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Wick Allison

The Bible: Designed to be Read as Living Literature, the Old and the New Testaments in the King James Version Hardcover – November 1, 1993

by Ernest Sutherland Bates (Editor), Wick Allison (Editor)

20 customer reviews

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The King James Version of the Old and New Testaments is updated based on modern scholarship into a readable, continuous narrative in historical order, with maps and a new introduction. 100,000 first printing.

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This updated edition of the Bates bible (first published to enormous acclaim in 1936) appears at a time of increased interest in the Bible as literature. What does it offer new readers? Traditional chapter and verse numbers have been removed, and the books, especially narrative material, are divided into sense units. Poetry is printed in verse, and characters are identified in dramas (Job and Song of Songs). Material believed to hinder readers' enjoyment and understanding (genealogies, legal codes, repetition) has been omitted. Finally, the King James Version (KJV) is used because of its stature as a classic. Still, the question remains whether readers are attracted to the Bible as a literary classic or as scripture. If the former, all the editorial work can be justified. If the latter, it is debatable whether there is any "clutter" that needs to be deleted. In addition, the KJV is possibly not the best choice for presenting the Bible as "living literature" to people in the late 20th century. While this volume may inspire many to read the Bible for the first time, it is not the last word in "reading Bibles."-- Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

One of the great characteristics of the Bible is its flexibility. In an effort to improve upon its readability, Bates, succeeded by Lodowick Allison, has produced a great reader with a fluid format that heightens the literary quality of scripture. It is not intended as dilution of the sacred text. Rather, it presents the stories, poetry, and chronicles that have made the Bible a treat for the imagination as well as the spirit. "Begats" and regulatory statutes are absent. This rendition enjoyed a popularity between 1936 and 1957 and was featured in its first year as a Book of the Month. Allison has renovated the work as necessary. (Surprisingly, "thous" and "arts" remain in the text, but one is hard put to tamper too much with the language of the King James version.) A successful effort to draw readers into the mystery and mission of "the greatest story ever told." Gary Young

Hardcover: 1258 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st edition (November 1, 1993)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780671879594
ISBN-13: 978-0671879594
ASIN: 0671879596
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 2.5 x 9.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 20 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #410,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #60926 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles
- #88815 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

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Stuart Smith

A Beautiful Book

September 11, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is a very special edition of the Bible, designed for readers who want to encounter the Bible as a BOOK. You just start on page one and read to the end.

1} It is pleasant to look at! No double columns, no chapter and verse numberings, and because spellings have been updated, there are no ugly and distracting pronunciation marks littering the text.

2} It is EDITED. My admittedly unscientific guess is that you get somewhere between 70 and 80 percent of the biblical text, and that is including the selections from the apocropha/deutero-canonical books such as Maccabees, Wisdon of Solomon, and Sirach.

3} Ernest Sutherland Bates, the literary critic who edited and assembled this work, eliminated archaic legal codes, geneaologies, parallels or doubllets {two or more differing variants of the same story} and the two books of Chronicles {which are a reinterpretation of the books of Kings with lots of geneaologies included}. When you get to the New Testament, only the Gospel of Mark is included almost in its entirety, except for chapter 13, while Matthew and Luke present only material not found in Mark, except for the passion stories. Certain of Paul's letters which are considered doubtful to have been by Paul are left out, as are some minor and rather unimportant epistles such as Jude.

The books of the Bible are also rearranged in some respects. Ruth and Daniel are now in the wisdom literature where they really belong. Mark is the first Gospel presented since it is generaly thought to be the first of the four gospels written.

4} For literary beauty, the translation Bates chose was the Kings James Version, except for four books where the Revised Version was used instead, because Bates thought the revision superior to the KJV in terms of literary beauty.

I have read this work, and am re-reading it, and I have to say I love it. Unless you have some hangup about the Bible being the "Word of God" and therefore every single passage is important, then you will not appreciate it. But if you want to encounter the Bible as LITERATURE, and maybe as a source of religious inspiration, and you want beautiful English poetry and prose, then get a copy of this and read it!

One last comment: It does not matter if you get a used copy of the second edition with introductions by Lodowick Allison or if you find an older version where all the introdcutions are written by Bates. The text is pretty much the same whichever you get. Just take Bates comments about dates with salt. But I hope you get the updated edition with Lodowick Allison's Introduction. He explains much better than I the worth of this book.

9 people found this helpful

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Michigan Mom

Great addition to any library

November 7, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Bought this to replace a copy I lent out years ago and never got back. It is still my favorite way to read the Bible. Everything flows so much better without the verse breaks. It is an abridged Bible but I use it when I want to read as opposed to "study".

4 people found this helpful

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Emmy

Good

August 18, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is the Bible that Jordan Peterson recommends reading and it’s good. Designed to be read like literature. Easy to read. Wish it were still sold new.

2 people found this helpful

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Josh A.

a bit wanting

December 9, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Unfortunately this product leaves out genealogies and much of the Torah. It would have been preferable, in my opinion, to have inset these things so that the reader my, at their discretion, choose to skip over them, though not taking away from the fullness of the Scriptures.

5 people found this helpful

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Cari Lashley

Many years ago, I loaned my copy of this to a friend.

November 24, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This was a college textbook, and a friend wanted to borrow it. Big mistake, as I never got it back. I have often wished I could find another copy, and finally I did. It makes the Bible easier to read - poetry is written as poetry, history as history, quotes are in quote marks, etc. I am so happy to have gotten a new copy. Service was extremely fast, and although it was a former library book, it was in excellent condition.

2 people found this helpful

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