Source View Bible

The Source View Bible is not a new translation. It is a reformatting of the New Living Translation. It was "developed by David Joel Hamilton, International Vice President for Strategic Innovation, YWAM (Youth With A Mission) at the University of the Nations, Kona, HI." By setting paragraphs apart and using different colored text this Bible makes it clear who is speaking. Subtitles on the left indicate the speaker of each paragraph as well. Click on "Preview" - on the right side of the page is a download of the book of Jonah. Overall the layout looks like a colorized play script.

The Gospels

Today's entry is not a new version of the Gospels, but a new layout. It is an edition of the World English Bible done by Chad Whitacre. It is designed for readability and ease of access. There is an extensive review of this edition at The Bible Design and Binding Blog or you can visit Chad Whitacre's site for a PDF download and purchases in print.

The New European Version

Today's new version of the Bible is called the New European Version. It is, according to the website, a "remediation into modern English of the New Testament as found in the KJV and ASV." In some difficult or controversial areas, a new translation is provided. Downloads are available in PDF format.

Billy Graham in Quotes

Graham, Franklin. Billy Graham in Quotes. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8499-4649-3.
I've always learned a lot from Billy Graham's writings. This book gives a topical approach to hundreds of short quotations from his teachings. There are quotes from his many books such as The Holy Spirit, Till Armageddon and many more. There are also quotes from Decision magazine and books by other authors containing quotes from Graham.
Topics include things such as Repentance, Conscience, Addiction, Conversion and many more. There are about 107 different topics covered in this book. The quotations range from very short ones ("The central message of the Bible is Jesus Christ.") to those consisting of 6 to 8 lines.
This book can serve as a devotional by just reading a topic or even just a few quotes each day. It can also be helpful when preaching a topical sermon. It also serves as a peek into Graham's longer writings. If a quote piques one's interest, the endnotes will point the reader to the source.
I find I use this more for a reference - looking up a particular topic for a good quotation or to point me to Graham's works where a topic is discussed in more detail. I would not read straight through this work. This would be a good addition to a church library.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers. This has not affected my review in any way.

Billy Graham in Quotes

Tree of Life Bible

And there's another one! This one is called the Tree of Life Bible. The New Testament is available on Amazon.com in hardback or you can get the paperback book of John. The book of John takes 1-3 weeks to ship from Amazon.com right now. This is a Messianic Jewish family Bible. The Old Testament is expected in 2013. The New testament is translated from the Nestle Aland 27th edition of the Greek and uses "Yeshua" for "Jesus." Learn more and view a sample at mjcbp.org.

Codex Sinaiticus, Facsimile Edition

While this blog is for English Bibles, I do occasionally come across other language Bibles that deserve mention here. One such Bible is the new facsimile of the Codex Sinaiticus from Hendrickson. It is 828 pages long, 13.5 inches wide by 16.5 inches tall. I am not fortunate enough to be able to afford one yet, as the retail price on this is $799. I noticed in recently in the catalog of Christian Book Distributors for $499. You can see it online at their website. Unfortunately, Amazon.com has it at a much higher price of $639.20. There is a review on Amazon.com by author David deSilva. However, even at $640, it is cheap compared the the Codex Vaticanus B available online. I'd love to hear from any of you that own a copy or have had access to one.

Two Day Sale at the Museum Store

Lulu.com has a sale going on which means savings on Bibles and books at the Museum Store. It is only good for today and tomorrow though.  Use the code SINK to get 20% off your order up to $100 off.  If your order is $500 or more, use the code SWIM to get 25% off.

New American Bible, Revised Edition

The New American Bible, Revised Edition is available online now. Thanks to Catholic Bibles for the tip!

The Truth New Testament?

Does anyone have the Truth New Testament by Colin Urquhart?  If so, could you please send me John 14:6 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17?

The Kingdom New Testament

The Kingdom New Testament by N. T. Wright has been announced on HarperCollins website.  It is due to be released on October 25th.  It will be available in hardback or e-book.  It is available for pre-order from Amazon.com.  From the HarperCollins ad:

From the man Newsweek called “the world’s leading New Testament Scholar,” N. T. Wright, comes a fresh, vivid translation of the New Testament.  This is The Message for a new generation. Not in centuries has such a powerful new translation of the Scriptures arisen for Christians everywhere, changing the way the entire English-speaking world can access the books of the New Testament. Wright seems to do the impossible, at once achieving a closer match to the Scripture’s original Greek, invoking more appropriately gender-neutral terminology, and providing a more natural, readable tone to the readings—even while magnifying the vibrancy and urgency of the original works. For Christians worldwide, this stunning new translation of the New Testament from the author of Simply Christian and Scripture and the Authority of God is a crucial way to re-claim the message of the Bible.

Bible Software for iPad

There are so many different Bible applications for the iPad that I don't hope to even list them all.  I certainly won't be trying all of them.  One I am trying out right now is called "YouVersion".  It can be used on the web or on many different devices.  There are apps for the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android, Windows Phone, HP Web OS, Java, Symbian and Mobile Web.  One can read the ASV, AMP, CEB, CEV, CPDV, Douay, ESV, GNT (with or without deuterocanonicals), GWT, HCSB, KJV, LEB, MSG, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NIV (1984), NIV-UK, NLT, OJB, TNIV and WEB.  Many of these are available to download for offline use.  All the above versions are available whenever your device has web access (3G, Wifi, etc).  The NIV, NIV 1984, NLT and TNIV can only be used online.

I tend toward pretty basic Bible use.  I want to be able to look up a passage and read through whole books easily.  I don't usually use the notes or book mark features.    My goal with devices and their apps is that I can carry more versions than I could in paper.  I use the iPad to supplement, not replace, my paper Bible.  If I cannot quickly get to a verse in a particular application then I won't use it.

Reading straight through is fairly easy.  Tapping left and right arrows on the screen move from one chapter to the next (and back).  Swiping the screen up and down moves through the chapter itself.  Jumping to a verse is easy as well.  One tap brings up a scrolling list of books.  Tap the book and a nice large chapter matrix appears.  Tap the chapter and the verse matrix appears.  Tap the verse and you're there.  I found the larger numbers helped my clumsy fingers.

I should add that right now I am only downloading/using free Bible applications.  YouVersion is free to use.  Registration is required to download versions and is also free.

Illustrated Bible for iPad

I've recently added an iPad to my bag of tools.  In looking at different Bibles for this platform, I'll be sharing what I find from time to time.  This morning I found a free sample (the book of John) of the Illustrated Bible.  This is an app, not a e-book or PDF.  If you have web access, you can view many more samples of the Illustrated Bible at the Illustrated Bible website.