Today's Parallel Bible
by Zondervan

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Book Reviews of Today's Parallel Bible

Book Review: "Ugly Duckling" Quickly Becomes Christian's Useful Swan
Summary: 4 Stars

I don't want to sound crass or irreverent, but at some level the buyer has to consider value, relevance and intellectual import when looking to buy Scripture outside of his/her home tradition and Scripture. Every denomination advocates a particular version of the Bible--and there are at least ten widely-distributed versions suitable for laity and pulpit alike among the various large American affiliations. (Tons of minor ones, too.)

With the very best of intentions, religion majors, seminarians and even Divinity School Ph.D. candidates can get set up for the fall by taking their various schools' dictates literally. With various degrees of authoritarianism, these groves of academe are almost obliged to parrot Denominational Doctrine and try to enforce use of Headquarters' preferred translation: the language used can be as blunt as "It is heresy to read any version other than that approved by the Holy [Headquarters] in [European City]; to the public-relations-friendly but equally authoritarian "Our denomiantion recommends the [New Blank] version because it has its roots in the [Blank] version, the most popular new book of 1953; also our newest version is fully [historically accurate, gender-neutral, etc.]."

Here's the irony: sooner or later, whatever the bureaucrats tell you, you're going to want to consult other translations. After all, that's all the Scriptures we have access to are: TRANSLATIONS. Most, if not all, of your teachers will be scholars and theologians, not disciplinarians and dogmaticians, and they have few scruples about consulting other texts. You'll probably even be asked to compare a few on your own. Inerrancy and doctrine is not the point for informed laity and clergy so much as further enlightenment and truth; and after all, Jesus had plenty to say about truth in the Sermon on the Mount.

In Exodus 3, God says to Moses, "And I am sure that the King of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand." This is a tad difficult to understand, yet far from the most obscure KJV reference translatable into 21st Century English. Consulting the other versions in this volume--NASB, NIV and TLV--will open up that verse much more handsomely. It's important to remember that Moses didn't communicate in the 1611 English of the King James Bible. In America, we have freedom of religion, and if you want to hold the KJV the only inerrant version of God's Word, that's your privilege; nonetheless you or someone you know will eventually consult other versions, even if late at night in the dorm room with a flashlight (seriously!). And even the most straight-laced study groups, in my experience, develop curiosity and cross the fence now and again.

Ironically, buying a parallel bible at first looks like a waste of money, like buying four backpacks or four college pennants when you already have what you need. But it's a savings in the long run because of the consolidation effect, let alone the convenience of having four major translations laid out for you side-by-side (two on each side of the page). If you steal a march now and spend the money, I've a hunch you'll be glad you did.

Of course, the less duplication you already have, the better. In this case, if your denomination is Roman Catholic and insists on the NAB, or "Oldline" Protestant and joneses the NRSV, you're home free. 'Most everyone respects the NIV for its readability, authority and efficiency. (Don't be thrown by the assumption that a low "word count" in the NIV indicates that subject matter has been omitted--it hasn't, but has simply been rendered more idiomatically.) The KJV is, and probably always shall be, a cornerstone of Modern English ("For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.")

The NASB traces back to a pre-World War One ancestor; at that time its origin lay in theological schism but more recent versions have to do with accuracy, readability and exactness of thought. (While bibles like the NAB or NRSV can be called "Literal," the NASB is "Strictly Literal"; happily, though, while thorough it is felicitous and does not read like a clunker.) On the other hand, the TLV is a very successful paraphrase, an intelligent and thoughtful one that is nothing like some of the "dumbed down" versions we're getting these days that translate Shekels into dollar amounts or "afternoon" into "three o'clock" in a sorry attempt to housebreak everything to the American pre-adolescent reading standard. TLV is fresh, lively, makes no pretense to carry forward any pre-existing literary tradition, but can quite often and surprisingly shed extra light on the subject matter.

Students: Spend the money; you'll be glad you did in the long run. Grandparents, parents, girl/boyfriends: forget the scarves and CD's and gift certs and go for this one--it will truly grow in value as long as your cherished one owns it.

I have a couple of minor quibbles. The KJV is in the public-domain. The NIV is licensed to lots of different publishers. The TLV is owned by a particular publishing house but like the other two, beginner's versions are quite inexpensive. Considered simply as a combination of texts, this makes *Today's Parallel Bible* expensive--but I must say, that is well counterweighted by Amazon's generous discount and the book's usefulness as a study bible. For its size and weight, this tome is not spectacularly well bound, and it's better to use a book bag or backpack lest it develop "wiggle cover." Nonetheless few, if any, Christians who want to study various Bible translations in depth can go wrong here. Go for it! :)

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