Tyndale House Checks In
01/05/2007 00:05 Filed in: Faith & Reason
First of all, Tyndale offers a nifty booklet, Text and Product Preview of the New Living Translation that provides an overview of the translation philosophy behind the NLT and sample text. You can get this mailed to you for free simply by requesting one from Laura Bartlett. Email her at LauraBartlett@tyndale.com. The Text and Product Preview is more in depth than anything at the Tyndale House NLT website. Here's a list of subjects from the Table of Contents:
- What People Are Saying About the New Living Translation
- Bible Translation Team
- Questions and Answers
- New Living Translation compared with the King James Version
- New Living Translation compared with the New King James Version
- New Living Translation compared with the New International Version
Following the above topics comes 30 pages of texts from the Old and New Testaments. What's really interesting about these sample passages are the "Distinctive Features of the NLT" section at the end of each text. This is a commentary of sorts that explains translational decisions in the NLT often in comparison with more traditional translations. For my interests, this is one of the most intriguing parts of the booklet. It allows the reader to step inside the mind of the translation committee in the context of the scriptural passages.
Regarding my original review of the NLT, Laura Bartlett corrected my reference to the second edition of the NLT (2004) as the "NLT2." The correct abbreviation, I was told, is NLTse. Actually, I know that, but when comparing the first and second editions of the translation, it seems to make sense to use NLT1 and NLT2. Otherwise, what do you call the first (1996) edition? To simply use NLT would be misleading since it can refer to either version.
I asked her about the mysterious "New Translation" released by Tyndale in 1990, six years before the NLT. I had always been under the assumption that the New Translation was an early version of the NLT. No so. Bartlett explained:
Although Ken Taylor was the primary translator, the New Translation does not have much to do with either the Living Bible or the New Living Translation. It was a project of Dr. Taylor's which he was working on with scholars simultaneous with but independent of the work that the 90 scholars on the NLT translation committee were doing on the NLT. Dr. Taylor's passion was understandable, usable, trustworthy rendering of Scripture, so he worked on translation projects for most of his life, this being one of them. This was really a new work, not based on the Living Bible. It was a scholarly translation of the epistles on which he had a lot of input from other scholars. As the NLT was in progress already as a full Bible, I believe that not many copies of the New Translation were ever distributed.
I still believe the NLT Notemaker's Bible is the best layout I've ever seen for a wide-margin Bible of any translation, but unfortunately it was NLT1 and therefore out of print. I asked if there was a wide-margin edition in the works for the NLT2 but was told that there's no plan for one currently. That's a shame. I firmly believe that if Bible publishers want people to really study, teach and preach from a translation, there needs to be editions available for those who wish to include their own notes.
Short of a wide-margin edition, I asked which of the many NLTse Bibles out there would be suitable for preaching. Laura Bartlett suggested two. First, the Personal Size Large Print. Of this edition she says that "It's a nice size for carrying and the large print makes it easier to read if it's sitting on a pulpit." Another suggestion is the Large Print Slimline Reference Bible. "It's available in LeatherLike in addition to the bonded leather--I think LeatherLike has a better feel than bonded--more like genuine leather. But the font is a little bit smaller than the Personal Size LP. 'Large Print' isn't printed on the cover, just the box it comes in, which is also nice."
One final note. I mentioned in my earlier review of the New Living Translation that it is the Bible of choice for my wife Kathy. Her primary Bible for study and carrying to church is an NLT1 Life Application Bible. She has not yet warmed to the NLTse. So when I got the package from Laura Bartlett, I could feel that there was a Bible inside. I naturally assumed that it was for me--perks of blogging and all! However, it turned out to be a burgundy leather copy of the Life Application Bible in the NLTse not for me but as described in the accompanying note "an 'update' for Kathy." That was an extremely thoughtful gift for her and attentive to the remarks in my review. Thanks, Laura.