Comments on: Recommendation and Review: The NLT Study Bible

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:45:05 +0000

I’ve been using the NLT exclusively for a few years now. After growing up with the NKJV it’s a breath of fresh air.

It’s incredible how many times I’ve read something in the NLT and thought “No – surely it doesn’t really say that!” and gone to check the NKJV or KJV only to find that yes, it really does, and I just missed it all these years.

I’ve found the NLT to be extremely easy to read without skipping over things, and very reliable. It’s definitely not a paraphrase and nothing like the LB at all. I’d recommend it to anybody – scholars and new followers alike, and everybody in between.

If people want to check out the text, it’s available on BibleGateway.com.

By: Chas

Chas — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:11:34 +0000

Any serious student of the Bible should have both a good, literal translation (ESV, NASB, etc.) and a very readable translation that still retains respectable integrity, such as the NLT. I have used the NLT for several years now and can think of few cases where I felt the translation was off the mark. I am amused at how many time I have heard our pastor (he uses the NASB) who during a sermon would say something to the effect…”Now the NASB translates such and such word as _____, but the word should more accurately be translated _____.” That more accurate translation would usually reflect what was used in the NLT. A good thing.

By: K.W. Leslie

K.W. Leslie — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:38:00 +0000

I took a look at the NLTSB's preview of Genesis. It's impressive stuff. I tend to recommend the NLT for newbie Christians; it's great that I can now recommend a study bible for them too.

By: Rick Ritchie

Rick Ritchie — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:26:11 +0000

Obed beat me to it. The Zondervan NASBSB is my Bible of choice, too. The great center-column references of the NIVSB with the NASB translation.

By: iMonk

iMonk — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:16:29 +0000

Here's a recent post on the development of the NLT translation. Very relevant to your question. Noel H is a personal friend and used it when he preached for me a couple of years ago. Michael Card was an NLT sponsor for a long time and talked about it a great deal and used it in his ministry. No web content from those two that I know of, but go to the NLT web site for information. It is a totally different project than the LB.

By: Obed

Obed — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:32:48 +0000

When I was taking my undergrad-level bible survey courses at Wayland Baptist University several years ago, we used the NIVSB. As you said, despite my reservations about the NIV as a translation, the commentary is very good. Later, I discovered that Zondervan puts out a KJVSB and NASBSB with the same commentary. To that end, my students use the NASBSB. They typically have enough background in the bible that I prefer for them to have the mor literal NASB over the more dynamic-equivalent NIV.

Also, do you have any links to what Heikinnen and Card have said about the NLT? I’m interested in their takes on the subject. Honestly, I just assumed that the NLT was as much a paraphrase as the original TLB.