The Word on the street

On the plus side, the text is bright and humerous and contains a many real insights.There are many delightful passages in this eg.Micah 5 starts with 'OK, Bethlehem, I know you've got an inferiority complex' or Habakkuk 2:9 'Bad news down the road for those who create an empire from ripping people off' So why 4 stars.It would be better if one thing was made very clear in the Product Description to avoid anyone feeling cheated. As this costs more than twice as much as the excellent Zondervan Amplified Bible for the Kindle, you might be expecting something like the Living Bible or The Message, a modern paraphrase of the Bible but as soon as you read the intro you will find that passages have been missed out. Rob, in the book's FAQ says 'I fast-forward through the bits we generally ignore anyway, ' but in fact, HUGE chunks are missed out. The whole story of Samuel the boy hearing God speak for the first time is abridged as : 'As a boy, Samuel has sharp ears when God has something to say - rare these days. He grows up to become God's rep."Yes, that's it. The first 8 chapters of I Samuel are summed up in one page and that's hardly passages you probably wouldn't read anyway.To give you a comparison in Kindle terms, The Message has 40,000 Locations, this book as 10,300. If you have a bit of cash to spare, you are almost certain to some real benefit from this but don't look on it as a whole Bible.Edit: I'm finding it increasingly annoying not to have a decent index. I wanted to find out if it contained a particular Psalm but the Table of Contents took me only to the intro to Psalms with no further links to take me to the chapter I wanted so that I had to to page through to look for the Psalm I wanted (it wasn't there).

I am reading an earlier version of this (The Street Bible) and have bought this one for a friend.Very entertaining and cleverly done, Rob Lacey clearly had a gift for turns of phrase which can be down to earth, up to date and humorous while also being profound and insightful. A refreshing read for those of us who are over-familiar with the standard versions of the Bible as well as those who normally wouldn't touch it.As another reviewer has mentioned, be aware that it isn't a full 'translation' of the Bible as some chunks have been summarised. But worth reading anyway.

Never before have I been able to read from Genesis and get anywhere past Numbers without giving up. I'm now up to Nehemia and I actually understand what's going on! The book makes it clear from the start 'this is not a Bible' basically because it cuts out and summarises too much to be a complete Bible. But what it does is summarise the bits that many wouldn't understand anyway and saves the details for select parts. The sense of humour and modern colloquial language means that many times I have made my family listen as I read sections just so they can appreciate it as well. Translations like prophets = couriers, temple = HQ make it much more readable and I know that I will understand so much more next time I read that passage in a Bible.

Fantastic, accessible bible, not in place of the bible, but a great introduction, or a fresh look at the Bible. Written as if it were a new document for today, so instead of Paul writing letters to the churches, he sends emails.

If you have never read the Bible, this version will make clear what it is all about - and give you a really interesting read. If you are used to reading your Bible, this will open your eyes to some of its more obscure passages. You are likely to find its contents amusing, the language sometimes a bit jarring, but nevertheless it is written with reverence. I have found some of its passages so interesting that I have then turned to a more formal version to get deeper meaning. Well worth the money.

Bought this for KS2 class but think it may be more suitable for secondary pupils. Good value

This was for my son, but I ended up reading it too. I have never read the bible from start to finish, but this managed to keep my attention. I recommend it for children who are getting confirmed or just that they want some background on the bible, but see the bible as far too deep and difficult to understand. this puts it into today's world context so you can relate to it and is quite amusing in places.

Interesting bible written in 'street' language.