Although we could probably all agree that an edition of the TNIV like the Reference Bible should have been introduced much sooner than now, this Bible--like the TNIV Study Bible released last year--may be one of the most significant TNIV offerings to date. This is a TNIV Bible for pastors, teachers, and other serious students of the Bible.
For more about the TNIV Reference Bible, see my First Look at This Lamp.
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Impressive packaging for a very significant Bible! I am hoping to have mine early on this fall, and plan on using it in my Bible study class as well as in my own study and devotions.
I'm not sure how long it's been up, but it looks like the new TNIV.com has finally been launched!
I find it ironic that such editions now quote "black-letter text" as a feature. Who actually *likes* red-letter editions? I don't know of anyone. I wasn't impressed that even the TNIV Study Bible is red-letter. Why?
And come October, spare a thought for British TNIV readers like me, who'll have to decide whether to buy the American edition or wait even longer for a British-usage one.
It is a bit ironic, but it's also helpful in my opinion to see such designations. I believe the first time I saw a Bible promoted as black letter was on my Foundation Press NASB95--where it actually says "Black Letter" on the spine!
But it's helpful to those of us who dislike red letter Bibles to see up front that the entire text is red letter.
Red letter Bibles started out as a marketing gimmick a century ago and eventually all publishers followed suit, especially in popular Bible editions.
My guess is that the TNIV SB has red letters simply because every other edition (NIV, NASB, KJV) has red letters. I'll personally be grateful when red letter Bibles are less popular, but I don't see this coming since in the popular mindset, there's something more "special" about having Jesus' words highlighted even though this is done at the expense of the rest of God's inspired word. Further, there are often parenthetical thoughts, especially in John's gospels, that are definitively attributed to Jesus, but very likely are that of the author. While the source of these statements are debatable, by putting them in red letters, the publishers make an unnecessary decision for the reader.
I just put in a preorder at Amazon...
You certainly can't beat the price: $19.97.
By the way, if I understand correctly, Zondervan is purposefully selling these Bibles at a low price because they want to get them in the hands of as many "gatekeepers" as possible.
I wouldn't be surprised if a lot more folks than the gatekeepers buy them, too.
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