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Adam wrote:The main problem with the single volume is the very thin paper and ghosting. We don't read any other books that have paper that thin and ghosting. It really does make a big difference. My thought is: If you are going for a Reader's Edition, put out all the stops and make it a true reader's edition. The thicker paper makes quite a difference.

Adam wrote:The great thing about removing chapters and verses is that it moves us away from proof texting and considering individual quotes out of context. But when doing detailed study and interacting with books and commentaries, obviously the chapter and verse references are a must. So when doing detailed study, the chapter and verse Bible is the way to go, but when reading, I would highly recommend this type of Bible. We get so caught up in the details of the text that we often miss the big picture of what it is trying to say to us. I would say that is true even for the academic--chapters and verses and notes and cross-references interfere with the flow of reading the Bible. It is visual clutter, which affects us all. (Not to say that the clutter doesn't have its use for detailed study.)

Valerie wrote:I have to admit it is hard for me as I read the ESV because I will read a passage that I was familiar with in the KJV or NKJV version and I get perplexed why the ESV changes the wording- it seems to give some passages a different meaning-

Adam wrote:They do not do a new paragraph for each verse as is typical in most King James Bibles.

Biblical Hebrew was the first classical language to be systematically
punctuated. In comparison with modern languages the system was very
complex: there are more commonly used punctuation marks in Hebrew than
there are letters in the English alphabet, and they are applied not only
between phrases but to virtually every word of the scriptures, indicating very
precisely each word's relationship with others in a phrase as well as dividing
each sentence into hierarchically ordered word-groups.

Adam wrote:
The main problem with the single volume is the very thin paper and ghosting. We don't read any other books that have paper that thin and ghosting. It really does make a big difference. My thought is: If you are going for a Reader's Edition, put out all the stops and make it a true reader's edition. The thicker paper makes quite a difference.

The great thing about removing chapters and verses is that it moves us away from proof texting and considering individual quotes out of context. But when doing detailed study and interacting with books and commentaries, obviously the chapter and verse references are a must. So when doing detailed study, the chapter and verse Bible is the way to go, but when reading, I would highly recommend this type of Bible. We get so caught up in the details of the text that we often miss the big picture of what it is trying to say to us. I would say that is true even for the academic--chapters and verses and notes and cross-references interfere with the flow of reading the Bible. It is visual clutter, which affects us all. (Not to say that the clutter doesn't have its use for detailed study.)

MaxPC wrote:As one who is full time on the road and has limited storage, I think it would be absolutely brilliant if a one volume reader's Bible were to be produced in materials similar to the waterproof Bible I spotted some years ago. As an example, here's one that's published currently.

Adam wrote:

Valerie wrote:Question- from time to time Jesus would quote passages from the OT- and also certain passages the disciples would recall, - I understand what people are saying about proof texting (which I didn't even learn of this until Mennodiscuss) but since the Lord & disciples would bring up certain passages themselves, is it wrong to do so?

Valerie, it is a good observation that Jesus and the disciples often quoted from the Old Testament in a way that we might be tempted to classify as proof texting.

The difference is that they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak/write they way that they did. And even so, they never quote the Old Testament in such a way as to ignore the witness of Scripture as a whole or speak in contradiction to the bigger picture of what God was doing in history.

Generally those who offer proof texts today do so to the neglect of other Scripture references that would disprove their point. That is generally what I consider a proof text.

When making a point regarding what Scripture teaches, we need to take into account the entirety of what Scripture teaches on the subject, giving priority to Jesus first, the rest of the New Testament second, and, finally, the Old Testament. So, we can cite just one Scripture so long as our interpretation of that Scripture is faithful to the testimony of Scripture as a whole and the bigger picture of what God is doing in history.

I believe that is what Jesus and the disciples did, but that is not usually what happens these days when one Scripture is pulled out of context to prove a point.

For example, I could quote Proverbs 21:20a, "Previous treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling," and then argue that the Lord wants me to store up precious treasures for myself on earth because it is wise to do so, but that would be in direct conflict with the teachings of Jesus, who says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth."

If I quoted and interpreted Proverbs 21:20a in that way, it would be a prooftext. I would be relying on one Scripture taken in isolation to make it say what I want it to say even though my interpretation of that Scripture is out of line with what the whole of Scripture teaches.

I don't think Jesus or the Apostles do that when they quote the Old Testament.

Bootstrap wrote:Growing up, I was told that entire letters of Paul would be read in one sitting to a church. I haven't examined the evidence on this, but this is how I think of it still.

Adam wrote:

lesterb wrote: Dumb question probably, but do they use paragraphs?

They do not do a new paragraph for each verse as is typical in most King James Bibles. Rather, paragraph breaks are inserted to follow the natural structure of the text. Poetry is formatted as poetry, and because it is a single column layout, it avoids most of the awkward line breaks that you get with poetry in double column layout Bibles.