56627

The Living Bible Paraphrased by Kenneth N. Taylor is a popular Bible. It was written for parents who wanted to read the Bible for children to understand. The problem is that this Bible is paraphrased using the American Standard Version and does not go back to the original languages of the Bible. “Despite its great popularity (Tyndale House reports that by 1997 its sales of the Living Bible had exceeded 40 million copies), and despite the claims made by the publisher in its advertisements, very few scholars have given any encouragement to its use, and most have either ignored it or have strictly warned against it. 5 There are many problems. These involve much more than the general blurring and loss of significant details which must always accompany a reduction in reading-level. This loss of detail is regrettable enough; but aside from that, Taylor’s version contains venturesome interpretations that no scholar is likely to approve. Some of the misinterpretations are downright ludicrous—the sort of mistakes that only an uneducated man could make.” It can be found under the number 220.5/Bib.

Great Bible, easy to understand

I dislike this translation very very much. This seems like a watered down version. It might as well be named, Bible of Dummies. Hmmmm, there's more truth in that than meets the eye. ( )

A gift from a friend. Not a version I would personally use as a scholarly text. ( )