Customer Reviews

NET Bible First Edition (with notes)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

While I like this translation, this review is about navigation using the Kindle. Of 5 Bibles I have on Kindle, the NET Bible is far and away the easiest to navigate. I wish the navigation instructions were in the Introductory Matter, as I had to look around and finally do a lot of practice on the Kindle to figure out what I now know. One link, [...]
had some information, but it was about a different Bible. Here is what I learned:

The abbreviations of the Books of the Bible are shown in the Table of Contents, and they are needed for Direct Jumps. Here are the abbreviations:
Genesis(ge), exodus(ex), Leviticus(le), Numbers(nu), Joshua(jos), Judges(jdg), Ruth(ru), 1 Samuel(1sa), 2 Samuel(2sa), 1 Kings(1ki), 2 Kings(2ki), 1 Chronicles(1ch), 2 Chronicles(2ch), Ezra(ezr), Nehemiah(ne), Esther(es), Job(job), Psalms(ps), Proverbs(pr), Ecclesiastes(ec), Song of Solomon(so), Isaiah(is), Jeremiah(je), Lamentations(la), Ezekiel(eze), Daniel(da), Hosea(ho), Joel(joe), Amos(am), Obadiah(ob), Jonah(jon), Micah(mic), Nahum(na), Habakkuk(hab), Zephaniah(zep), Haggai(hag), Zechariah(zec), Malachi(mal), Matthew(mt), Mark(mk), Luke(lk), John(jn), Acts(ac), Romans(ro), 1 Corinthians(1co), 2 Corinthians(2co), Galatians(ga), Ephesians(eph), Phillipians(php), Colossians(col), 1 Thessalonians(1th), 2 Thessalonians(2th), 1 Timothy(1ti), 2 Timothy(2ti), Titus(tit), Philemon(phm), Hebrews(heb), James(jam), 1 Peter(1pe), 2 Peter(2pe), 1 John(1jn), 2 John(2jn), 3 John(3jn), Jude(jud), Revelation(rev)

Note: In the text below, "click" means to press the center of the 5-way. Double-click means press the center of the 5-way twice. Also, "bb" means the desired Book abbreviation, "cc" means the desired chapter number, and "vv" means desired verse number.

The Kindle does not have numbers on its keyboard. To enter a number without using the Sym key: press and hold the Alt key, then press Q for 1, W for 2, E for 3,..... O for 9, and P for zero. To move the cursor around the screen use the top, bottom, left, and right buttons on the 5-way.

1. Go to Old Testament Table of Contents: press Menu, click Go To..., click Table of Contents
2 Go to New Testament Table of Contents: press Menu, click Go To..., click Table of Contents, press > on 5-Way (saves paging forward through the O.T. Books).
3. Go to a book at chapter 1, verse 1, using Table of Contents: click on Book Name
4. Go to a book at verse 1 of a chapter using Table of Contents: click on chapter number under name of Book
5. Direct jump to a Book at Chapter 1, Verse 1: type bb.1, double-click.
6. Direct jump to a Book at verse 1 of desired chapter: type bb.cc, double-click.
7. Direct jump to a Book at any desired verse of any desired chapter: type bb.cc.vv, double-click.
8. Go to next Book in the Bible: press > on the 5-way.
9. Go to the previous Book in the Bible: press < on the 5-way.
10. Identify Chapter and verse in current Book: superscript numbers show cc.vv for each verse.
11. See which Book you are in: page back until you see the chapter heading, which gives Book name.
12. Go back after jumps: press Back key until you get there.
13. Take the Menu off the screen: press Menu.
14. Take the Sym window off the screen: press Sym.
15. Take the Text window off the screen: press Aa key
16. Go to a note link (subscript number in Bible text): click on the subscript number. Notes may be tn (translator note), tc (text-critical note), sn (study note). Return using Back key.
17. Read about this Bible: press Menu, click Go to..., click Introductory Matter.

Hope this helps others, and I will be glad to see additional hints on navigation from others.

Careful new translation, lots of notes, search shortcuts for navigation

This is the fourth NET Bible I've bought. I got the first "beta edition" printed version, the final first edition printed version, the Olive Tree version for my old Palm computer, and now this one for Kindle. The NET is a readable, careful translation, sometimes going for correct meaning at the expense of style. There are extensive translator's notes, which appear as numbered links in the text that take you to the end notes section of the book. The notes say things like how the translators decided what to do when manuscripts disagree, what certain ancient words and phrases are thought to mean exactly, when words have been left out or altered for stylistic reasons, and so on.

To give some example: The first few verses of Genesis are accompanied by nearly a page of notes, covering neat subtleties such as the fact that the Hebrew word used here (and elsewhere in the Old Testament) for "God" is "'elohim" which is a polite plural noun used with singular verbs. That's something we never do in English, so it's normally lost in translation. In the Psalms, the notes indicate which ones are acrostics (word games) which is another detail almost inevitably lost in any translation. The New Testament marks quotations and paraphrases from the Old Testament and includes the references in the notes. For example, Mark 12 refers to Psalm 118, and there's a note in Mark 12:10 with a link to Psalm 118:22.

You can use the linked table of contents to get to a specific book, chapter, and verse, but normally I type in the shortcut. Another review mentioned this feature, but I'll add some detail about how it works: The table of contents lists an abbreviation for each book, like ge for Genesis, jn for the Gospel of John, php for Philipians. To get to a particular verse, type in a search string consisting of the abbreviation of the book, a period, the chapter number, a period, the verse number. I assume the period was used instead of the traditional colon because there's a period key right on the keyboard but the colon is in the symbol popup. The only disadvantage to all of these shortcuts is that the text-to-speech feature reads out the invisible verse tags as it goes.

I really like taking notes electronically and highlighting favorite passages. The list of highlights in the Kindle reader is nice because it shows you part of each bit of highlighted text.

The web site for this translation is [...].

In one word: awesome!

This is a modern translation with 60 thousand notes, which provide a treasure trove of information such as the choices that translators made, what alternative readings are possible, textual variants, how the phrase is translated by other translations, etc. The notes give lots of details on original Hebrew and Greek (Greek is even displayed in this Kindle book). The navigation is similar to that from the KJV version here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TG4P8Q/ In other words you have a choice of linked TOC, or entering the passage and going there directly (for example, jn.3.16 will take you to that verse).

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to carry my Bible around in my pocket. I've used the Net Bible during church sermons and easily been able to keep up. The linked TOC is absolutely wonderful, and makes it so easy to find the exact verse in a matter of seconds. If you're looking for a great Bible for your Kindle or other e-reader with the Kindle app, you can't go wrong with this one.

The NET bible is an excellent translation from the folks at [...] and Dallas Theological Seminary. A modern, conservative translation with copious translator's notes as well as study notes and textual criticism explanations. I have it in hardcopy and digital format and it is very useful for in-depth study. It is in between the NASB and ESV on the readability scale. Highly reccomended

There are many other reviews of the NET Bible, so my comments are only regarding the Kindle. I have a leather-bound copy, as well as copies on multiple Bible software platforms. As I'm moving more and more to reading electronic, I wanted a copy of the Bible on my Kindle. After seeing comments on other Bibles about frustrations over the interface, I was glad to see positive comments regarding the Kindle interface for the NET Bible. I can affirm what others have said. This is a very usable interface. Very pleased.

The Net Bible is a very good bible to have on the Kindle. It is easy to maneuver between books, chapters and verses. It is also written in a very down to earth style and easy to read, as well as understand. I purchased this version very quickly while at a meeting because I needed a bible right then (since no one else seemed to have one in church that day), and I was able to quickly get to the scripture needed. Worth the price!

This review is about the Kindle version.

I really enjoy this version and purchased it for my Kindle, specifically for the Direct Verse Jump (DVJ) feature. Unfortunately, it appears the version Amazon is selling (as of June 2011) no longer includes the DVJ feature.

I contacted OSNOVA about the problem. This was his response:

"I (OSNOVA) did the conversion of the NET Bible for the Kindle in 2009. I did it as a service to the copyright holder Biblical Studies Press (bible.org). They are the ones selling it and I have no control over their decisions. It appears that they may have replaced the OSNOVA version of the NET Bible with some other version of the NET Bible on Amazon. You may want to contact them or Amazon to indicate that you would like them to return to the OSNOVA edition."

Bottom line--

I have contacted Amazon and asked for a refund. OSNOVA has the Bible at the same price and upgrades purchased directly from him are free.

Yesterday I downloaded the most recent upgrade (3.1) onto my Kindle and lost the Direct Verse Jump (DVJ) function on my Net Bible. After checking at OSNOVA, I learned about the DVJ-2 method they are now using. Ends up that it works with my upgraded Kindle. On any Net Bible page just start typing (you don't have to click "Menu"): e.g. jn 4 16 and double-click. It's the same as the old method, only using spaces rather than periods.

I like it on the kindle but would also like the maps. Sure I can print them out from the Net Bible's website, but it wouldn't be that difficult to put in kindle format and link to the places. Please come up with a version that does that!