Complete Jewish Bible : An English Version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B'Rit Hadashah (New Testament)

Regarding this version (as in the contents) of the Bible:This is an excellent Bible to own. The wording is more relaxed and natural when compared against the NKJ or other "old English" versions but it doesn't go to the extreme of paraphrasing like the Living Bible. (As a sidenote, I think that the Living Bible is a great introduction Bible for children or youth groups because of how simplified the concepts are. But you'd definitely want to upgrade to a Bible like the CJB for a more in-depth experience.) It's translated directly from the original languages instead of from another translation although some words and most names are not translated. A few examples: You'll read Yeshua instead of Jesus, Yochanan the Immerser instead of John the Baptist and Ruach Hakodesh instead of the Holy Spirit. Luckily there's an explanation at the beginning as to why this was intentionally done and a dictionary at the back to translate these terms.Regarding this printed book:This is a hardback "book" without any of the classic indentations or tabs which allows one to easily locate books. You can always purchase tabs independently. I have seen the CJB in other formats including the "classic" Bible look: black leatherish cover, soft backed instead of hard backed and the pages gradually indent to display the book abbreviations. The other formats are not sold on Amazon at the time of this review. I am not sure where to purchase it. Your local Christian bookstore should be able to order it.Regarding the Kindle version:I bought the Kindle version of this book. Unlike normal books that you read from start to finish, one usually jumps around in a Bible. Especially during religious services. It's very difficult to navigate to a specific verse in the Kindle version. I honestly don't recommend it because of that.

As a teenage "Catholic", I was looking into the protestant faith because I didn't understand why the Roman teachings influenced the Catholic Church so much. I recently discovered that I have some Jewish Roots as both of my grandparents on my mothers side(which died while I was young) were Jewish and my mom was a convert to Catholicism which I never knew. I set out to read more about being Jewish and whatnot and discovered that it is a beautiful religion and even started talking to my parents about attending a synagogue. I then contacted a Orthodox Jewish synagogue and they explained to me that I was already Jewish and that I would just have to be circumcised and whatnot else. I had a bad feeling about going to a service and on that same day as I was doing some research I came across Messianic Judaism. It combined my belief in Yeshua and in Atonai. I proceeded to read about how it came to be and what it was and I discovered that it was a beautiful religion and so I began to search for an appropriate "messianic" bible to compare to my parents Catholic Bible(NRSV–CE). I bought this bible for that purpose and the translation is beautiful and I like how it includes Hebrew names instead of the translated English names. It has helped me a lot on my path. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Yeshua bless you.

I'm very happy to have this item.🙂 🇮🇱

Highly recommend for your Jewish friends to get used to the Bible and vocabulary that's more familiar.

The Complete Jewish Bible : An English Version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B'rit Hadashah (New Testament) / Translated by David Stern. Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. 1998. pp lv, 1630. ill. (maps). Includes Index. Bibliographic References. [on verso: "Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers"]Unless one is trained in biblical languages (Hebrew, Koine Greek, and Aramaic) the Scriptures (both Jewish and Christian) are only accessible through translations. Yet, not every translation is of equal use in every situation. There are some translations that are good for academic study and homiletic work (interlinear, and word-for-word translations), some are appropriate for devotional and personal reading (paraphrases, thought-for-thought), some are appropriate for public proclamation in liturgical settings, and some translations can fulfill more than one.The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) translated by Dr. David Stern -former professor of economics at UCLA and now a mentor of Messianic Judaism in Israel- is a multipurpose translation designed for personal use, study, and public proclamation in synagogue "by Messianic Jews and by Christians open to experiencing the Jewishness of their faith" (p xiii). The CJB "is the only English version of the Bible fully Jewish in style and presentation that includes both the Tanakh ("Old Testament") and the B'rit Hadashah ("New Testament"). (from the Introduction, p xii), yet even this work is not a translation for everyone. It is not, for instance a translation for Jews who do not accept the messiahship (yet alone the divinity) of Yeshua, nor is it suitably deployed in critical scholarship. It is, however, suitable for anyone who wants immerse themselves in the flavor of Judaism as lived by Jesus. The CJB is a good companion volume to other translations, but should not normally (except possibly by Messianic Jews) be used as a stand alone translation. As even Dr. Stern admits, being the product of single translator, there are bound to be errors in translation or transcription that a committee of translators working together would overcome.Fair warning: The CJB was not conceived as a single whole. It incorporates an earlier work "The Jewish New Testament" (published in 1989), and the commitment to bring the JNT and a compatibly paraphrased (non-Christian) Tanakh together under a single cover came later, which helps to explain some minor inconsistencies in the two sets of texts. (xiii). The Tanakh as rendered here is "something between a translation and a paraphrase" using the 1917 JPS text (now in public domain) as a base for modernization and presented in Hebrew order, with accompanying lists of the Christian Old Testament Order and Books of the Bible in Alphabetical Order. Aside from the biblical texts themselves, the CJB also includes a comprehensive introduction that provides the history of composition, intent, style, structure and use of the CJB, a glossary and a pronunciation guide, an index of Tanakh texts cited in the B'rit Hadashah, and maps of biblical Near East and Yeretz Yisrael, as well as an "About the Translator" on the back page.New readers may experience difficulty in reading and pronouncing words and names, and question Dr. Stern's choice to transliterate Hebrew names, idioms and certain expressions, but as with any repetition-induced familiarity, perseverance with the text will reward the reader with a richer appreciation for the language and culture of the Son of David.Some reviewers of the CJB condemn it as a deceptive tool of Christian evangelism, and thus an "unJewish" book. However, in evaluating the claims of a work, it is necessary as far as possible to know who the intended audience of the work is. It is not enough to read the body of the text without giving consideration to Forewords, Prefaces, and/or Introductions of a work. Likewise, other reviewers praise it as the best translation out there and consider it to be the only Bible needed. The meaning and beauty of the Scriptures, though, are not exhausted by any one translation or interpretation, no matter how contextualized -the fullest understanding (apart from reading it in the original languages) comes from a comparison of many translations, and close study of the texts. In this regard, the CJB is a fine addition to the reader, seeker, and interpreter's toolbox.

Great way to read the Bible. Because it is directly translated from Hebrew it is somewhat different than the regular king James or living Bible or other Bible versions. I think this one is my favorite.

I love this bible, use daily. Has everything needed..

A very interest versions to read. I like it very much.

The best Bible which i ever have. Awesome, & I strongly recommend everyone to buy from Amazon.

I enjoy this man's writins, causes hunger to Arise. Good! Well Done:

This version has been around since 1998, but I only found it recently. I wish I had seen it sooner as I believe this bible fills a much needed place in Christianity in general. For myself in particular I am thrilled to have a version that establishes the Jewishness of the Bible, particularly the New Testament. David Stern is to be commended for the work he did to make this version possible. Rather than going into a lengthy discourse describing the content, I will instead recommend to anyone interested, to use the free sample feature available from kindle. This free sample includes a lengthy introduction by the translator that is very informative and helpful, and details the reasons for this undertaking from his perspective. It also includes most of the book of Genesis as a sample. The free sample was instrumental in my decision to purchase this item, and I'm glad I did.Edit; This version has become such a favorite in our home that I have decided to purchase the hardcover book edition as well.Update: The hardcover book edition has smaller print than I was expecting, comes with single column format, I still like it but too bad they didn't offer a page sample to see what you were getting.Update: I have since discovered that this hardcover edition is much cheaper at Indigo/Chapters. $24.75 with free shipping. http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/complete-jewish-bible-oe/9789653590182-item.html?ikwid=the+complete+Jewish+bible&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0

Questo libro è per me una grande benedizione,uno strumento utilissimo per lo studio delle Scritturee per la meditazione che nasce dallo studio stesso.Lo consiglio a tutti coloro che vogliono diventare o sono già discepoli di Cristo (Yeshua).Dio Vi Benedica.claudio