The past year has seen a number of outstanding publications that will be of interest to those who preach and teach:

Bibles

This has truly been the year of the study Bible with the release of a number of significant new study Bibles, the updating of several standard ones and the reprinting of some key historical Bibles.

The two most significant new study Bibles released this year are the ESV Study Bible (Crossway) and the NLT Study Bible (Tyndale). Both of these are impressive with in depth study notes which explain the text and other helpful materials such as charts and maps. I wrote some of the notes for the ESV Study Bible so I am not a disinterested third party. I am impressed though by the work of the other contributors as I have seen them. In addition to providing background and explanation, the study notes aim to comment on key points of doctrine and how certain verses speak to the claims of other religions. The NLT Study Bible also has in depth notes and well done introductions. The "master timeline" at the front of the Bible is a helpful tool. Both study Bibles have contributions from some of the most respected evangelical scholars. These will be very helpful study tools and are the most significant study Bibles published this year.

Some of the most popular study Bibles of previous years have also been updated. The NIV Study Bible (Zondervan) has been released in a "2008 Update" edition with updated of notes, new maps and charts, and a major new Topical Index. The Life Application Study Bible (Tyndale) has also been released in an updated edition with additional notes and charts. The NKJV Study Bible: Second Edition (Nelson), has been released with a CD-Rom from Libronix with the NKJV text. I have also read about the New Oxford Annotated Study Bible (3rd Augmented Edition; NRSV: Oxford) though I have not seen it. The Discipleship Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version Including Apocrypha (WJK) has also been released. This study Bible admirably seeks to combine content notes and application notes, but the strongly critical position of the notes makes them less useful in my opinion.

The most interesting niche study Bible this year is The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World (Nelson). It is the first full-length Orthodox study Bible in English including a new translation of the Old Testament from the Septuagint (since that is the version of the OT used by the Orthodox) and study notes written by leading theologians of the Orthodox Church. I found the OT section the most stimulating since you have here a translation of the Septuagint (Greek) text instead of the Hebrew Masoretic text as found in our standard Bibles. The differences are intriguing and the notes commonly point out such differences. The notes often provide quotes from early church fathers. I think this will be a useful tool for pastors because the notes are theologically focused, thus aiming at the overall meaning of the text, and the historical quotes are helpful. While there are things I disagree with, I found this study Bible stimulating.

The Chronological Study Bible (Nelson; NKJV) arranges the entirety of the Scriptures into chronological order interweaving various books and placing Psalms in historical settings. Of course this requires judgment calls (and even guesses) in certain places, but this is an interesting approach.

The Encounters with God Daily Bible, ed. by Thomas Blackaby (Nelson; NKJV) features notes by Henry and Thomas Blackaby. Impact: The Student Leadership Bible, ed. Jay Strack (Nelson; NKJV) does not have notes on the text itself but provides one page and half page comments at various places relating to students and leadership issues. Neitehr of these are as useful for study tools as the comprehensive study Bibles listed earlier. Less useful is The Maxwell Leadership Bible, revised and updated (Nelson). Theme Bible’s like this have the tendency to get us off center as to the main message of the Bible itself. The Bible reveals to us God, His character, ways, demands and provision. Leadership is certainly discussed in the Bible but it is not the main theme. Further we would do well to think seriously about whether or not we have a real biblical understanding of what leadership is.

The Voice: New Testament (Nelson: NKJV) is to be released in October though some individual books have already been released separately. It is an entirely new translation produced by the collaboration of historians, poets, songwriters and theologians. It aims at providing a fresh reading of the scriptures particularly for those who are unchurched. The translation portions I have seen a very free, as intended. There is a place for this, but it becomes more commentary and less straight translation.

Hendrickson has produced facsimiles of three historical bibles which are great resources in reminding people of how we came to have English Bibles and what a gift this possession is. First, The New Testament, 1526 Edition (Hendrickson) is a facsimile of a 1526 printing of William Tyndale’s translation, the original of which is held in The British Library. As a facsimile it has the 16th century spelling a shape of letters which makes reading the text quite difficult. It is nice to see the beauty of this document, but it would also be good to have an edition in modern print so readers could read more easily and see how much this translation influenced the KJV and subsequent English Bibles. Also included is a good introduction by David Daniell, Chairman of the Tyndale Society. Second, Hendrickson has published a facsimile of The Geneva Bible, 1560 Edition. It is to our detriment that people typically do not know of the Geneva Bible which was the Bible of the English Reformation, the Pilgrims, Shakespeare and others. It was produced in Geneva by English speaking pastors who had fled Queen Mary’s rule. This is a facsimile but is more readable than the Tyndale volume. One of the key features of the Geneva Bible is the study notes printed in the margins. These provide insight into biblical interpretation at this time. Third is a facsimile of the 1611 King James Version. A 19th century history of English Bibles is included at the beginning. Then the facsimile includes the dedication to King James, the translators’ address to readers, and a bible reading plan. These facsimiles are not study Bibles, but are of real value for historical awareness and comparison with modern versions.

The other historical reprint is The Dort Study Bible (Inheritance Publications, hb., multivolume). This is a reprint of the study Bible produced by the leading Dutch theologians in the 17th century at the request of the Synod of Dort. It is thus of historical and theological value. Spurgeon had a copy of this study bible and Samuel Rutherford was among the English speaking leaders who originally requested an English translation.
The Word of Promise New Testament Audio Bible (Nelson; NKJV) won the ECPA’s "Christian Book of the Year" award. I mentioned this audio Bible briefly last year but then I had heard only a sampler CD. Now I have been able to listen to more of the project and I like it. They even provide an outline for listening to the entire NT in 40 days. This could be a great tool for helping people to get more of the Bible.