Book Review- The Voice

I have selected to review The Voice translation of the New Testament. The Voice is a scripture project to rediscover the story of the Bible and is rewritten in a story telling narrative. This translation was born out of the desire to move to a more post modernistic translation. At first, I was somewhat critical of the idea of another new translation of the Bible. However, after reading through scripture passages and using this translation in Bible study, there are several aspects that I do like about The Voice translation. The first aspect is that all story-telling additions that bring more clarity to the scripture are italicized to indicate that the wording is not part of the original translation but provides information to help the modern day reader understand what the writer is saying. The second aspect that I like is that boxes are included within the flow of scripture that add more insight to expand on the theme in the scripture. A lot of this information is new and exciting information that a reader may have to wait to hear in a sermon, conference or podcast but now has it as their fingertips as they read and study the Bible. The third aspect that I liked about this translation is that dialogue is broken down into a screenplay format. It looks like you are reading through a play. This aspect makes it clear to understand who is participating in the conversation. I believe that this Bible would be excellent for new believers or for believers reading through the New Testament without supplemental Bible study material. I’m excited to use this Bible as I study or read to my girls. I have had friends that want an easy to understand Bible to read to their children from but have difficulty finding one that has all of scripture included in it. (Many children’s Bible’s highlight stories without including the entire Bible). I think that this would be a great Bible to read to our children out of.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”