No, Thomas Nelson hasn’t added new books to the Bible. We are, however, trying hard to meet our customers’ need to understand God’s voice as shown in His word.
We have a wonderful customer. They desperately want to know, understand and apply God’s word to their daily lives. From church pastors and leaders to the person who encounters the Bible for the first time, this need is the same. The challenge for the vast majority of them is that the Bible represents an intimidating, time-consuming book full of ancient characters, places and languages.
To overcome this need Bible Publishers like Thomas Nelson try to develop products that give the customer help and hope in their quest to “hear” God’s voice. For example in the last two years Thomas Nelson has released three landmark products – The Chronological Study Bible, The Word of Promise Audio Bible and The Voice New Testament. Each one in it’s own way helps meet this universal customer need.
On August 11, 2009, Thomas Nelson will release a new product especially designed for our customer. Developed by a trusted team of Bible scholars The Expanded Bible New Testament, like the three titles I mentioned above, gives the reader help to reach their goal of hearing God’s message to them directly from the Scriptures.
Why is it different?
- It meets the needs of the contemporary student of the Bible by combining devotional reading and in-depth study in a completely new way. Users can now study the Bible while they read with study aids and resources placed in-line with the text of the Bible.
- It joins Bible text with traditional wordings, explanatory comments, additional wordings, literal meanings and expanded word definitions, all integrated within the text of the Scripture.
- It offers readers a unique Bible study experience by making them a part of the process and decisions made by scholars while developing a translation
The end result is a Bible that is highly readable for devotions or study purposes that includes a richer in-text explanation of the Scripture. The experience will help customers grasp all that God is saying and give them a complete meaning of words and their alternative wordings. It’s like having a robust Bible reference library at your fingertips without having to flip a page or grab another book.
You can try this exceptional new product now. Simply go to this site and download a free PDF file and enjoy the experience first-hand.
Post your thoughts on your personal blog, and share the comments in the review sections of a few online retailers and send me the link so that I can hear your thoughts about The Expanded Bible New Testament. The Thomas Nelson team will send the first 200 responders/commenters a free paperback copy of the Bible (a $19.99 value) as soon as they hit our warehouse as a thank you for your input.
This sounds like a wonderful addition!
Posted by: Colleen Coble | April 30, 2009 at 04:44 PM
Thanks, Colleen, it's been in a labor of love and a dedicated team.
Posted by: Wayne Hastings | April 30, 2009 at 04:47 PM
I just took a quick look at the Expanded Bible NT and it looks great. I'm assuming you know Amazon (and perhaps other online bookstores) don't allow reviews to be placed by customers until very close to the sell/release date. At least, that's how it's always worked for me.
I'm also assuming you're saying commenters will get a paperback copy of the The Expanded Bible New Testament (rather than just any Bible) if they comment about it on their blog and several commercial websites? Generally, I prefer to start with the physical copy for review, but you certainly have the right to set the rules. :)
Posted by: Debbie | April 30, 2009 at 05:43 PM
I like it. As I was reading through familiar pages (esp James) the helps forced me to slow down and digest what I was reading. Sometimes we get lax, and skim over the text because of its familiarity. The old "catch phrases" reminded me that I had been there before, but I still wanted to dig deeper and that was easy because of the expanded definitions.
Posted by: charlie reid | April 30, 2009 at 07:30 PM
Just took a look at it and really like it. This is an excellent resource if you are doing a small group that is going through a book of the bible instead of a DVD or other "topical study" (Not that those are bad, I love the good ones).
My group just went through John and is about 1/2 through Galatians. Based on initial impressions, I wish I had it months ago.
Posted by: Jeff Suever | April 30, 2009 at 07:55 PM
It's an interesting concept. I'll have to try it a bit to see if the distraction element wanes, though I love the idea of integrated tools for study purposes. I tweeted and facebooked the link.
Posted by: Cara Putman | April 30, 2009 at 10:10 PM
The more relevant the Church can be the world around us, the better we can reach them with the Gospel of Christ! New translations and versions that are true to the text while speaking in today's voice are essential for reaching people in our so-called "post-Christian" era. Thanks for sharing this!
Posted by: Niki Turner | April 30, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Great job Wayne. I've got a "first look" review of it on our blog, linked to my name below.
Posted by: Bob Mathews | April 30, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Just posted a review on www.whydidntyouwarnme.com/blog. I'm excited about this wonderful new resource. Excellent marketing!
Posted by: Pat Sikora | May 01, 2009 at 02:12 AM
as per review at http://www.gavinknight.com/2009/05/expanded-bible-initial-thoughts.html
"I remember when I was a young christian trying to discover for myself what the bible was saying, and so think through my faith. I assembled a personal library of different versions of the bible to compare and reference books like concordances, commentaries and bible dictionaries to look things up - and would regularly find myself sitting in the middle of a pile of them spread around me all open at pages relevant to what I was looking into. It seems to me the 'Expanded Bible' would have been of enormous assistance to me back then.
Even now, with over 20 years under my belt actively thinking through my faith (and teaching others), I am sure the 'Expanded Bible' will help re-ignite my understanding of God as revealed in scripture. The free New Testament .pdf eBook you can download from a link in Wayne's blog post certainly encourages me to think so.
I look forward to receiving my free review copy, and writing further on how useful it turns out to be."
I tried to post these comments on Amazon but thhey wouldn't let me as you have to purchase it first!
I am a TN BRB so you can get my delivery details from there?
Posted by: Gavin Knight | May 01, 2009 at 03:50 AM
I covet a copy! Is that a sin?
Posted by: Donny Pauling | May 01, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Please send me a copy. Thanks
Posted by: Gabriel Rodriguez | May 01, 2009 at 04:03 PM
At first reading, it reminds me of the New Living Translation with Speed Bumps.
Posted by: Martin | May 01, 2009 at 04:09 PM
I have always found the Amplified Bible interesting in that it contained explanatory material. Visually separating the text from the explanations will be useful. I would consider reading it at more length.
Posted by: Chuck | May 01, 2009 at 04:11 PM
I would love to have a copy of this Bible.
Posted by: Ron | May 01, 2009 at 07:34 PM
Hello,
What a neat idea! I wrote a snippet on my blog & twitter pages. If you have any space left on that list of 200, I'd love a free copy. Thanks,
Rachel
Posted by: Rachel | May 01, 2009 at 09:14 PM
Hello that is so cool! Got room on that 200 list for me? Send me one!
Posted by: Sara | May 04, 2009 at 07:42 AM
This is an interesting experiment in generating a buzz.
I hope it works!
Posted by: Nat Kelaen | May 04, 2009 at 09:18 AM
Nat, thanks for your comment. Based on my Blog traffic and the response for the free copy, it's working very well.
Posted by: Wayne Hastings | May 04, 2009 at 09:57 AM
Interesting Idea
Posted by: Kyle A. | May 04, 2009 at 10:00 AM
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&&suggest¬e_id=75098990911
Posted by: joseph. | May 04, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Posted on my Facebook (Lori Kasbeer)
http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=657901662&ref=mf
"Thomas Nelson is publishing a New Expanded Bible. Expanded in such a way that it assists readers in their in-depth studies, gives definitions of words throughout the bible, and offers the various translations all in one book. This is a great resource to have on hand while studying a certain passage. BEST NEWS... for a short time you can download it free on the link here below. Go and check it out!!"
Posted by: Lori | May 04, 2009 at 10:30 AM
From the review posted below:
The authors filled the pages of this Bible with the tools necessary for serious Bible study for anyone for the full range from novice to expert. This will make a great addition to your Bible study arsenal and personal library.
http://bit.ly/1abogk
Posted by: Cari Ray | May 04, 2009 at 09:50 PM
Looking forward to seeing how it stacks up to such recent offerings as the ESV Study Bible. :)
Posted by: Jerry | May 04, 2009 at 10:03 PM
I'm a (soon-to-be) seminary grad, and have taken a look at this, and must say that it is EXCELLENT. It's a great tool that will really help people understand a deeper meaning of the text. It gives many of the benefits of being able to read the Greek New Testament, without the blood, sweat, and tears of having to learn Greek!
Posted by: Christopher Ward | May 05, 2009 at 12:45 AM