A Year of Bible Sales

Since I did a post on my top 10 best sellers for the academic department I thought I would run a report on the Bible department. This time I ran a report on the sale of Bibles by translation for the last year. These figures do not include children or One Year Bibles. Foreign language does not include Spanish. This would be Chinese, Russian, German or French.

NIV – 2,424
ESV – 1,623
KJV – 468
NKJV – 454
NLT – 396
MSG – 365
NASB – 180
TNIV – 157
NRSV – 88
AMP – 44
HCSB – 38
Jewish – 14
Voice – 11
Young’s Literal – 11
NAB – 9
GW – 7
Living Bible – 6
NET – 6
RSV – 4
Foreign Language – 4
Good News – 4
NCV – 3
CEV – 1

Clearly the NIV is my best seller. If we throw children’s Bibles in the mix it would be much higher. The NIV Adventure Bible is our best-selling children’s Bible. The ESV makes a strong showing and the rest trail by quite a bit. Part of the reason the NIV does so well for us is our close relationship with Zondervan. They work hard with retailers to provide specials which allow us to run frequent sales. While we pass on some we take advantage of as many as we think will work best for us--and it shows. It’s a partnership we value and appreciate. Their customer service department is five-star in our book and our rep, Larry Avery, is simply the best.

In Store Now - The Waterproof Bible

Could your Bible survive a week underwater? This Bible can--and did!

That's right, we put the Waterproof Bible to the test by placing it underwater for five days. It took about a day and a half to dry out. Once it was dry, it was completely back to its original condition. During the week people enjoyed pulling it out of the water to see how it was doing. While the pages stuck together quite a bit there were no wrinkled pages and no bleeding ink. A favorite activity during the week was to pull the Bible up and squeeze it, watching the water come pouring out. More than one person was skeptical that it would really return to its original condition. But it did.

What's the secret? The Waterproof Bible is printed on 100% plastic! So what does a plastic page feel like? It isn't stiff like you might think. They are actually just as pliable as normal paper. You can write on it with a ball point pen and you can even use a dry highlighter to mark your favorite passages. The binding is also sewn and is glued with a waterproof glue. Not only is it waterproof but it is also tear-resistant. It is heavier than your average Bible (especially the full Bible). The complete Bible would be perfect for a boat. The New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs is ideal for campers and hunters. It is available in KJV and NIV and comes in a variety of covers (Some individual books of the Bible are available in NAS. See the website for details.)

The same Bible is also published as The Outdoor Bible. The New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs sells for $24.95 and the complete Bible sells for $39.95.

We've got another one on display underwater. The next time you're in the store stop by and take a look for yourself.

Coming Soon from Thomas Nelson - The [expanded] Bible New Testament

Thomas Nelson is proudly releasing a new Bible translation this August. Well, it’s not quite new. The new Bible is an expanded edition based on a "modified version" of the New Century Version. Similar to what the Amplified Bible does this new edition expands the text in a variety of ways. The expansions will function in a number of ways: 1) It may offer “other possible ways of translating a word, phrase, clause, or sentence.” 2) It may suggest “a different translation possibility that takes the meaning of the original language in a different direction that the base text does.” 3) It may offer “a more literal rendering of the original language.” 4) It may “provide familiar terms and well-known renderings from past translations, especially those in the King James tradition.” 5) It may “briefly provide historical, cultural, theological, or other explanatory information to help readers better understand a verse or passage.” I’ve never been a big fan of the Amplified Bible because it lead too many readers into thinking the words meant everything that was in the parentheses every where they occur. When I first heard about this edition I was somewhat leery but from what I’ve seen so far I think Nelson has done a good job. In my opinion it is the Amplified Bible done right. The same potential exists for misunderstanding the notes that I’ve observed with users of the Amplified but hopefully we won't see much of that. A note in the Introduction of The [expanded] Bible is helpful: "The goal of this approach is not to suggest that a text can mean whatever anyone wants it to mean (it cannot), but to show that the Bible in its original languages is rich, multi-layered, and profound." At the end of the day this is a problem with the user rather than the version itself. Some will complain that the format itself lends to this sort of problem but while there is some truth to this some responsibility rests with the reader. The more notes are embedded into the actual text, however, the harder it is for the reader to separate note from text. All of this is to say care must be used with this Bible as with any study Bible.

The scholars involved with the project are Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College, Mark L. Strauss, professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary San Diego, and Daniel Taylor, professor of literature and writing at Bethel University.

Wayne Hastings, Senior Vice President and Group Publisher of the Bible Division for Thomas Nelson Publishers, is offering a free PDF version of the New Testament on his blog Off the Shelf.

ETS Paper Stirs a Debate Over the ESV

Mark Strauss, professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary, read a paper on "Why the English Standard Version Should Not Become the Standard English Version: How to Make a Good Translation Much Better." You can find it here. The paper has created a bit of a controversy with Bill Mounce promising to respond at next year's ETS meeting. While I have been reading the ESV since it first came out I found some of Strauss' comments insightful while others seemed to miss the point of what the ESV was trying to do. To give one example Strauss points out how often the ESV uses the word "behold" and says that "virtually no one speaking English uses the word this way." After a discussion on the difficulty of translating the word he says his "counsel would be for literal versions to retain 'behold' and for standard English versions to either drop it or use 'look' or 'see' when appropriate." So why bring this up? Since he includes it in his discussion of "archaisms," is this an archaism that is OK to use but the others are not? Strauss talks a lot about the ESV not using "contemporary English." But I don't look at the ESV as a "contemporary" translation but one that seeks to maintain a literary level that sometimes elevates the language above the common use. I don't want my Bible to sound like the chit chat of my workplace break room. If I want that I'll read The Message.

Finally, I don't understand when Strauss says, "I need to say first of all that I like the English Standard Version (ESV). After all, the ESV is a moderate revision (about 6% I believe) of the Revised Standard Version (RSV; 1952), which itself was done by very competent scholars." But he then describes the translation as "overly literal—full of archaisms, awkward language, obscure idioms, irregular word order, and a great deal of 'Biblish.' Biblish is produced when the translator tries to reproduce the form of the Greek or Hebrew without due consideration for how people actually write or speak." With that said what's there to like? He says it's a "good supplement to versions that use normal English." Why? How is a translation so plagued with problems a good supplement?

I will watch with great interest to see how this plays out. Also, there was a paper read on another translation which has not had enough visibility--The Holman Christian Standard Bible. You can find that here.

ESV Study Bible - Available Now

The long-awaited ESV Study Bible has arrived. This study Bible has several features you won't want to miss. There are over 200 full-color maps which are printed alongside the text and notes throughout the Bible. In addition to this are 15 full-color maps at the back of the Bible with the first one being "The Middle East Today." Over 50 articles are included which cover a wide range of topics from Theology of the Old Testament, Theology of the New Testament, Biblical Ethics (13 articles), The Canon of the Old Testament, The Canon of the New Testament, The Septuagint, and many more.
The contributors of the study notes represent some of the finest in contemporary conservative Christian scholarship. Among them are Gordon Wenham, Duane A. Garrett, C. John Collins, Andreas J. Kostenberger, Clinton Arnold, Grant Osborne, Robert Yarbrough and Thomas R. Schreiner to name only a few. Finally, these Bibles have been printed on the finest paper and are all Smyth-Sewn to ensure a quality final product. With your purchase of the print edition you will always have access to a FREE ESV Online Study Bible which offers the full content of the print version, plus additional unique features. You must see these first hand in order to appreciate it fully so stop in today and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

The ESV Study Bible - Info is available

The ESV Study Bible is due to arrive on Wednesday, October 15, 2008. You can pre-order a copy in the store today, or call 616.957.3110 with questions. The list prices are as follows:

Hardcover with jacket: $49.99

TruTone editions: $74.99

Bonded leather editions: $74.99

Genuine leather editions: $94.99

And a Premium Calfskin edition: $239.99

BBH also offers a 20% discount to Pastors, Churches and students in the store. (Prices on the website may vary.)

"The ESV is a dream come true for me. The rightful heir to a great line of historic translations, it provides the continuity and modern accuracy I longed for. Now the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible study notes is breathtaking. Oh how precious is the written Word of God." - John Piper, Bethlehem Baptist Church