HCSB

"What is a Cubit?"

DevinMaddox — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:00:00 GMT

If you grew up in church, you probably remember a situation like the following: you are sitting in vacation bible school eating your goldfish crackers when the teacher begins reading Genesis 6. If you grew up in a place where they read from the King James, the familiar Noahic flood narrative read like this:

"Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." -Genesis 6:14-16 (KJV)

That's when the little hands started shooting up. "What is a cubit?" The bible school teacher would then awkwardly explain the conversion ratio of a cubit to a inches. Unfortunately, most of us have had to hear that explanation again and again.

One of the many small but important steps that the HCSB has made to make it a translation that is accessible to 21st Century readers has to do with this issue. In many places, the HCSB converts ancient units of measure like cubits, spans, and gomedhs to centimeters, inches, and feet. Even though our ancient brothers an sisters didn't use the same measurements we do today, we can still get an accurate picture of what the biblical authors are telling us. There is a profound reason Scripture contains detailed information about the dimensions of the Temple, for example: God wanted us to understand the beauty and breadth of his story. The HCSB attempts to translate these details from the original texts with accuracy so that every time that we read the Bible we don't have to ask, "What is a cubit?" Our hope is that the HCSB removes any hindrances to a natural reading of the text.

Summer Reading; For Real

DevinMaddox — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Remember in January when everyone was talking about Bible Reading Plans? How is that coming?

As we move soon into week 6 of our calendar, perhaps you have kept up flawlessly. Maybe you haven't. Regardless of where you stand, consider all of the children in your neighborhood that have gone home from school for the summer with a summer reading list in hand. Shakespeare, Harper Lee, Poe: all whose titles are worth reading. Consider the extra daylight summer awards all of us, even those who don't get a "summer break."

While high schoolers dive deep into the pages of Homer's "Odyssey," maybe we should devote some of our summer sunlight to Paul's letters. Even if you have a summer reading list and you are a student even now, consider devoting an extra half hour to some life-giving summer reading. January isn't the only time to begin a bible reading plan. If you start now, by the time you go on vacation in 2011 you could have read through the entire Bible. Maybe you'll be in the Gospels just in time for Christmas! Let's all get on board with this summer reading thing, for real.

See

DevinMaddox — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Good Children's Bibles Are Hard to Find

DevinMaddox — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The Bible is sometimes a scary place. There is war and disease, life and death. There is nothing more frightening though than a children's bible that ignores the facts of Scripture. There are two common pitfalls consumers can fall into when buying a children's Bible, each

errors of virtue. The first is to try to buy a children's bible because it is cute. The pages are beautifully illustrated and you know that your children won't be bored looking at the pictures. This is not necessarily a bad thing. A children's bible should be illustrated well! The other pitfall is trying to find a children's bible that is theologically accurate, but is inaccessible to children. This is not a bad thing either. After all, the truth of Scripture is of supreme importance. What if there were a children's bible that exalted the truth of Scripture in a way that was visually appealing all at the same time?

That is what we have strived to do with our HCSB Illustrated Children's Bibles. In the challenging quest for a good children's bible, take a look at what we have to offer for kids of different ages.

Apologetics Study Bible: Revisited

DevinMaddox — Tue, 25 May 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Students all over the country are graduating from High School as speak. They are being sent to colleges that will challenge their beliefs to their core, only now it will be outside the context of home and their family. Perhaps for the first time students will ask themselves, "Why do I believe what I believe?"

This is a great question. All of us, at times, need to be confronted with the apologetic questions of the faith. We have developed a tool specifically tailored for students called the "Apologetics Study Bible for Students" to help answer these questions. General Editor Sean McDowell has put together articles from various popular youth leaders from around the country to speak directly to students about personal testimonies, evangelism, and difficult portions of Scriptures. We believe this is an effective tool to put in the hands of students of all ages, but especially timely for those preparing to leave for college this summer.

HCSB Minister's Bible Awarded

DevinMaddox — Fri, 07 May 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Lifeway, in partnership with the six Southern Baptist seminaries, awards one student every year from each school who is recognized for outstanding academic achievement and promise in pastoral ministry. This year Tyler Wittman (pictured above) received the award at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Wittman, who is a member Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, graduated with his Masters of Divinity from the School of Theology and is now considering further studies. He graduated Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Colorado State. His father Calvin Wittman pastors Applewood Baptist Church in Denver Colorado.

Seeing the God of the Bible More Clearly

DevinMaddox — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:00:00 GMT

We are privileged from time to time to visit with friends from around the country and share the HCSB. This February we had the honor of being a part of the 20/20 Conference at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, NC for the 20/20 Conference. At events like these we are able to put the HCSB in the hands of college students and professors sometimes for the first time. The response from students was phenomenal. We got a lot of, “I had no idea,” and “that makes a lot of sense,” as students were introduced to highlights from the HCSB.

This is the mission of the HCSB as it was the mission of the 20/20 Conference: to see the God of the Bible more clearly.

Our hope is that the HCSB will be an effective tool in carrying out the Great Commission. Let us know how we can serve you by putting the Bible in the hands of people who have not yet heard the name of Jesus.

Beelzebub Reviews the HCSB Study Bible

DevinMaddox — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

HCSB Study Bible Features Video

DevinMaddox — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

HCSB Study Bible Features

Aaron Linne — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Get a first glimpse at the features of the upcoming HCSB Study Bible.

Can You Read Your Bible?

DevinMaddox — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

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?

About the HCSB Translation

Aaron Linne — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Right-Click the Link and Choose "Save As"

Download the Video in .WMV Format (SD, 80MB)
Download the Video in .MOV format (HD, 855MB)

Ed Stetzer on Bible Navigator X

DevinMaddox — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:00:00 GMT

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:

"Why make the Bible available on a gaming system? The idea of making the Scripture readily available for the people in a language they understand and a format they can interact with has long been the desire of the church. In this case, the ability for small groups to easily gather around the TV to read a passage together opens the Bible to a more social experience. B&H has said that they hope youth ministers are open to using it, and have included bookmarks in it so teachers can jump right to the passages they've prepared...." read the entire post here ('XBOX 360 and the Bible')."

Bible Translations: Verbose or Lean?

jcoppenger — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:00:00 GMT

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:

Original KJV- 774,746
Current KJV- 790,676
ESV- 757,439
NLT- 747,891
NIV- 726,109
HCSB- 718,943

Dr. Miles V. Van Pelt on the HCSB

jcoppenger — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:00:00 GMT

"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

Ginormous Study Bibles!!

jcoppenger — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:00:00 GMT

B&H introduces 'Bible Navigator X' for Xbox 360

Aaron Linne — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

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.

Messiah vs. Christ: Last Name or Long Awaited Savior?

jcoppenger — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

When the crucified and risen King Jesus walked those fortunate men through the Old Testament Scriptures on the road to Emmaus, showing them how all of it was about him, their hearts burned within them (Luke 24). By God's grace, many of us have had similar experiences when someone has shown us how all of the Old Testament (and all of reality) is about Jesus. Sadly, many fail to see this. In fact, there are a large number of people who think that "Christ" was Jesus' last name. This, of course, is not right.

By using the word "Messiah" in particularly Jewish contexts in the New Testament, the HCSB helps readers see more clearly that Jesus fits into an overarching narrative. Also, "Messiah" is used because the most recent scholarship recognizes the need to translate christos as "Messiah". Below is one example of this from Ephesians 2:12.

HCSB	KJV	NIV	ESV
At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, with no hope and without God in the world.	That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:	remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.	remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Danger: Ginormous Study Bibles!!!!

jcoppenger — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSw1oskcrkM:550:0]

Christ's Slaves or Christ's Servants?

jcoppenger — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Scholars recognize that there is an important difference between a "slave" and "servant" (or "bond-servant"), one that is often missed by contemporary readers. Murray Harris, for example, in his excellent book, Slave of Christ: A New Testament metaphor for total devotion to Christ, rightly shows that all slaves were servants, but not all servants were slaves (187). That is, slaves had it worse than servants. There were many servants who had rights, made money, etc., slaves did not enjoy these benefits. This is important when one is thinking through the significance of New Testament writer's use of the word. As you can see below, the HCSB's translation of Revelation 1:1 reflects this important insight. We're Christ's slaves, not merely his servants.

HCSB	KJV	NIV	ESV
The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John,	The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:	The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,	The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant* John,