Giving the Gift of a Bible - The Dos and Don'ts

 

One of the best gifts you can give to someone who is investigating Christianity is a high-quality Bible.  Which is why I was so surprised, when I became a Christian, that so many of the Gift Bibles sold are so disappointingly cheap and poorly made.  It should go without saying that if you buy someone a Bible, you actually want them to read it!  Thus, buying them a low quality Bible, with font so small a smurf would have a hard time reading it, seems counterproductive.  As a result, I thought it might be helpful to share a few "dos and don'ts" when buying a Gift Bible for someone.

Do - Buy a readable translation

The Bible can be intimating enough without having to struggle with an antiquated or wooden translation.  While there are many quality translations on the market, for someone that is new to the scriptures, a translation that strives for a balance between accuracy and readability is optimal.  A few translations that achieve both are  the New International Version (NIV) and the Christian Standard Bible (CSB).  

Don't - Buy a difficult translation or a paraphrase

The impact of the King James Version of the Bible cannot be overstated.  Even the late atheist Christopher Hitchens stated:

"You are not educated if you don't know the Bible. You can't read Shakespeare or Milton without it, even if there was nothing else of it. And with the schools now, that's what I hate about secular relativism. They're afraid of insurance liability. They don't even teach it as a document. They stay out of the whole thing to avoid controversy. So kids can't quote the King James Bible. That's terrible."1

However, because of its antiquated language, it can be difficult for even seasoned Bible readers to read and understand the text.  So while I would not want to minimize the KJV's cultural impact, or discount how mightily God has used it in the past, it is not the optimal choice for someone investigating Christianity.

On the  other hand, I also would not recommend a paraphrase like The Message.  While The Message (and other paraphrases) can certainly be refreshing for devotional purposes (or even be viewed as a type of commentary)2, there are some places that it does take liberties.  Therefore, one should be grounded in a solid translation before using The Message, for the purposes mentioned, so an accurate understanding of key passages can be initially attained.  

Do - Buy a High Quality Bible

As I mentioned, many so-called "Gift Bibles" sold today are junk.  They have plastic covers and font that is virtually unreadable.  The question we must ask ourselves is, "Do we want the person to read the Bible we give them?"  The answer is surely, "Yes!"  Therefore, we should buy them the most attractive Bible we can afford with normal size font that is comfortable to read.  I am aware that the possibility exists that you could buy your friend or family member a more expensive Bible and they not read it.  However, surely we can agree that they are more likely to read an attractive Bible with a reasonable font size than a cheap Bible with a plastic cover that quickly begins to break and a font that hurts their eyes!  

Don't - Give with strings attached

When you give someone the gift of a Bible, don't do so with conditions or requirements.  I think many well meaning people do this, but I believe it to be wrongheaded.  Imagine giving someone a Bible and saying, "Now, I expect you to read this!"  And then pestering them to see if they have.  Or, imagine the person you gave the Bible to is having a bad day and you say, "Have you been reading your Bible?"  This can make the receiver feel like the Bible was given with strings attached and this should not be.  Simply give the Bible to the individual, let them know you are willing to answer any questions they may have (or study it with them), and then trust that God will move in their heart.3 

Do - Consider buying a high quality study Bible

For those of you that want to go above and beyond, study Bibles are great to give as a gift because they offer various study tools to aid the reader in understanding the text in a deeper way.  Study Bibles can include commentary, maps, articles and word studies that help the reader appreciate the cultural contexts of various books and passages and how Christians have historically understood them.  There are numerous on the market, but a few I would recommend are as follows:

ESV Study Bible - This Bible offers 20,000 study notes and includes 200+ charts and timelines, 240+ full-color maps and illustrations, 50+ topical theology articles, 120 Bible character profiles, and more.  

CSB Apologetics Study Bible for Students - This is the ideal study Bible to get for the young adult in your life or someone who is struggling with cultural issues. 

NIV Study Bible - This Bible offers over 21,000 bottom-of-the-page study notes, with icons to make important information easy to spot.  Further, it features 125 topical articles, 16 pages of full-color maps, and the Comprehensive NIV Concordance with nearly 4800 word entries.  

Paul reminds us in Romans 1:16 - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."  The Bible contains the message that is the "power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."  That seems like something worth investing in.

Courage and Godspeed,

Chad

Footnote:

1. Mindy Belz, "The World According to Hitch," June 3rd 2006.

2. I am currently reading through The Message for my daily devotionals and do find it beneficial for the mentioned purposes.  

3. It should be noted that this advice will vary from person to person.  Depending on the relationship, you may be able to comfortably encourage someone to read their Bible without them taking an offense.   

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