bible, The Message is treasured by countless Christians for the way its contemporary language illuminates ageless truths. * Double-column format. * Ribbon marker.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The most literal translation and bestselling paraphrase together in one volume • The NASB and The Message side by side • Instant comparison deepens your grasp of Scripture • Double-column format

If your translation of choice is the New American Standard Bible (NASB)

and if you appreciate The Message for the freshness and clarity it brings to your reading of the Bible

then you’ll love NASB/The Message Parallel Bible.

Setting the NASB and The Message together for the first time ever, this Bible allows you to instantly compare today’s most literal word-for-word modern translation and Eugene Peterson’s bestselling paraphrase.

NASB/The Message Parallel Bible features:

• The trustworthy, literal interpretation of the Updated NASB, today’s foremost word-for-word modern translation. The NASB is used by millions of people, from scholars to pastors to everyday Bible readers who appreciate a more literal translation of God’s Word. • The story-like flow and penetrating insights of The Message. Emphasizing a narrative reading of the Bible, The Message is treasured by countless Christians for the way its contemporary language illuminates ageless truths. • Double-column format. • Ribbon marker.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Leather Bound: 2176 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (August 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310927323
• ISBN-13: 978-0310927327
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,028,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL!!! I just wish the Message incorporated verse numbers, November 22, 2005

By 

Deborah Shore "deb" (in transito) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NASB/The Message Parallel Bible (New American Standard) (Hardcover)

It took me several years to get drawn to the Message style (the book of Romans is particularly a MUST read in this heart-opening translation!), and I am much too "into" precision to read the Message without a literal translation by its side (I would consider the Message a paraphrase--highly useful but not appropriate as a stand-alone for serious study). So it was definitely God's perfect timing that I found myself looking for a copy of the Message Bible just when this parallel was available for pre-order. In recent years, I'd come to use the NASB as my "base" translation, typically finding it more accurate than others when I investigate the Hebrew or Greek (though with some verses I'm more impressed by the NKJV, which I would also gladly commend as a readable and beautiful "base" version for those who are "into" words). So I eagerly anticipated receiving the Message with my base translation side by side. And I have not been let down save one quibble: Namely, it would be enormously helpful for me if the Message text was also numbered. Even with the passages side by side, it often takes a long while to figure out what portion of the Message corresponds to which verse in the NASB. (Although the translator intended the Message not to be broken up by the verse numbers you find in most translations, there ARE numbered versions of the Message now available, but they are not parallels). Generally the Message is wordier, causing the corresponding NASB to fall on quite a different part of the page, and in those books of the Bible in which the authors hearken back to the same ideas a lot, figuring out just what corresponds to the NASB verse can slow me down enormously.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every penny, September 17, 2007

By 

J. L. Schram "Shoe Critic" (Chitown) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NASB/The Message Parallel Bible (Leather Bound)

I just love The Message. Of course it's not a literal translation, but the author has an amazing grasp on the heart of the Revealed Word. The Message leans heavily on metaphor to convey the intent of the text, and the metaphors used in nearly all cases ring true. Some are so true they draw tears to my eyes (probably because they just hit me right between them). They make understanding the intention unavoidable, and are very compelling.

The introduction is stand-out priceless. Here is a bold assertion: the introduction to this version makes it a useful starting-point, maybe as a gift for someone who ordinarily wouldn't want to sit down and read a Bible for whatever reason. It cuts right through the usual arguments of skeptics by setting the terms of the discussion from the beginning, laying out plainly (and endearingly) what the Bible is and why it is what it is. It makes it easier to see it on its own terms, aside from a million rumors.

The NASB on parallel is good. It is said to be the most literal. I have not researched who says it is the most literal, but there you have it. It makes a good companion to the Message, and I think I like this pairing better than, say, the NIV, for instance. I originally looked for a KJV parallel but found none, and now I can see the reason for this. Its translation is close enough to the KJV to be able to be followed easily but the idiom is more current and broadly accessible. (I am raised Southern Baptist at a time when all memorization was done in KJV and the nuances of the idiom were still commonly understood. We all started in choir as soon as we could read, too. Obviously, those days are gone -- and won't come back no matter how tenaciously we hold onto our thees and thous and 'the way we were'.) Back to the NASB -- it seems to shed light on some obscurities. It creates other obscurities but that is the nature of translations, right?

The introduction is more of a scholarly work, which is informative if not inspiring. It lays out what I think of as it's short-comings, and I really like that. It's the caveat emptor part, so you should read it. I don't really see the version to be less valuable for that, but I am not speaking for everyone.

For the most part, the Message goes beyond expectation in clarity, in impartation of truth, and readability. There are places where it doesn't seem to quite grab the essence, but hey, the KJV misses the point occasionally, too, sometimes badly -- that doesn't make it less magnificent. Rather reminds us how sweet we have it because the Primary Reference Source is interactive, has an intuitive interface, and is always at hand.

Yes, very glad that the Author lives in me as a personal consultant -- wouldn't want to try to sort through it without Him, would miss the best bits -- insight into the delightful nature of the Author, capacity to make the intended personal application -- really optimizes end-usability -- all quite refreshing benes. Would happily refer anyone who finds themselves in a frustrated, argumentative bog over one or all of the translations of this text on an ongoing basis.

I am thrilled with this pairing. It has breathed new life into my study.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Bible, January 9, 2007

By 

S. C. Bowles (Evansville, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NASB/The Message Parallel Bible (Leather Bound)

This Bible brings one the most literally-word-for-word translated version and the most liberally spirit-of-the-text modern reading. A wonderful, wonderful reading Bible.