Bible Question: I'm looking for a really accurate English Bible translation fot study purposes; I can't decide between NASB The New Inductive Study Bible or NASB Updated Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition, what do you recommend/use? |
Bible Answer: Accurate study Bibles ChrisJ: The study Bible I've used daily for the past seven years is the MacArthur Study Bible, New King James Version. Before that I had used the Ryrie Study Bible since 1978. I continue to use it, right alongside the MacArthur. I have heard nothing but good things about the New Inductive Study Bible. However, if I'm not mistaken, it does not contain study notes along with the text. If it's explanatory footnotes you're looking for, then you'll want to seriously consider the NASB Updated Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition. The Ryrie is considered a subjectively oriented study Bible, conservative, dispensational. "The Ryrie Study Bible can be characterized as the Scofield Reference Bible for the end of the twentieth century . . . [it] has a strong following among evangelicals." (John R. Kohlenberger III, "How to Choose a Study Bible," www.equip.org/free/DB135.htm) Before you buy, go to a Christian bookstore and compare the study Bibles there. For customer reviews (by real people -- not professionals), go to Amazon.com At the Amazon website, enter the name or ISBN of the Bible you want to look up. When the next page comes up, click on a title. Then scroll down to read customer reviews. Moreover, I recommend that whenever you do a word study, you have on hand the following three translations: a) King James or New King James; b) the New American Standard Bible or the English Standard Version; and c) a good colloquial translation, such as the New Living Translation (NLT) or Today's English Version (also known as the Good News Bible). Grace to you, Kalos |