Have you ever stood in a Barnes and Noble in the bible section? Good grief – there are so many to choose from! Where’s a girl to start?
Here’s some Bibles we are fond of at St. Mary’s.
For little kids:
MiaLisa uses this to tell the stories in our Children’s Chapel. Great for very young children.
There is a whole series of these – we love them all –
For early grade school kids:
Like its younger counterpart, this one does a great job.
The Children of God Story Bible
We totally love this one! Our own Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu has retold bible stories in his own words. Plus the illustrations are fantastic – done by artists from all over the world. Excellent, excellent. Love love love.
For older grade school kids:
This is a good one, as are all the bibles made by DK. Alongside the text they provide contextual info and photos about what life was like when the passage was written. You really can’t go wrong with the DK books.
The CEB Deep Blue Kids Bible will encourage a thirst for God’s timeless message as young readers join three life-like kids in discovering the Bible and what it means to their lives.
For teenagers:
The Message Solo RemixEugene Peterson has translated scripture into a modern language and style. Sometimes he goes a little goofy – (like who really says ‘hey man’ anymore?). But it does a good job of making the scripture stories accessible. Want a good study bible? This isn’t the one. But want something easy to read, with big subject headings and questions for further thought? This is the one.
There are all sorts of Message Bibles – including one divided into daily snippets, including ones of fancy covers – whatever suits you. And no, they are not all pink!
Bibles for older teens and adults:
For any bible for teens and adults, you can’t go wrong if you stick with the NRSV translation. Find one that contains the apocrypha, and that had good footnotes giving lots of context. Be a little wary of those ‘womens’ bibles, as they often put stress on the more subservient role for women.
New Student NRSV Bible
This one has good contextual notes, plus good ‘pause and think’ boxes.
CS Lewis Study Bible If you are a C.S. Lewis fan, you’ll probably like this bible. It’s got Lewis quotes scattered all through it.
This study bible give you the context for what the books of the Bible meant to their earliest readers and what the Bible means right now.