THE BIBLE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 25, Issue 632, 10 August 1951, Page 15

THE BIBLE

THE READER’S BIBLE; Oxford University Press; Cambridge University Press; Eyre and Spottiswoode. English price, 30/THE SHORTER na ye -' abridged and edited by G. W. Briggs, G. B. Caird and N. Micklem; Geoffrey ; Oxford University Press. English price, 7/6, HE English Bible has sometimes been printed in modern format, but always in abridgements, in new translations, or in sets of several volumes. A demand has long existed for the Authorised Version in a form which could be more attractive than the standard editions to lay readers. This book has now been published. It contains the full text of the Authorised Version and the Apocrypha, the original introduction, an historical note on the text, and a series of explanatory prefaces, printed at. the beginning of every section. The inclusion of the Apocrypha will be welcomed by readers who believe that its wisdom, poetry and _ historical interest entitle it to a place in the Canon. Admittedly, this, has made the new addition too large for casual reading: the book will need to be opened on a table or be otherwise supported. Further, the size .of the volume has obliged the printers to use a wide line so that relief from the traditional double-column may be weakened a little, for the eye becomes tired if it is asked : to travel too far across a page. But gain and loss had to be weighed the preference was rightly given to clear and generous type, printed on good paper; and no difficulty will be felt in the many sections where the books are set out as poetry. The Reader’s Bible reaches the highest standards of editing | and printing. It is in every way a noble achievement. ; The Shorter Oxford Bible is complementary to the "Reader’s" edition. It is an abridgement which reveals the full development of the sacred writings. Passages are included from the Apocrvpha, and there are short introductions. The book is just the right weight for

reading in bed.

H.