Customer Reviews

The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order (NIV)

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4 star:		(11)
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2 star:		(1)
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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.

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!

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.

When reviewing this book, one must remember that it is not the NIV translation of the Bible that is being reviewed or the Holy Scriptures themselves. This review is purely based on the narrative that F. LaGard Smith has provided and the order in which the scripture is presented. I have read the KJV, the NLT, the NAS and the Amplified translations previously and I find that the "Narrated Bible" is by far the easiest to comprehend. The narrative commentary is brief but most helpful in giving a general overview of the scripture to follow. Is enlightens but never overwhelms. The sections in which Smith fills in gaps in the scripture (such as the intertestiment age) are very enlightening. The real strength of this book is in the ordering of the material. By grouping the material chronogocially the scriptures seem to flow and connect better than in the more traditional Bibles. Events that relate more clearer to the people involved and when they happens in relationship to other events and people make more sense.One could dispute the placement or order of some of the material (The scholars have not reached full consensus about the dates of many events),but Smith has done a very reasonable job of chronological organization. I would not suggest that this be the Bible that one carries to church each Sunday as following along in the service would require cross referencing the material (even though a cross reference is included in the book)or that this be the only Bible that you have. I would suggest that this would be an excellent Bible to read and study from if you wish to keep things in their proper historical perspective. It is an excellent addition to one's religious library and I would heartily recommend it.

This is a great reader's Bible (as opposed to a study Bible). First, it has all the readability advanatages of a 'dynamic equivalence' translation (it is the NIV).

Second, it is, as the title suggests, arranged in the author's best estimate of chronological order. One can quibble with a few choices (like the positioning of Job), but, on balance, it is superb. The author always gives his rationale for positioning.

Third, the author has eliminated duplicative material. For example, he does a wonderful job of combining the largely duplicative material in Numbers and Leviticus. But his best work is reserved for the life of Jesus in the Gospels. He has created a single account (again, arranged in his best estimate of chronological order) which includes all the material of each Gospel in an orderly presentation.

Finally, it is well marked for daily Bible reading such as to accomplish the entire Bible in one year.

All around, simply the best way to read the Bible through in a single year.

Chapter 8 is broken into several pages, 1375, 1376, and 1386 to name a few. The index is definately wrong. I haven't researched enough to find the particular passage, but I am pretty confident, that it is there, just not in the place that it is in a "standard" version (i.e. right after Peter's mother-in-law being healed -- that is on page 1375).

All in all, I found this to be a FANTASTIC read. It opened my eyes to the Old Testament especially (i.e. Samuel/Kings/Chronicals), as well as the prophets (major and minor). A historical setting makes the book come alive (for me).

I am especially pleased to find the book since I thought it was out of print (I have one that is > 20 years old), and the ISBN # has changed.

I guarantee that if you read through this version, that you will find thing that just make sense, that you wouldn't have picked up on by reading in the traditional order. For example: How many times did Peter deny Christ? (hint: it was more than 3 times).

I would also like to emphasize that this a NIV Bible, not a narrative or another interpretation. It just takes passages and rearranges them in a different order, (rarely) eliminating duplicates.

The only thing bad that I would have to remark about this book, is that it follows the (some copies of) NIV tradition of removing passages such as Mark 16:9-20 (pg 1482), with the footnote of "The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have..." I would have rather the text be left in and marked somehow.

I've been a Bible teacher for 30 years, so I'm used to referring to different Bibles for doing studies. I have also read the Bible cover to cover numerous times and in various translations. Without question, the Narrated Bible (or its softcover cousin: the Daily Bible) is the best Bible I've seen for doing daily reading. This Bible puts the NIV text in chronological order, has commentary interspersed, removes duplicate passages, and provides indicators that let you do daily readings to read it through in a year. It's the best!

I have had this Bble for many years and it is terrific when used for its stated purpose, and that is to present God's Word as a unified text. It even states in the introduction that it "should not be considered a substitute for the Bible in its traditional form. The sole aim of the book is to give the reader a greater appreciation of context, so that the Scriptures can be both more meaningful and enjoyable."

Besides its uniqueness among the plethora of Bibles that are available, it is an effective study aid that can help the reader understand...
- The Bible as the Story of God's relationship with mankind
- Understanding events in a cause-&-effect relationship
- Valuable historical context of the Psalms and the prophets
- Logical presentation of scattered concepts such as the Laws of Moses and the Proverbs
- The Gospel of Jesus as a single work
- Where the epistles of Paul fit in the context of his ministry.
- A complete bird's-eye view of Scripture in general.

Throughout, F. Lagard Smith uses narrative to smoothly segue from one section to the next. The narratives are tastefully done, guiding the reader as to the context of the passage while avoiding a particular doctrinal position, although Mr. Smith's views are generally of the conservative persuasion.

His use of the New International Version Biblical text is to be commended. It is generally accepted as a complete and accurate translation and its readable style is a good match to this narrative setting.

This format is also particularly well-suited to a daily reading approach. In fact, a 365-day reading schedule is provided and noted, which whill allow the reader to complete the entire Bible in a year with daily readings that can be finished in 15-20 minutes at most.

I would like to address one reviewer's comment that not every verse in the Bible is presented here. This is true to a limited extent in that there are several verses, particularly in the Gospels, that are essentially identical. Because of redundancy, especially in the Gospels, not every verse is included verbatim, and is so noted in the margins. Be assured, however, that the thought and meaning of each passage is definately present and nothing substantive has been omitted.

This work was undoubtedly a large undertaking, and I would like to thank F. Lagard Smith for the time and effort to provide such an informative and richly rewarding presentation of the Scriptures.

I enthusiastically recommend this work! It will occupy an important place in your library.

Never before have I read the Bible from cover to cover. The narration gives you a heads up to the verses following. I have the Daily Bible (same as The Narrated Bible)and with it I successfully completed the bible in one year. My husband uses his The Narrated Bible and we come together for devotion and he reads some and I read some. We can follow along well because both books are exactly alike on each page except I have mine broken down by Date (for example January 19).

I used this book as the "text book" for my adult Sunday School Class called "Old Testament for New Christians" The chronological organization and the use of New International Language made it very pleasant for the students and the teacher. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get the Big Picture without getting bogged down with books, chapters and verses.