New Jubilees Version of the Sacred Scriptures

This version is found in a four volume set titled "The Beloved and I" by Thomas McElwain. It is not clear if this is a complete translation or poetry inspired by Scripture. It can be found on the lulu page of Thomas McElwain.

Illustrated Bible Update

The Illustrated Bible Old Testament is due to be published soon. Samples from both the Old Testament and New Testament are available at Free Illustrated Bible. Both the Old and New Testaments are available on disc now as well. In November the Illustrated Bible will be issued with the New American Standard Bible text instead of the ICB text.

Right now, paperbacks are available with Genesis, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Samuel, Joshua+Judges+Ruth, Matthew, John and the full New Testament. The full New Testament was published by Thomas Nelson and is running out. It will be reissued by Neely Press at a higher price.

The free samples include the books of John and Jonah as well as the stories of David and Goliath, Gideon, Samuel's calling and Elijah.

NIV 2011

The NIV 2011 update will be available online in November of 2010. According to the NIV Bible Update site, it will be on BibleGateway.com and Biblica.com. Print versions will be released starting in March of 2011.

International Children's Bible

I was given a complimentary copy of the International Children's Bible by Thomas Nelson publishers through their BookSneeze program.

This is called the "Big Red Bible" by many people. This new edition contains many full color pictures which appear to have been drawn via computer. The text is "The Holy Bible: International Children's Bible" with a copyright date of 1999. This is a paperback
with the typical thin paper making it a reasonable size. There are no cross references or marginal notes. Extras include a dictionary, "Where do I find it?", memory verses and four color maps.

The text is easier to read than other translations. However, a problem will arise if attempting to use different editions of the "International Children's Bible" (ICB) in a group setting. For instance, the Illustrated ICB Bible New Testament text is not exactly the same as this text. As an example, this Bible has "he was appointed to be God's Son" in Romans 1:4. The Illustrated ICB Bible says he was "declared to be God's Son." The differences show that there may be confusion or lack of control of the text. The reading in the "Big Red Bible" goes back to that found in the earlier 1986 edition of the ICB. If all copies are the same edition, or this is used for just one reader, this may not be a problem.

I might use this in our church setting as an easier-to-read Bible version. I would be more likely to use the Illustrated ICB instead.

Taverner's Bible of 1539

I've just added a facsimile of the Taverner's Bible of 1539 to the Museum Store. As with all my facsimiles, there are some limitations due to the quality of scans I was able to find. There is some text loss in the gutters, mostly affecting the marginal notes. However, I think this is a readable copy of an historical English Bible.

Bishops' Bible of 1568

I've completed a Bishops Bible facsimile for the Bible Reader's Museum. Visit the Museum Store. Click on facsimile Bibles, then scroll down to pre-1611 Bibles. This is a 3 volume set due to the limitations of Lulu.com. I've also got a two volume edition that was used as a proof copy. There is only one - it is available in the Special Sales section at a reduced price.

Type in Word and Convert to PDF? Read this!

William Welty, translator on the International Standard Version, discovered a problem converting from WORD to PDF. For instance, in Matthew 11:15 the Word file has “Let the person who has ears listen!” but when it was converted to PDF it read “Let the person who has listen!”Read about it in the Orange County Register. There is more about the problem at the ISV website.

If anyone has one of the defective ISV NTs and would like to donate it to the museum, please contact me.

Bible Version Encyclopedia

I just got back from the International Society of Bible Collectors conference (more about that later). I had some copies of my book available at a discounted price. There are (right now) three paperback copies left at the reduced price of $20.00 USD plus $4.00 shipping in the continental USA. Visit the Specials page to order a copy. The BVE is at the bottom of the page.