A Good Idea Just Got Better

For reading comprehension, Zondervan has produced two stellar editions with A Reader's Hebrew Bible and A Reader's Greek New Testament . Regarding the latter, which I do not own, (I use The UBS Greek New Testament: A Reader's Edition, read my review here) is already in its second edition, and uses a slightly different text than the UBS 4, namely, the text used as a base for the TNIV.

It is my practice to bring my UBS to church every Sunday and there have been many occasions where, much to my dismay, the reading will be from the Old Testament, and you guessed it, my Hebrew Reader's edition will be sitting at home. Well, Zondervan has good news in that they will be combining the aforementioned titles into one handy volume with the title, A Reader's Hebrew and Greek Bible. The release date is not until April 2010 and retails for $74.99, but the 2,256 page volume has all of these features making the price and the wait worthwhile:

This combined A Reader's Greek New Testament and A Reader’s Hebrew Bible offers the following features: • Complete text of the Hebrew and Aramaic Bible, using the Westminister Leningrad Codex • Greek text underlying Today’s New International Version—with footnotes comparing wherever this text is different from the UBS4 text • Footnoted definitions of all Hebrew words occurring 100 times or less—twenty-five or less for Aramaic words—with context-specific glosses • Footnoted definitions of all Greek words occurring thirty times or less • Lexicons of all Hebrew words occurring more than 100 times and Greek words occurring more than thirty times • Eight pages of full-color maps separate the OT and NT sections Ideal for students, pastors, and instructors, A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible saves time and effort in studying the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament. By eliminating the need to look up definitions, the footnotes allow you to more quickly read the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek text. Featuring fine-grain black European leather binding, A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible is a practical, attractive, and surprisingly affordable resource.

I think I have just solved my problem no matter what testament is preached from on Sunday!