The Holy Bible: HCSB Digital Text Edition: Holman Christian Standard Bible Optimized for Digital Readers [Kindle Edition]

B&H Publishing Group (Author)

Book Description

This updated text edition of the HCSB is optimized for easy reading on digital devices. Free from the visual clutter of footnotes, cross references, and other links, this edition is fast to navigate and easy to use. 

The HCSB was developed by 100 scholars and English stylists from 17 denominations, who prayerfully translated what is one of the most significant Bible translations available today. The HCSB reflects linguistic advances in vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and formatting while it retains meaningful theological terms. In the HCSB you'll find God's personal name (Yahweh), the use of "Messiah" in the New Testament, and the use of "slave" in the New Testament, just to name a few examples. Also, you'll notice the contemporary speech patterns in the HCSB mean that words like "behold" and "shall" are not used. Instead, words or phrases that are common today can be found in their place. 

The HCSB employs a first-of-its kind translation philosophy known as Optimal Equivalence, which seeks to achieve an optimal balance of literary precision and emotive clarity through a comprehensive analysis of the text at every level. This process assures maximum transfer of both words and thoughts contained in the original.

Product Details

• File Size: 3500 KB
• Print Length: 1072 pages
• Publisher: Holman Bible Publishers (October 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0045U9UES
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,170 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Bible > Christian > Other
  • #86 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

303 of 309 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Text Edition for Kindle October 21, 2010

By D.MacDonald

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

B&H has done a lot of work in improving the HCSB over the last year and a half.

The newest print and digital editions feature an updated and revised text as well as many formatting improvements.

These new formatting improvements are what makes this edition the best choice for reading on a Kindle. I've read the NIV, TNIV, ESV, NET, NLT and the CEB New Testament on the Kindle and none of them are as reader-friendly as this one.

What makes it so reader-friendly?
-The Chapter numbers have been made smaller and the verse numbers have been made lighter to de-clutter the text. By contrast, most other Kindle bibles feature large, bold chapter and verse number that get in the way.

-The paragraph headings have been left-justified and made only slightly bigger than the text itself which means they are less intrusive. By contrast, most other Kindle bibles have either double-spaced paragraph headings or centered headings which interrupt the flow of the text.

-On the smallest font setting, the text appears single-spaced and so takes up almost the whole screen making it look and read more like a book. By contrast, most other Kindle bibles appear one-and-a-half or double-spaced on the smallest text setting making for less text on the page.

-The table of contents is only two pages on the smallest font setting making it easy to navigate to the desire passage.

If you're looking for a good translation in an easy to read format that reads like a book and not a reference work, then this edition is for you.

One small drawback: While the publishers have gone to great lengths to improve this version and make it more reader-friendly, each chapter begins on a new page.... So, for example, if you're reading 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 1 takes up a 1/3 of the page and you have to move ahead to the next page to continue on to chapter 2.

I contacted the publisher about this and they told me that the breaks are part of what allows the book to load and navigate as quickly as it does. That being the case, they welcomed my feedback and said that they would continue to wrestle with improving the reader experience. Read more ›

100 of 103 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love the HCSB, this edition is great! October 16, 2010

By C. Johnson

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love the HCSB Bible. It is the Bible I use for primary study. I have several other versions (both paper and kindle versions) that I reference occasionally, but the Holman is my standard favorite. It is an accurate translation combined with easy readability in contemporary English.

I previously purchased a version of the HCSB for kindle that was $9.99. This new edition is easier to use on the kindle. This edition was formatted ideally for the Kindle which makes navitation much easier. You can skip ahead chapters using the 5-way button which makes casual reading/skimming much easier.

96 of 101 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Kindle Reformat Wonderful October 8, 2010

By Dale Thompson

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I got this back a few weeks ago when it was first released and it was almost unreadable on the Kindle due to formatting issues. This updated release fixes all those issues. The HCSB is a great translation and now is formatted properly for the Kindle. Thanks Holman.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars chris January 3, 2011

By chris

Format:Kindle Edition

This is a review of the KINDLE version of the HCSB. I really like the HCSB and I love the fact that they are matching the ESV with a free Kindle version! If this were on the HCSB alone it would be 5 stars.

I have positives and negatives on the kindle formatting. First the positives. I love that the verses are in a lighter shade than the text, not nearly as distracting. I also like the table of contents. The free ESV has a separate line for each chapter of each book, so to get to Ch. 45 of Genesis you go through several pages! This TOC has the chapters listed across (horizontal) rather than down (vertical) so you navigate through to ch. 45 quickly. Lastly, I really like the formatting of the outline subtitles in this bible. Approximately the same text size as the text but in italics and no funny spacing above or below. It's been clean on this everywhere I've gone, most bibles I've seen have really large font size for subtitles and the spacing is distracting and leaves half the page blank!

There are also negatives however, first and foremost is no footnotes! There are great notes on the translation in this bible and none of them are available here. The esv includes these. This edition is also poorly transcribed. If you sit down to read this Bible for 20 minutes you will find at least two places were a space is missing between two words! I've picked up the errors easily every time, but come on!! I know, I know, it's free, but it wasn't for everybody and I haven't seen any of these errors in the free esv. This would be the primary bible for my kindle if it weren't for the two issues above.... The navigating could also be improved considerably by simply including the title of the book or abbreviation along with each chapter number in the text to allow utilization of the search function, without this you really have to go to the table of contents to get anywhere.

I paid a $1 for mine and it's free at the time of this post, so it's definitely a good deal for those amounts! Read more ›

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Readable and Accurate December 1, 2010

By Terri J. Rice TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

"Bible translation is both a science and an art. It is a bridge that brings God's Word from the ancient world to the world today."

This translation attempts to provide an accurate Bible in contemporary English. A literal translation is used if it remains clear and readable. Equivalence is used in translation if the original is difficult to render or not quite accurate when translated literally.

Holman CSB avoids "man" or "he"unnecessarily but it avoids restructuring the sentence to avoid "he" of "man." Holman does not change "him" to the second person, "you," or heaven forbid, making one man into many with "them" or "they." Neither does the Holman CSB neuter "fathers" and "sons" into a generic "parent" and "child."

The Bible is not attempting to adopt the current day trends but rather to make it very readable and at the same time very faithful to original texts.

The names for the Trinity are always capitalized, including the pronouns "He," "Him," etc.

So, as an example of a well known verse:

"For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." Jn 3:16

And an example of using third person masculine singular:

"Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and above all that you may prophesy. For the person who speaks in another language is not speaking to men but to God, since no one understands him; however, he speaks mysteries in the Spirit." Phil. 14:1

This version is very readable and at the same time accurate.