The Voice Bible

It looks like the full Voice Bible will soon be available. I received an update from Amazon on my pre-order I'd placed back in October. Now it says "In stock but make require 1-2 days to process." If you've been waiting for the full Bible, it looks like your wait is soon over!

The Voice Bible: Step Into the Story of Scripture

Busy Dad's Bible

I received a complimentary e-book copy of "The Busy Dad's Bible" from Zondervan for the purposes of review. This does not affect my review in any way.

The copy I received had the 1984 edition of the New International Version Bible text. It appears the published version contains the newer 2011 text. Since I prefer the earlier edition, I was glad to get the early galley version to review.

This is one of those full text Bibles with extra study items stuck in. There are 52 "thought starter" sections added into the Bible. In the print version, these are probably glossy, thicker paper which would make them easy to find. In the electronic version I received, it was very difficult to locate them.

The concept is an interesting one. No matter how much time the reader has, there is a level of study ready. Each "thought starter" page has 1, 5 and 10 minute studies. Some of those sections are "Treasure," "Managers" and "Living for God." The questions are thought provoking and challenging. The studies are also listed in the back for easier access. Also included are a couple reading schedules: "5 Minutes reading about Jesus" and "5 Minutes in an overview of the Bible." There is also a concordance in the back.

The skeptical side of me wonders if this is just a repackaging for marketing purposes. After all, it is just an NIV Bible with a few extra studies and schedules stuck in to the text. There are so many different study Bibles that one begins to wonder at the motivation.

Yet, I also delight in anything that encourages people to read the Bible. Adding schedules right into the Bible is a great idea. I imagine a busy man picking up this Bible and being overwhelmed at how much text there is to read. Then, up front, he finds help getting started. If it draws him into deeper reading and study it is worth it!

The topics deal with some issues specific to men. There are studies on fatherhood, sex, anger and many other important topics. I was pleased to see they dealt even with difficult topics like pornography. However, I believe there should have been more depth to the treatment of the subject.

All in all, if I gave away a case of these and even one man read the Bible as a result I would consider it well worth the effort.

Busy Dad's Bible

Egermeier's Bible Storybook for Beginners

I received a complimentary copy of the e-book "Egermeier's Bible Storybook for Beginners" from Warner Press. This did not affect the content of my review in any way.

These Bible stories were written by Elsie Egermeier and revised by Robin Fogle. Illustrations were done by Pat Paris. This book was published in January, 2012. The ISBN is 978-1-59317-426-2.

First, I applaud the choice of title for this book. I dislike books being called "Bibles" that only have a small portion of the Scriptures retold or rewritten. It gives the impression to youngsters that this is the entire Bible. However, by calling it a "Bible Storybook" it gives the correct impression.

I have often used works like this to introduce children to the stories of the Bible. This could, of course, be read to children by parents or teachers. It could also interest young readers. While the back cover states "ages 4 and up" early readers would have trouble with this one. I estimate the right age would be children getting close the chapter book stage.

The book tells the stories of major Bible figures such as Adam & Eve, Noah, Daniel, Jonah, Esther and others. The latter half of the book is dedicated to stories about Jesus. At times the writer takes some license with the text, probably to make the story flow. For instance, we learn that "When Joseph died, Jesus worked to care for Mary and His brothers and sisters." I can't think of where that information came from off the top of my head.

I would use this book to teach Bible stories. The illustrations help keep it interesting for children. I would prefer to have included more stories that outline the Gospel better, but this is a good start.

Egermeier's Bible Storybook for Beginners

Name Change

My good friend, Bill Chamberlin, and I started calling ourselves "Bible Hunters" several years ago when we started corresponding about Bibles. Both of us are working on our books - Bill on a new work to follow up and replace his 1991 "Catalogue of English Bible Translations." And yes, I thought of it after hearing and watching Steve Irwin's "Crocodile Hunter" shows. It seemed hilarious to imagine a bespectacled researcher creeping through a bookstore like Steve did in the wilderness. The name stuck. Bill and I continue to hunt and record information from Bibles. Sometimes we release them back into the wild. Others we keep in specially maintained preserves where the Bibles are free to roam with others of their kind. Today I realized that my blog name was very clunky, so I changed it to the title I'd adapted many years ago.

Catholic Lectionary ESV

A Catholic Lectionary version of the ESV is underway. It may be finished by 2014. I read about it at the Catholic Bibles blog.

It looks like that post was referring to this post on the blog "Dominus mihi adjutor."

The Love Bible

This is currently just a couple posts on the blog I Was Lost & Now I'm Found. The editor is replacing references to God and Jesus with "Love." Working under the understanding that "God is Love" he has edited the beginning of Matthew, yielding phrases like "After Love was born in Bethlehem in Judea."