How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth – Review

One common complaint that I often hear people is the difficulty in understanding the Bible. Reading is easy, but understanding what they read is another story. We tell them to understand the Bible literally, but then they come across something that is obviously not to be taken literal. Then they face the many types of genres and idioms and too often give up. That’s where this book, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth Fourth Edition, comes in. Written by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, this book shows the reader how to know how to read the Bible.

It covers a lot of material that includes how to interpret the Bible, how to choose a translation, and how to understand a specific book based on its genre and audience. It simplifies concepts like exegesis and hermeneutics. It covers the different types of writing, such as literary, historical, narrative, parables, and idioms, and shows how to properly understand them and keep them in context. They do a great job of explaining the translation process, the types of translations, and why you need to read more than one translation.

One complaint that I have is the obvious dislike of the KJV and NKJV. They make comments that the KJV and NKJV should be avoided at all costs for serious Bible study and that virtually all modern translations are better due to older manuscripts. There is more to this issue and none of it is taken into consideration. There is a strong bias toward the 2011 NIV and against KJV. They recommend any translation with IV or SV in the title.

This is a good book with lots of good information on how to properly understand the various genres of the Bible. The biases for and against specific translations do not get in the way of the information presented. They do a great job of demonstrating proper interpretation techniques using sound principles.

Zondervan provided this book free for review. I was not required to give a positive review- only an honest review.