Monday, August 17, 2009

Better than Bible Gateway

WARNING: GEEK ENTRY

I'm in a Biblical Studies program, so I have to read the Bible a lot. Often, when I need to copy and paste portions of the Bible into a paper, or just for study, I go to Biblegateway.com. Biblegateway provides a large number of translations, but does not include the RSV or the NRSV, versions which I prefer to the NIV/TNIV. So, I went shopping around and stumbled on this amazing Bible website. Strangely, I can get the RSV, and NRSV at The Unbound Bible, but I cannot get the NIV. Maybe there's some Coke vs. Pepsi thing going on with with two translations, whatever.

The reason this website is so great, is that I am able to examine the text in four different versions all at the same time. And I don't have to rely on translations either. There I can find the BHS with and without vowels, the Septuagint with and without accents, as well as with and without verb parsings. They have the Leningrad Codex, the Aleppo codex, and the Peshita, along with a myriad of other translations. Though it may be missing the NIV, the versions that it does have vastly outweigh that omission.

In short, if you're leading a Bible study and want to use the NIV because of its simplicity, or if you're just looking to examine a bunch of different English translations together, then go with Biblegateway.com. (But keep in mind, you'll be missing out on one of the best English translations to date, the NRSV.) If you want the scholarly tools, then definitely check out The Unbound Bible. (Oh, and the best thing about The Unbound Bible, is that the Hebrew copies and pastes right into Mellel, with perfect pointing. You just have to change the font to the SBL Hebrew font and it works great... now if only Times New Roman would learn how to point Hebrew...)

8 comments:

jay said...

Have you tried www.youversion.com? Its what I like to use...

Joshua said...

I haven't, I just checked it out and unfortunately it does not have the scholarly apparatus that I need, but from just a few minutes of playing around on it, it looks to be a great tool for casual reading. I LOVE the interface, it's a fabulous way to bring the text up... I'll have to keep it in mind for devotional stuff.

Sean said...

I only use the KJV, everything else is heresy.

Joshua said...

I love it. I saw your name in my email, and I was like: Oh sweet! He's gone through this whole Biblical schooling thing! He's really smart, I wonder what he thinks!

Awesome.

So, when are you coming to Chicago? (No pressure.)

But when are you coming?

Adam T. Babcock said...

Oh the days of the NRSV and Dr. Watson. I liked your comments on Genesis too. Well put together. You are going to make a fine scholar.

You'll have to tell Sean about the folks in Tennessee exercising your NIV demons

Sean said...

As for Chi-town. . . we were hoping to make it up there in the next couple of weeks, but alas, the pressures of the deal going on with my tenant are taking our driving resources and funds at the moment, so once we get that behinds us, we'll get up there.

jill benson said...

Hey Josh - I was just scrolling through the cco blogs and saw this post. What a great website! Steve and I just moved to Massachusetts for me to continue my degree at Gordon-Conwell (Old Testament and Biblical Languages). So I'm sure I'll find it useful in the near future. Anyway just wanted to say Hi and that I hope you, Rach and Norah are doing well...its been FOREVER! :) Oh and in the process of moving I found the picture you drew of me and Steve at new staff training and it made my day!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great site! I'd yet to find a decent NRSV online Bible, and one with this many capabilities is great. :) (I'm a 3rd year Biblical Studies student, and this is invaluable.)