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| Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version | 
 enlarge | Author: Abs
Publisher: American Bible Society
Category: Book
List Price: $4.99
Buy New: $0.29
You Save: $4.70 (94%)
New (24) Used (28) from $0.29
Avg. Customer Rating:  33 reviews
Sales Rank: 268709
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1354
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.7
ISBN: 1585160555
Dewey Decimal Number: 200
EAN: 9781585160556
ASIN: 1585160555
Publication Date: October 1, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 31-33 of 33 | | « PREV 1 | | |
 Use Only With A Literal Bible! May 31, 2001
16 out of 23 found this review helpful
The CEV is another version amongst a recent spate of "meaning-based" or "Dynamic Equivalent" Bibles, like the New Living Translation, International English Bible, TEV, etc. The language does seem clearer, and Bibles like the CEV are easier to understand, but at what cost? In Acts 8:20, the American Standard Version (ASV) has the word "perish", but the CEV has "Hell." In Luke 16:23, the CEV translates the word "hades" as Hell, but the next time the word "hades" pops up, it is translated as "grave." (Acts 2:27, 31). In 2 Chron 28:3, the place name "Hinnom Valley" is translated properly, but the same place in the Greek "Gehenna" is translated as "Hell." (Matt 5:22) This is a common problem with proper names, as even Tartarus is translated as "hell." (2 Pet. 2:4) Basically put, the meaning-based translator (in this case, Barclay Newman for the most part) has interpreted the text for you. This type of translator does not think that YOU are smart enough to interpret for yourself, so you are being spoon-fed his theology. For instance, the CEV in Ps. 97:7 translates Elohim as "false gods." But the LXX and the Vulgate understood this to refer to angels, just as they did of Elohim at Ps. 138:1, but there the CEV translates it as "angels." Are angels false gods? The bottom line is, use the CEV as it can clear up some difficultly worded passages, but never use it without a more literal Bible.
 Clear and Accurate Translation of God's Word October 2, 2000
43 out of 52 found this review helpful
The CEV is a modern translation that faithfully represents the meanings of scripture in simplified modern English, with an emphasis on being heard clearly when read aloud. I am not new to scripture, but I find that this Bible forces me to reconsider familiar passages. A comparison of the text to the NAS, a faithful literal translation, shows that the CEV has also represented the concepts faithfully. Although I am not a scholar of the original languages, I have taken many "difficult" passages and compared the text of the CEV with what commentaries and other translations have to say. The CEV always shows itself to be a faithful representative of the original meaning. In addition, the CEV represents gender accurately. This is an excellent choice for those new to scripture and for those seeking to look at it with fresh eyes.
 Buy the Internation Standard Version of God's Word instead July 27, 2000
21 out of 34 found this review helpful
In 1985 Barclay Newman organized a three-person translation team to produce a Bible for children between five and nine years of age. Not too long after that, the scope of his translation went beyond simply a children's Bible and became the Contemporary English Version (CEV). About 100 other consultants, scholars, reading experts and translators from around the world helped produce the CEV. However, the CEV is not simply another easy-to-read Bible version. The translation team also wanted to produce a Bible for people who depend on hearing the text, not only reading it. Thus, the CEV translators spent hours reading their work aloud. They printed lines of poetry in short phrases; editors changed punctuation and chose words for their smooth rhythm and grace. In this reviewer's opinion, the CEV in this area did succeed: most other modern Bible version cannot compare in rhythm and smoothness. Among the modern versions, only the NJB and New Living Translation (NLT) read more beautifully and nobly. Unfortunately, the CEV is worse that any other Bible in accuracy to the original texts--even worse that Today's English Version! The CEV is simply too simple; this causes the CEV to be inaccurate through the loss of nuance, if not mistranslated. The CEV's preface quotes Luther justifying its translation style. "Whoever would speak German must not use Hebrew style. Rather he must see to it-once he understands the Hebrew author-that he concentrates on the sense of the text, asking himself 'Pray tell, what do the Germans say in such a situation?' Once he has the German words to serve his purpose, let him drop the Hebrew words and express the meaning freely in the best German he knows." Perhaps the CEV's translators--for the sake of text accuracy--should have listened to Luther's words on translating a bit more. "On the other hand I have not just gone ahead anyway and disre-garded alto-gether the exact wording of the original. Rather with my helpers I have been very careful to see that where everything turns on a single passage, I have kept to the original quite literally and have not lightly departed from it. . . . I preferred to do violence to the German language rather than to depart from the word." The CEV also acknowledges contemporary concern for gender-neutral language. For example, CEV translators have translated "sons of Israel" according to its actual meaning: "people of Israel." However, they did not do away with masculine pronouns when referring to God. Yet the translators did neuter some passages that specifically refer only to males, and often used plural nouns and pronouns to avoid using the singular him, he, or his. The translators went too far in their gender neutering, changing the meaning of God's Word. In the CEV 1 John 3:17 reads: If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. (CEV) The CEV receives an F in accuracy but a B+ in readability. In short, this version is not worth buying; save your money. For an easy-to-read version buy the International Satandard Version of God's Word. For serious study, buy the New American Standard Bible.
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