The Scriptures did not originate in 21st century America. This is an obvious, yet sometimes overlooked, fact. They were written down and recorded in different eras in different parts of the world by divinely inspired men. It is no wonder many of us find it difficult to read God’s Word. Thankfully, through rigorous work by translators, we have the Bible in our language. It is also true, however, that some English Bibles read better than others. The HCSB translators placed a high emphasis on readability.
The Scriptures did not originate in 21st century America. This is an obvious, yet sometimes overlooked, fact. They were written down and recorded in different eras in different parts of the world by divinely inspired men. It is no wonder many of us find it difficult to read God’s Word.
Thankfully, through rigorous work by translators, we have the Bible in our language. It is also true, however, that some English Bibles read better than others. The HCSB translators placed a high emphasis on readability.
The priority of readability can be seen in the HCSB's up-to-date language. This means that the HCSB will not use a lot of the words that you'll find in the King James Version. We think the church needs both versions.
Our hope is that 21st century believers and non-believers will enjoy the HCSB's up-to-date language. We hope language barriers are removed so that readers might hear from God in the glorious and holy words passed on from Moses to John the Revelator easily. Have you tried the HCSB?
Lifeway blogger and President of Lifeway Research Ed Stetzer weighs in on HCSB Bible Navigator project. The HCSB team is so grateful for his focusing in on the missiological relevence of this project:
The word count of the Hebrew and Greek text in the standard critical editions is 545,202. While one should not draw too much from such a study, it's fascinating to see how the word count of the original texts compares to English translations. We've included the word count below:
"The HCSB stands squarely within the tradition of faithful Bible translations...We are indebted to the teams of translators and editors for their service to Christ's church in the production of this translation."
-Dr. Miles V. Van Pelt, Academic Dean, Asc. Prof. of Old Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary
NASHVILLE, Tenn., 11/10/09 – In early December, B&H Publishing Group will introduce an Xbox 360 application featuring the complete Holman Christian Standard Bible.
"Bible Navigator X" is thought to be the first complete Bible available on a video game console and will be downloadable through the "Indie Games" channel of Xbox.com.
"This application will bring the Bible into people’s living rooms and onto their televisions in a completely new and innovative way," said Aaron Linne, B&H Publishing Group’s executive producer of digital marketing. "The Xbox isn’t just secular entertainment anymore. We can use technology that other people developed to study Scriptures through a new medium. Some people are just more comfortable with a controller in their hands than a book."
The application will consist of the complete Old and New Testaments as well as three additional tools: a basic search function that operates much like a concordance, a bookmarking function that allows for marking passages and reorganizing those bookmarks into an order appropriate for teaching or study, and a presentation mode that features a larger display suitable for projecting on a screen.
Additionally, "Bible Navigator X" features 10 themes that will allow users to customize the look of the Bible while maintaining the readability. Themes geared toward students, including one based on LifeWay’s Fuge Camps, will be available in addition to others.
Linne explained that the tools were designed for everyone, but particularly with youth ministers in mind. "Certainly it’s convenient to be able to quickly pull up a Bible verse on your television at home," he said, "but this is also a great tool for youth ministers who teach in youth spaces that already have Xbox consoles in them. It’s a quick way to create teaching aids from equipment you already have."
For more information about "Bible Navigator X" on Xbox 360, visit BibleNavigatorX.com.
B&H is a division of LifeWay Christian Resources. LifeWay, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention, is one of the world’s largest providers of Christian products and services, including Bibles, church literature, books, music, audio and video recordings, church supplies, and Internet services through LifeWay.com. Established in Nashville, Tenn., in 1891, the company owns and operates 154 LifeWay Christian Stores throughout the United States, as well as two of the largest Christian conference centers in the country.