Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation (ISBN 0842332677)

Amazon.com Review:
How does the Bible speak to my life? This is a burning question for many readers, who may be enchanted by the words and stories but uncertain how to bring the Bible into modern-day living. Each page of the Life Application Study Bible offers numerous footnoted passages that suggest contemporary meanings, helping readers be less literal and more metaphorical in their thinking. For example, when handling the topic of adultery, the old scripture says that a suspicious husband and his accused wife must visit a priest, who will ask the wife to "drink a jar of bitter water that brings a curse to those who are guilty." If she is not guilty, no harm will come to her. Yes, it would be rather odd to try this nowadays, but the Life Application Study Bible explains that this ritual is a metaphor for building trust. "Today priests and pastors help restore marriages by counseling couples who have lost faith in each other. Whether justified or not, suspicion must be removed for a marriage to survive and trust to be restored." The Life Application Study Bible comes with an index, listing appropriate passages that speak to specific topics and situations. It also includes color maps and timelines of biblical events.

Intelligent translation, historical context, gentle advice give this Bible an A+:
Over the years, I've tried to ignite my study of God's word using several Bibles, including a Men's Study Bible published by the Promise Keepers and several translations from the KJV to the New English to the American Standard. Basically, in every version, I've found myself extremely unimpressed with the translations. They either kept too much 'traditional' language -- as if the translators were paying homage to King James -- or went way too far trying to make it ultra-modern, which made the language seem almost slang-ish and sophomoric. In the Promise Keepers version, I felt preached to...the study notes were so, well, Promise Keeper-y...clearly directed toward married family men (which I'm not) on the far far far right of the political spectrum. Not so with the Life Application Study Bible, NLT. First of all the NLT translation is fabulous. Its tone is eloquent and beautiful, yet intelligent and practical by today's standards. Some passages -- which, in other translations, left me scratching my head -- are translated so well, I've had several "Aha!" moments. The translators were also careful to footnote passages that had differing translations in Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic. Second, the "study" part of this Bible. I love the way it places the stories and people in historical context. It explains the circumstances surrounding the stories -- the Where's, the Who's, the How's -- and offers a very clear understanding of the time in which the books were originally written. There are several large color maps in the back, and smaller maps are often included in footnotes so you can place the stories in proper geographical context. Footnotes also give you "lessons" or leadership for making Bible-based decisions in your life. At times, I feel they can get a bit preachy, but not to the Evangelical extent that the Promise Keepers Bible does. Most of the time, the authors avoid going overboard. If you're serious about studying God's word, and prefer logical, intelligent study assistance over fire-and-brimstone preachiness, this is the Bible for you. Enjoy it, learn from it, live by it.

My favorite bible as a new disciple:
The footnotes are so helpful to me, I love to read a passage and then read the footnotes in this edition to learn more depth. hear the background, and questions that are helpful for applying the passage to my own life. I think this is by far the easiest bible to read and use as someone who is new to the bible....

One Of The Best:
Commentaries and reflections on passages really make this a winner. An excellent way to study The Bible !

Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation:
I bought this for my husband because much of the Bible is difficult for him to grasp but, not any more! Thank You!!!

I LOVE IT:
I love it I love it I love it, this bible is so easy to understand. I love the commentaries that applies the message to everyday life. I highly recommend this study bible.