Hi Judy, I use the CEV a fair bit with my semi-literate congregation. It is published by the Bible Society and is a fresh translation. Mine says, "Traditional translations of the Bible count on the reader's ability to understand the written text. But the Contemporary English Version differs from all other English Bibles ... in that it takes into consideration the needs of the hearer, as well as the reader, who may not be familiar with traditional biblical language." It goes on to describe itself as "user-friendly" and "mission driven". It's worth a try and some cheap pocket editions are available. Rob Bos
----- Original Message ----- From: "Judy Redman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "insights-l" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 2:48 PM Subject: Bibles: sources and translations > Hi everyone, > > I know we've had part of this discussion before, but I've forgotten what > people have said. > > >From time to time, students ask if I can lend them a Bible. The one who > asked me today ran out of room to pack one when she came here from the US. > Often it's an international ESL student who wants an English translation. > My response is normally to give them one to keep, but the choice in Armidale > is not particularly broad. My preference would be to give them the NRSV > because it uses reasonably inclusive language, has fairly standard English > usage and where the translators have had to choose between possible English > translations, they usually have chosen ones that I find myself in agreement > with theologically. > > Our local Koorong stocks NKJV, KJV, NIV, New Century, the Message and > Contemporary English Version. Particularly for ESL students, versions like > the Message aren't particularly helpful because they often use > colloquialisms that are puzzling for students. KNJV, KJV and NIV don't use > inclusive language. I am not familiar with New Century or CEV. Is anyone > else? Do either of them fit my criteria? > > And is anyone aware of a source of reasonably priced NRSV bibles (preferably > in NSW) that are nice to read ie reasonable sized print and pleasant to > touch paper. I don't want to spend $45-50 on one, but I do, if possible, > want to get Bibles that invite reading, which many very cheap ones don't. > > Judy > > > > -- > "Politics is the work we do to keep the world safe for our spirituality" - > Judith Plaskow > > Rev Judy Redman > Uniting Church Chaplain > University of New England > Armidale 2351 > ph: +61 2 6773 3739 > fax: +61 2 6773 3749 > web: http://www.une.edu.au/campus/chaplaincy/uniting/ > action for peace: > http://www.une.edu.au/campus/chaplaincy/uniting/links/peace.html > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ------------------------------------------------------ > - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] > - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) > See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm > ------------------------------------------------------ > ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
