The Expanded Bible: New Testament

The Expanded Bible: New Testament is the latest attempt by Christian book publishers to make the Bible more accessible for people to study. Based on the New Century Version, The Expanded Bible is a functional-equivalent translation, emphasizing on readability over a more literal translation. This version is helped by the big name scholars they enlisted: Tremper Longman III, Mark L. Strauss, and Daniel Taylor. Translation aside, this Bible’s most notable feature is the formatting of the text.

Instead of placing alternate translations and cross references below and to the side of the biblical text, this version puts the notes inline with the biblical text (similar to the Amplified Bible). The biblical text is bold, with [explanations in brackets], and a host of additional letters signifying the type of explanation: “or” for alternate readings, “L” for what the Greek literally says, and “T” for traditional (KJV) readings.

I found it difficult to read through a passage with this Bible. While I appreciate the “outside the box” thinking by the publisher in trying to reformat the standard Study Bible format, by doing so they lose all readability of the text. If you are looking for a Bible for study or devotions, I would recommend other Bibles before The Expanded Bible.

Rating: 3/10