137 of 138 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent work on a very difficult historical task., August 13, 1999
A very excellent work which shows a tremendous amount of research. F. LaGard Smith has attempted and succeeded in accomplishing what the title says: to lay out the entire Bible chronologically. When the term "narrated" is used in the title it should not be miscontrued as his narration. His comments are kept to a mimimum and are highlighted as his. His perspective is clear. The Bible is capable of standing on its own to express itself historically. The only time he breaks with the historical narrative structural theme is when the purpose counteracts the historical narrative, i.e. the grouping of the religious, criminal, and civil laws of the Israelites. I did not feel I could agree on the placement of both Job and the Book of Galatians in the structure of the historical narrative but those are minor criticisms compared to the tremendous work that went into it. His choices for their inclusion at the points he chose are valid options among scholars and are not lightly discounted. I have read through the "Narrated Bible" at least four times and I am now on my fifth. The breakdown into daily readings provides an easy way to use it as a daily devotional tool. The indices include a chronology of significant events, a daily Bible Reading Schedule, and a cross reference index as well as a various assortment of maps. The text is from the New International Version. I wholeheartedly recommend the volume to anyone who enjoys daily Bible readings and a study of the scriptures in general.
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96 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of a kind Bible - in chronological order!, November 15, 2001
This review is from: The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order (NIV) (Hardcover)
This Bible is wonderful for putting events into historical context. While it should not be the only Bible you read, or the Bible you take to church with you, this is unique and can help you GREATLY in understanding the order of events in the life of God's people.
The 4 gospels are put into one long story called "Life of Jesus". This is a HUGE help! You can so much more easily take in all that the Bible tells us about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! In the Old Testament, the author combines the events of Samuel, the Kings and the Chronicles - most layment are confused by these books and if you're reading them in order, you'll find yourself saying "Didn't we cover this already?". Having it all put together in one story is so helpful!
F. LaGard Smith includes some "devotional commentary", which is clearly marks as such. He also divides The Narrated Bible into daily readings for those wanting to read this through in a year. The sun icon tells you you've reached the end of that day's reading. If you want this same text to be divided up by date (like the One Year Bible), you can get "The Daily Bible".
You will find the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah put into their historical context - I believe that your faith will be enriched and your understanding improved by this wonderful book!
Oh, something important to mention is that you can always easily find exactly what verse you're reading. The reference is in the margin, and in the case of the Gospels, all references to that event are noted, with reference used by the wording of the passage is highlighted in bold.
There is also a complete index, so you can quickly find any verse in the Bible. So you needn't worry about not knowing what book of the Bible you're reading.
Amazon has a GREAT price on this Bible! Take a "look inside" to see some of the pages, and order it today!
You might want to check out my other reviews of Bibles, Christian books, and Christian music. May God bless your study of His Word!
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87 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Missing text????, August 29, 2002
This review is from: The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order (NIV) (Hardcover)
I have been enjoying The Narrated Bible for a year and a half now and have specifically enjoyed the chronological order. However, just recently, I was reading a portion in the Gospels (page 1375) that had Mathew 8::14-15, 16-17. This happens to be one of my favorite portions of scripture, so I was excited to read it. However I noticed that it didn't contain verse 17 (which is a quote from Isaiah 55). I thought that was rather strange, so I looked up Mathew 8:17 in the index (page 1712) in the back of the Bible. It indicated that this particular verse should be found on page 1385. So I flipped over to 1385, and there isn't a single scripture on that page from chapter 8, its all from chapter 7.
I called Harvest House Publishing to ask them about the missing scripture, and they told me that they used a parallel account of Peter's mother in law getting healed where it doesn't mention the fulfillment of the Isaiah text. I understand there need to make the Bible flow correctly, but leaving out that particular piece is rather disturbing to me.
So basically, this single scripture (Mathew 8:17) does not appear in this Bible. It makes me wonder what other scriptures are missing. I will continue to use this Bible, but I will always be wondering what is being left out.
Though you should know before you pick one up.
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