NLT Live Teen Bible

The good people at Tyndale House have figured out that I'm a big fan of the New Living Translation (NLT) of the Bible, of which they are the publishers. Occasionally they'll send me a review copy of a NLT Bible hoping that I'll mention it on the blog -- which I don't mind doing because it's helpful if people are aware of what's out there -- and I also end up with another Bible that I can pass along to someone.

This time they sent me a copy of the Live Teen Bible that they released last spring in partnership with Group Publishing. This is a sturdy paperback edition that comes wrapped in a poster. (There are also hardback and leather editions.) It's got the two column lay-out and is extremely graphic intensive. This Live edition reminds me of the Reach Out edition of the Living Bible that Ernie Hedstrom gave me when I was a teen -- except this is more sophisticated and has lots of color. Yet, it is not so sophisticated that readers will feel uncomfortable underlining or take notes. To the contrary, it's almost as though it were begging for teen-style notes -- think doodles.

There are some very fine introductions to each book with mini-commentaries and application stories randomly tossed in throughout. All of the photographs were actually taken by teens.

One interesting thing they do is include "Jesus-Sightings" throughout the Old Testament. It's a subtle way of making Christological connections to the message of the New Testament.

There is a concordance and subject index in the back. And of course, it's NLT so the text itself is extremely readable. All the "extras" mentioned above lead readers into the text which is where they'll actually encounter the message in fresh ways.

If you are looking for a gift to give to a teen (maybe even appropriate for some pre-teens who are already into that world) this is worth a look. I like it.