The New Oxford Annotated Bible- New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha- Third Edition (Hard Description:

The New Oxford Annotated Bible, New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha, Third Edition (Hardcover 9700A) review:
3 stars (Helpful for the novice?) - Of all the english Bibles I will only give five stars to the KJV. It saddens me how many different versions abound in the english language, NRSV, NIV, NKJV, AB and more and all the feud around it. True many think they need the current english written language to undertake the reading of the Holy Word. I own several english versions and study Bibles. It has confused me to the point, that I now have started studying ancient Greek, to read the words of the Apostles and Paul as they spoke them.



It does not mean I will not use those many versions to clarify and compare the meaning when I am in doubt. But I am sometimes afraid of become a Pharisee, a scolar of the Word, with an empty heart for our fellow brothers and sisters, one of the greatest sin.
5 stars (Outstanding) - The book was in excellent condition and I received it in plenty of time for my class.
5 stars (Like buying a fresh set of eyes) - Forget what you know about how easy the Bible is. Forget how simple it is to boil the Bible down into a practical lifestyle for today. Here is the Bible in all its historical complexity, in a rigorous and dependable English translation.



This NRSV is, in many ways, quite accessible: It is well designed and cleanly arranged. The detailed notes and scholarly chapter introductions help break up big questions into manageable pieces. For Protestants like me, this is especially helpful when it comes to the Apocrypha. Also, at the sentence level this is an approachable and even warm translation. The "N" in "NRSV" means no "thees and thous" to trip over, as well as the elimination of gender biases not found in the original Greek and Hebrew.



In other ways, this edition is very challenging. Gone are the "Apply This!" tips from your Evangelical pals. No one's explaining why Nehemiah is a good example of leadership, or the church today can take heed to Paul's letter to the Romans. You don't even get the comfort of "B.C." and "A.D." in the dates, which instead are represented as B.C.E. and A.D. In readability, it's less wooden than the NASB but not nearly as liquid and simple as The Living Bible or The Message paraphrase. It demands close reading and real pondering.



The power this edition holds for Christians is not that it will confuse and disorient, but rather that it forces the reader to notice that God's Word is always before us, that we can never get our minds around it or capture it with watercolor illustrations and leather bookcovers. Reading this Bible is a unique experience. Like seeing God's face, it is at once frightening and comforting, for we know we are seeing the omnipotent almighty who rules all truth and yet loves us enough to allow us to find it.