As a member of Zondervan's Z Blog Squad, I received this book free for review purposes only. I was not required to write a positive review, nor did I receive any other compensation.
The NIV Sequin Bible is a sparkly, girlie Bible in shades of blues and greens instead of the typical girlie pink. This Bible is less than one inch thick, so suffice it to say that the writing is a bit small, but not hard to read. This Bible also lays flat when open, making it easier keep your place.
Chapters are broken down with subheadings. For example, the first chapter of Luke has the subheadings “The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah”, “Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son” which helps the read to be able to quickly see what is covered in the chapter.
The above two paragraphs are the only positive points to my review. If you are looking for a fluffy, feel good review you might want to stop reading now.
The Preface to this Bible has some interesting information that you may want to know before using this particular edition. The Old Testament was translated using the standard Hebrew text, the Masoretic Text. There are footnotes that indicate where there may be inconsistencies in translation, or where the translation references has come from the Septuagint, other Hebrew manuscripts and even the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are also many footnotes that say things like “The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain”, for words that are pretty easy to understand on their own.
The word “Selah” has been removed from Psalms in most places, and has been replaced by a footnote. I’m sure other things have been removed, but I didn’t have time to proof read the entire Bible. Additionally, there are chapters, or parts of chapters that have been printed in a different font text to show that they are of “questionable and confused standing”, including Mark 16:9-19 which tells of Jesus’ resurrection. How can one profess to be publishing the gospel of Christ, but make it appear as though His resurrections is a farce?
This particular Bible also has the issue of being “gender neutral”. References to “he”, “him” and “his” have been replaced with “they”, “them” or “their” to and I quote “replace a generic singular ideal”. I’m sorry folks, but there really is a male and a female. I realize that the world is buying into being gender neutral and it is ridiculous at best. But when a Bible publisher starts changing the Word of God to make it, and again I quote “the generic use of the “indefinite” or “singular” to suit the norm”, that’s just too much for me to swallow. Call me ugly names if you will, but it’s bunk.
To wrap up my review, this was originally to be a given to one of my daughters to replace her worn Bible. I can assure you that is not the case now. In the last paragraph of the preface the publisher has this sentence “We trust, however, that many will find in it an improved representation of the Word of God….”
One cannot improve on the representation of the Word of God. It says what it means, and means what it says.
You can purchase this pretty, but erroneous Bible directly through Zondervan for $29.99.
That was an awesome review! Totally made my day.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm glad some one sees my point! Have a great day!
Delete