New Testament scholar Robert Gundry points out, "The footnotes of the NET Bible New Testament provide an invaluable resource for people who want to know the main questions of text, translation, and interpretation that scholars discuss. Given the richness of detail on these questions, nobody will agree with all the answers given here; but the answers stay on the map of well-respected positions, and other answers get an eminently fair shake...There's nothing on the market quite like it."

The NET Bible is available on-line, can be downloaded in HTML format, in Logos Library system, or for your Palm or Windows CE handheld. I applaud the methodology used here, and suspect it will influence future translators of other versions as well.

Commentaries

A number of outstanding commentaries were released by publishers during the past year.

Among the Old Testament commentaries published in the past year are two additions to "The Old Testament Library," a scholarly series produced by Westminster John Knox Press. Well-known scholar Brevard S. Childs (Yale University) has written a significant commentary on Isaiah, while John Barton (Oxford University) has written on Joel and Obadiah.

A commentary series by the same publisher which is aimed at a more popular audience is "Interpretation." These volumes are often quite useful for preachers and teachers who seek serious scholarship that does not assume proficiency with the biblical languages. First and Second Chronicles by Steven S. Tuell (Randolph-Macon College) and Proverbs by Leo G. Perdue (Brite Divinity School) are recent additions to this excellent series.

Still another series from Westminster John Knox is the "Westminster Bible Companion," which is aimed at a lay audience but will be of interest to many pastors because of its emphasis on contemporary application of the biblical text. This year saw the release of Psalms by James Limburg (Luther Seminary).

One of the most outstanding series now in production is the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture by InterVarsity Press, for which Thomas C. Oden (Drew University) serves as general editor. These volumes draw on the insights and observations of the early church fathers (from the first to the eighth centuries) about the biblical text. As we prepare to preach God's Word, it is a unique gift to be able to turn quickly to the observations of some of the church's great minds. The most recent Old Testament additions to this series are Volume I, Genesis 1-11, edited by Andrew Louth (University of Durham), and Volume III, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, edited by Joseph T. Lienhard (Fordham University).

One of my favorite series -- particularly because of its value to preachers -- is "The NIV Application Commentary" by Zondervan Publishing House. These volumes are consistently helpful in driving preachers to the relevance and application of the text, which is a vital element of effective preaching. Two new additions to the series this year are Ecdesiastes/ Song of Songs by Iain Provan (Regent College) and Hosea/Amos/Micah by Gary V. Smith (Midwestern Baptist Seminary).