NET, Love God Greatly Bible: A SOAP Method Study Bible for Women

Love God Greatly Bible

Angela Perritt, General Editor

Melissa Fuller, ThM, General Editor

Philip Nation, DMin, Publisher

Victoria Green, Managing Editor

www.ThomasNelson.com

Love God Greatly Bible

Copyright © 2020 by Love God Greatly

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

The NET Bible, New English Translation

Copyright © 1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC

NET Bible® is a Registered Trademark.

For free access to the NET Bible, the complete set of more than 60,000 translators’ notes, and Bible study resources, visit:

bible.org

netbible.org

netbible.com

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ePub Edition September 2020: 978-0-785-23650-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020932849

www.thomasnelson.com/bibles/

Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

Table of Contents

How to Use This eBible

Letter From the Editors

Know These Truths

SOAP Bible Study Method

Features

NET Bible Introduction

Explanatory Notes

Old Testament Table of Contents

New Testament Table of Contents

Memory Verses

God’s Heart for the Nations Verse List

Genres of the Books of the Bible

One-Year Bible Reading Plan

Topical Index

Love God Greatly Reach

Contributors

Testimony Index

Love to Grow Index

Concordance

OLD TESTAMENT

Travels of the Patriarchs Map

Genesis

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50

Exodus

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40

Leviticus

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27

Numbers

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36

Deuteronomy

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34

Israel in the Tribal Period Map

The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah Map

Joshua

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24

Judges

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21

Ruth

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

1 Samuel

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31

2 Samuel

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24

1 Kings

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22

2 Kings

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

1 Chronicles

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29

2 Chronicles

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36

Ezra

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Nehemiah

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

Esther

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Job

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42

Psalms

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | 108 | 109 | 110 | 111 | 112 | 113 | 114 | 115 | 116 | 117 | 118 | 119 | 120 | 121 | 122 | 123 | 124 | 125 | 126 | 127 | 128 | 129 | 130 | 131 | 132 | 133 | 134 | 135 | 136 | 137 | 138 | 139 | 140 | 141 | 142 | 143 | 144 | 145 | 146 | 147 | 148 | 149 | 150

Proverbs

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31

Ecclesiastes

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Song of Solomon

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Prophecy for the Nations Map

Isaiah

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66

Jeremiah

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52

Lamentations

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Ezekiel

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48

Daniel

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Hosea

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Joel

1 | 2 | 3

Amos

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Obadiah

1

Jonah

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Micah

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Nahum

1 | 2 | 3

Habakkuk

1 | 2 | 3

Zephaniah

1 | 2 | 3

Haggai

1 | 2

Zechariah

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Malachi

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

NEW TESTAMENT

The Miracles of Jesus Map

The Passion of Jesus Map

Matthew

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28

Mark

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

Luke

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24

John

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21

Paul’s Missionary Journeys Map

Acts

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28

Romans

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

1 Corinthians

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

2 Corinthians

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

Galatians

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Ephesians

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Philippians

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Colossians

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

1 Thessalonians

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

2 Thessalonians

1 | 2 | 3

1 Timothy

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

2 Timothy

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Titus

1 | 2 | 3

Philemon

1

Hebrews

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

James

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

1 Peter

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

2 Peter

1 | 2 | 3

1 John

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

2 John

1

3 John

1

Jude

1

Revelation

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22

How to Use This eBible

What is the difference between an eBook and a print book?

eBook versions of Bibles contain all the content and supplementary materials found in the original print versions and are optimized for navigation in the various apps and devices used for display. eReaders recognize text as one fluid string and are formatted in a single column, which differs from the multi-column layout seen in many print version Bibles. Therefore, some content may not match the exact appearance of the original print version, but instead uses hyperlinks to navigate between related content.

How do I use the eBook Table of Contents?

* Important Note: Be sure to consult your device manufacturer’s User’s Guide for device-specific navigation instructions. *

The Table of Contents is generally formatted in the same order as the original print version and hyperlinked as follows:

• Front matter – Introductory articles

• Bible books and chapters

• Back matter – Supplementary materials

To navigate to specific Bible books, chapters, or verses, please note the following:

• Book links (Ex. Genesis) go directly to the Introduction of each book, or the beginning of that Bible book if there is no introductory text.

• Chapter links go directly to the beginning of the chapter associated with a book.

• Use the device’s Next Page/Previous Page buttons or functions to scroll through the verses in each chapter.

• Every Bible book and chapter hyperlink in the Bible text returns or goes back to the Table of Contents. Or, use the device’s back button or function to go back to the last selection.

How do I navigate supplementary materials?

Articles and Features related to Bible content are accessible through the pointer links that are interspersed throughout the Bible text.

• Select the hyperlinked content title at the end of a paragraph where referenced Bible verse(s) appear to go to its location in the Annotations section at the end of each Bible book.

• Select the hyperlinked title entry to go back to the Bible verse location, or use the device’s back button or function to go back to the last selection.

Indexes are features that supplement the Bible text and are hyperlinked directly to the content-specific location following the main Bible text.

• Select the hyperlinked entry in the Table of Contents to the specific article, list, or index.

• Select the Bible reference or article hyperlink to the corresponding main Bible text or article.

• Use the device’s back button or function to go back to the last selection.

Concordance includes an alphabetic list of important words.

• Select the hyperlinked letter of the alphabet to the corresponding list of entries from the Table of Contents.

• Use the device’s Next Page/Previous Page buttons or functions to scroll through the entries.

• Select the Bible reference hyperlink to the corresponding main Bible text or use the device’s back button or function to go back to the last selection

Color Maps are included as images and optimized for eReader device display.

• Select the hyperlinked entry in the Table of Contents to a specific map.

• Use the device’s back button or function to go back to the last selection.

Letter From the Editors

A simple declaration became a daily word of encouragement. That encouragement turned into the battle cry of thousands of women across the globe: Love God Greatly.

This is our heart. We desire to be people who love God with our whole selves and our whole lives, every day. We’ve found the best way to love Him greatly is to study His Word and know His character.

There are a lot of Bibles available today, especially for those of us who speak English. We have many options when it comes to translation, style, color, content, and size. Many Christians around the world do not have these same options. They aren’t able to read God’s Word in their own language, let alone access a Bible study that helps them understand God’s Word and apply it to their lives.

At Love God Greatly, we create Bible study materials for women and kids. Then, we translate those Bible studies into over twenty different languages and give them to women and children all over the world. Can you imagine being handed a Bible study in your own language for the first time?

Our heart is to love God with our lives, to know and study His Word, and to break down barriers that keep women from knowing and loving God. Whether it be language barriers or financial barriers, we do our best to eliminate obstacles keeping women from deepening their relationships with God.

We created this Bible with this goal in mind. We hope you’ll join us, not only in studying God’s Word and seeking to love Him greatly, but also in helping women all over the world gain access to quality Bible study materials. We hope this Bible encourages you in your personal walk with God, helps you increase your faith, and challenges you daily to love God greatly. We also hope you’ll join us in our mission of making disciples of all nations, as we seek to bring the truth of the gospel to every tribe and tongue.

Know These Truths

God loves you.

God’s Word says, For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Our sin separates us from God.

We are all sinners by nature and by choice, and because of this we are separated from God, who is holy. God’s Word says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).

Jesus died so you might have life.

The consequence of sin is death, but God’s free gift of salvation is available to us. Jesus took the penalty for our sin when He died on the cross.

God’s Word says, For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23); But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).

Jesus lives!

Death could not hold Him, and three days after His body was placed in the tomb Jesus rose again, defeating sin and death forever. He lives today in heaven and is preparing a place in eternity for all who believe in Him.

Jesus says, There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you. And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too (John 14:2–3).

You can know that you are forgiven.

Accepting Jesus as your Savior is not about what you can do, but rather about having faith in what Jesus has already done. It takes recognizing you are a sinner, believing Jesus died for your sins, and asking for forgiveness by placing your full trust in Jesus’ work on the cross.

God’s Word says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation (Rom 10:9–10).

SOAP Bible Study Method

At Love God Greatly, we are convinced that the Word of God is living and active. We believe the words of Scripture are powerful and effective and relevant for life in all times and all cultures. We also know the Bible was written to specific audiences in specific cultures at specific times. We believe in order to interpret the Bible correctly, we need an understanding of the context and culture of the original writings.

As we study the Bible, we use the SOAP Bible Study Method. The acronym stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer. It’s one thing to simply read Scripture. When you interact with it, intentionally slowing down to reflect, truths start jumping off the page. The SOAP Method allows us to dig deeper into Scripture and see more than we would if we simply read the verses. We’re better equipped to live out the message God’s Word carries and not merely listen to it (Jas 1:22).

In all of our reading plans, we read a passage of Scripture and then apply the SOAP Method to a few verses from that passage or a related passage. We believe using this method allows us to glean a greater understanding of Scripture, which allows us to apply it effectively to our lives.

The SOAP Method includes four steps:

1. Scripture. Write out the verses at least one time. Slow down and copy the passage from the text, focusing on what you are writing. Writing it more than one time is always helpful.

2. Observation. Take time to carefully observe the passage. What do you see in the verses you’re reading? Who is the intended audience? To whom is the writer speaking? What cultural factors are at play? Are any words or themes repeated? What literary devices are being used?

3. Application. After carefully observing what is happening in the passage, determine the main message or truth of the passage. How can you apply this truth to your life?

4. Prayer. Pray God’s Word back to Him. If He has revealed something to you during this time, pray about it. Confess any sin God has revealed. Pray through the truth of the passage.

The most important ingredients in the SOAP Method are your interaction with God’s Word and your application of it to your life. God’s Word is powerful and effective. You will never waste time in God’s Word. Take time to study it carefully, discovering the truth of God’s character and His heart for the world.

Features

Memory Verses. A memory verse has been chosen for each book of the Bible. These verses are beautifully designed to aid in memorization. Together, these verses show God’s heart for His people throughout the story of Scripture.

Book Introductions. For each book of the Bible you will find a brief introduction including cultural context, historical information, a brief explanation of themes, author and date information, and how each particular book encourages us to love God greatly.

Country Profiles. Accompanying each woman’s testimony are brief facts about her home country, ways to pray, and brief historical information about the spread of the gospel, church history, and Bible translation.

Testimonies. Women from forty-five countries have shared personal testimonies and insights about their personal faith and Christianity in their home countries. You can find their unique and powerful stories in each book introduction.

Reading Plans. Fifty reading plans have been carefully crafted for reading through Scripture. Each plan includes daily reading and SOAP passages for greater understanding.

Reflection Questions. You will find questions throughout the margins of each book of the Bible to aid your reflection and understanding of God’s Word.

Challenges. Throughout each book of the Bible you will find challenges to encourage further study and references to additional passages of Scripture.

Devotionals. Throughout the Bible, 163 devotionals offer deeper insight into God’s Word. Read encouragement and instruction from our Love God Greatly team as you study Scripture along with us.

Maps. Eight full-color maps paint a visual picture of the geography of the world of the patriarchs, the kingdom of Israel, Jerusalem in the time of Jesus, and the missionary journeys of the apostles.

For the Nations Verses. You will find thirty-two verses throughout the margins that display God’s heart for the nations.

Genre Divisions. The colors included in the introductory pages and devotionals in each book of the Bible indicate the genre of the book. For more information on the different genres of Scripture, see here.

To the Reader

An Introduction to the New English Translation

You have been born anew . . . through the living and enduring word of God.

1 PETER 1:23

The New English Translation (NET) is the newest complete translation of the original biblical languages into English. In 1995 a multi-denominational team of more than twenty-five of the world’s foremost biblical scholars gathered around the shared vision of creating an English Bible translation that could overcome old challenges and boldly open the door for new possibilities. The translators completed the first edition in 2001 and incorporated revisions based on scholarly and user feedback in 2003 and 2005. In 2019 a major update reached its final stages. The NET’s unique translation process has yielded a beautiful, faithful English Bible for the worldwide church today.

What sets the NET Bible apart from other translations? We encourage you to read the full story of the NET’s development and additional details about its translation philosophy at netbible.com/net-bible-preface. But we would like to draw your attention to a few features that commend the NET to all readers of the Word.

Transparent and Accountable

Have you ever wished you could look over a Bible translator’s shoulder as he or she worked?

Bible translation usually happens behind closed doors—few outside the translation committee see the complex decisions underlying the words that appear in their English Bibles. Fewer still have the opportunity to review and speak into the translators’ decisions.

Throughout the NET’s translation process, every working draft was made publicly available on the Internet. Bible scholars, ministers, and laypersons from around the world logged millions of review sessions. No other translation is so openly accountable to the worldwide church or has been so thoroughly vetted.

And yet, the ultimate accountability was to the biblical text itself. The NET Bible is neither crowdsourced nor a translation by consensus. Rather, the NET translators filtered every question and suggestion through the very best insights from biblical linguistics, textual criticism, and their unswerving commitment to following the text wherever it leads. Thus, the NET remains supremely accurate and trustworthy, while also benefiting from extensive review by those who would be reading, studying, and teaching from its pages.

Beyond the Readable vs. Accurate Divide

The uniquely transparent and accountable translation process of the NET has been crystalized in the most extensive set of Bible translators’ notes ever created. More than 60,000 notes highlight every major decision, outline alternative views, and explain difficult or nontraditional renderings. Freely available at netbible.org and in print in the NET Bible, Full Notes Edition, these notes help the NET overcome one of the biggest challenges facing any Bible translation: the tension between accuracy and readability.

If you have spent more than a few minutes researching English versions of the Bible, you have probably encountered a translation spectrum—a simple chart with the most wooden-but-precise translations on the far left (representing a word-for-word translation approach) and the loosest-but-easiest-to-read translations and paraphrases on the far right (representing a thought-for-thought philosophy of translation). Some translations intentionally lean toward one end of the spectrum or the other, embracing the strengths and weaknesses of their chosen approach. Most try to strike a balance between the extremes, weighing accuracy against readability—striving to reflect the grammar of the underlying biblical languages while still achieving acceptable English style.

But the NET moves beyond that old dichotomy. Because of the extensive translators’ notes, the NET never has to compromise. Whenever faced with a difficult translation choice, the translators were free to put the strongest option in the main text while documenting the challenge, their thought process, and the solution in the notes.

The benefit to you, the reader? You can be sure that the NET is a translation you can trust—nothing has been lost in translation or obscured by a translator’s dilemma. Instead, you are invited to see for yourself, and gain the kind of transparent access to the biblical languages previously only available to scholars.

Ministry First

One more reason to love the NET: Modern Bible translations are typically copyrighted, posing a challenge for ministries hoping to quote more than a few passages in their Bible study resources, curriculum, or other programming. But the NET is for everyone, with ministry first copyright innovations that encourage ministries to quote and share the life-changing message of Scripture as freely as possible. In fact, one of the major motivations behind the creation of the NET was the desire to ensure that ministries had unfettered access to a top-quality modern Bible translation, without needing to embark on a complicated process of securing permissions.

Visit netbible.com/net-bible-copyright to learn more.

Take Up and Read

With its balanced, easy-to-understand English text and a transparent translation process that invites you to see for yourself the richness of the biblical languages, the NET is a Bible you can embrace as your own. Clear, readable, elegant, and accurate, the NET presents Scripture as meaningfully and powerfully today as when these words were first communicated to the people of God.

Our prayer is that the NET will be a fresh and exciting invitation to you—and Bible readers everywhere—to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col 3:16).

THE PUBLISHERS

Explanatory Notes

*1 Samuel 13:1 MT a son of a year; a few Greek manuscripts read thirty.

†1 Samuel 13:1 MT two years; Acts 13:21 has forty; some English translations add these two, resulting in forty-two.

‡Ezra 4:7 Since it makes no sense to say the letter was first written in Aramaic and then translated into Aramaic, the second mention of Aramaic is probably a scribal notation that what follows is in Aramaic.

§Matthew 17:20 Many significant manuscripts omit 17:21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.

||Matthew 18:10 The most significant manuscripts do not include 18:11 For the Son of Man came to seek the lost.

¶Matthew 23:13 The most important manuscripts omit 23:14 Woe to you experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and for show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.

*Mark 7:15 The best manuscripts omit 7:16 Let anyone with ears to hear, listen.

†Mark 9:43 The best manuscripts omit 9:44 where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. (identical to v. 48)

‡Mark 9:45 The best manuscripts omit 9:46 where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. (identical to v. 48)

§Mark 11:25 The best manuscripts omit 11:26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your sins.

||Mark 15:27 The best manuscripts omit 15:28 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, He was counted with the lawless ones.

¶Mark 16:8 Mark ends at this point in some manuscripts, including two of the most respected ones. Other manuscripts supply a shorter ending: They reported briefly to those around Peter all that they had been commanded. After these things Jesus himself sent out through them, from the east to the west, the holy and imperishable preaching of eternal salvation. Amen. Some manuscripts supply both endings. Because of questions about the authenticity of these alternative endings, 16:8 is usually regarded as the last verse of the Gospel of Mark.

*Luke 17:35 The best manuscripts do not include 17:36 There will be two in the field; one will be taken and other left.

†Luke 22:44 Some important manuscripts lack 22:43–44.

‡Luke 23:16 Many of the best manuscripts do not include 23:17 (Now he was obligated to release one individual for them at the feast.)

§Luke 23:34 Many significant manuscripts omit v. 34a; because of uncertainty of its authenticity it has been placed in brackets in the translation.

||John 5:3 Some manuscripts add waiting for the moving of the water. 5:4 For an angel of the Lord went down and stirred up the water at certain times. Whoever first stepped in after the stirring of the water was healed from whatever disease which he suffered.

¶John 7:53—8:11 is not contained in the earliest and best manuscripts and was almost certainly not an original part of the Gospel of John; one group of manuscripts places it after Luke 21:38.