We recently released a new One Year chronological Bible that has the unique feature of including woodcut prints of historic christian art throughout the Bible, which we commissioned specifically for this project. There are 12 images--one for each month, featured in each reading for the month)

24/7 (in both hardcover and softcover) also has a unusual nearly-square shape, which allows space inside for single-column text with a generous outside margin, in which a verse has been highlighted for each day's reading.

This is one of my favorite new releases of the year, as I really like the fresh, narrative reading of the Bible that the chronological format (and the NLT) gives and I love the historic christian symbols used in the text.

Here's what some others thought of the various aspects of this Bible:

Woodprints

"The beautiful watermarks of twelve historic Christian symbols are what make this bible stand out from the rest. If you like art, these watermarks on each page will liven up your day. I really like the design because these classical pictorial watermarks add a unique flavour to each page for each day. For example, there’s the crown of thorns, the dove, the cup of the Last Supper, the basin and bowl, the lamb and the cross, the seven lampstands, plus more. There is a new symbol for each month."
-Kevin Sam (New Epistles)

Timline in Introductory Material

"I’ve mentioned before that I’ve often had problems keeping track of varying time periods in the Bible, not the least of which is due to the canonical order not being chronological. These timelines along with the chronological layout of the Bible eliminates this problem."
-Nick Norelli (Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth)

Size

"The Bible is small and chunky: shaped a bit like a desktop calendar. It will pack easily into a briefcase or backpack, which for my lifestyle is very useful."
-Eddie Arthur (Kouya Chronicle)

"The paperback version is relatively light and small and would be good for people on the go who want to read during lunch or on the bus. Please don’t read while driving."
-Jeff (Scripture Zealot)

"This Bible does a good job being compact, but very readable."
-Brent Kercheville (Christian Monthly Standard)

Verse Callouts

"Every reading has a “verse callout” in the margin. This is one particular verse that editors found to be an important key to the reading. I found this particularly useful, especially for memorizing scripture or for having a passage to meditate upon once your daily reading is completed."
-Brent Kercheville

Dates Indicated in Daily Readings

"Dates are often included in the Bible as can be seen in the larger version of the picture above under Jehoshaphat Rules In Judah on the left page which is extremely helpful."
-Jeff

Chronological format

"I believe chronological Bibles provide a wonderful opportunity for people to read the scriptures have see how the recorded events fit together. The prophets offer greater clarity when placed in their historical context. The book of Acts can have greater meaning when one is able to see what Paul was going through when he penned each of his letters."
-Brent Kercheville

" Well, for those such as myself, who have problems with regimented reading, this Bible takes all the fuss out of it. A reading for every day of the year is clearly marked out and it leaves no room for excuses"
-Nick Norelli

You can try it out for yourself with this PDF of the first pages of 24/7.

Labels: chronological Bible, Laura Bartlett, NLT Bibles, One Year Bible

Merry Christmas! Take a moment to read these passages from the NLT, remembering who it is we are celebrating as we enjoy our family and friends this year:

The NLT made its debut on YouVersion yesterday. YouVersion self-describes as "A revolutionary online Bible that enables community and collaboration like never before."

Sam Duregger announced the update on the YouVersion blog yesterday and it has been fun to watch the response in the form of dozens of enthusiastic tweets from YouVersion users.

If you haven't had a chance to check out YouVersion yet, I recommend it. It's the best instance so far (in my opinion) of the Bible on the social web and it also offers tools for personal notetaking and organizing if that's what you prefer.

YouVersion has tons of functionality, and some of the most notable are its mobile applications, including iPhone and Blackberry apps. Keith Williams tells me from a conversation with Bobby Gruenewald that there are over half a million users of the iPhone app who have spent an average of almost five hours each reading the Bible on it.

Thanks to the YouVersion team for the work on getting the NLT onto YouVersion. It's great to see talented people using their skills in service of the Church.

Labels: Bible Usage, Laura Bartlett, YouVersion

Last month, Wendy Pope of Proverbs 31 Ministries shared her story of accomplishing her goal of reading through the Bible with the One Year Chronological Bible in the NLT. Wendy says: "The Bible my husband gave me was unlike any Bible I had ever seen. It was a Chronological Bible written in the New Living Translation. The format fascinated me. The Bible was written in the order in which things happened and in an easy to understand translation with daily readings that were not overwhelming. The goal was beginning to look more attainable than ever. I could not wait for the New Year to start so I could begin the challenge set before me."

She challenged her readers: "Will you take the challenge to know the Savior's story like never before and join in me reading through God’s Word in 2009?" She says that she prayed that 20 people would accept her challenge. On Monday, she reported that they have sold over 1000 NLT One Year Chronological Bibles. "Watch out world, change is coming," says Wendy.

Here's a photo of the Proverbs 31 staff praying over the first few hundred Bibles: Wendy has posted on her blog more great photos of receiving and praying over the Bibles they received.

If you're planning to read through the Bible in 2009 and don't have a reading partner or group to do it with, consider reading with the P31 ministry--having support is so important during a process like this. Wendy is going to start a column or forum on her blog for participants to "read the Word together; posting our thoughts, fears, frustrations, excitement, fresh insights, basically holding each other up during the adventure."

Labels: Bible Usage, Laura Bartlett

Labels: 1 Cor 13:3, textual variants

We've received word that Westmont College has been affected by wildfires rushing through Santa Barbara. A number of secondary buildings have been destroyed. Thankfully, there are no reports of human injury or death on the campus. Here's a link to information posted on CTI's site: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2008/11/fire_destroys_p.html

Our co-blogger Tremper Longman teaches at Westmont. I tried to reach him this morning, but so far I have not been able to connect with him. Please pray for wisdom for the college administrators as they wrestle with the implications of this campus tragedy.

Labels: Mark Taylor, Westmont College

I recieved a few comments in the last couple of days via several types of electronic media and they had an interesting symmetry:

Twitter: "Look into NLT. My kids have really taken to it. Started reading their Bibles daily without prompting afterwards."

Facebook: "Because the NLT uses clear, contemporary English, I spend more time focusing on the message of Scripture and less time trying to "translate Biblish." Difficult passages, like the Prophets, never really spoke to me until I started using the NLT. Because the NLT brings clarity to Scripture, I have started reading from it when reading to my children with great results."

Email: "The more I read the notes in the NLT Study Bible, the more I realize how good they are. Clear enough for a high school student to understand, yet the scholarship is superb."

Blog: "Hey everyone!!! We are making a change in !gnite [a Jr. High Youth Group in NJ]. We are going to be moving from the NKJV Bible to the new NLT Bible. It's totally awesome and a lot easier to understand....in the New Living Translation, this is accomplished by translating entire thoughts (rather than just words) into natural, everyday English. The end result is a translation that is easy to read and understand and that accurately communicates the meaning of the original text." (This was actually a blog post from September, but I just saw it today)

We occasionally attend children's conferences for the NLT, and this is the sort of comment I'd get a lot: the NLT uses natural english, so it's clear without being simplistic. Because of this, I can use it to good effect in my children's ministry, but I enjoy reading it too because it's accurate and doesn't feel over simplified.

Anyone else have experience using the NLT with kids or teens?

Labels: Laura Bartlett