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Jonathan Petersen
October 19, 2021

Passagio Setting—The Next Step in Bible Page Design: An Interview with Melinda Bouma

Melinda BoumaDrawing on the essence of harmony through the ages comes a breakthrough in the page design of print Bibles for the 21st century, starting with Scripture in the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and New International Version (NIV) Bible translations.

Bible Gateway interviewed Melinda Bouma, vice president and publisher of Bibles for Zondervan, about Passagio Setting Bibles (Zondervan, 2021).

What is the significance of the term passaggio, and what is its connection to Bible design?

Buy your copy of Passagio Setting Bibles in the FaithGateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day

Melinda Bouma: The term passaggio comes from the world of classical singing. It’s used to describe the shift that a performer makes between vocal registers: between the lower chest voice, the middle voice, and the higher head voice.

We use the term as a picturesque description of a new kind of Bible. Instead of shifting vocal ranges, these Bibles contain shifts between settings of the Bible text. The typesettings of these Bibles strive to create a strong transition between (1) highly readable single-column text for prose writing and (2) clean and efficient double-column text for poetry.

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Jonathan Petersen
October 18, 2021

New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)—Meet the Translators: An Interview with Jeannine K. Brown, PhD

Jeannine K. Brown, PhDNow celebrating its 25th anniversary, the New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) easy-to-read Bible translation for young readers and English language learners has more than 8.5 million copies in print worldwide, being jointly published by Zondervan and Biblica since 1996.

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) Bible Translation Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary]

Buy your copy of the NIrV Adventure Bible for Early Readers in the FaithGateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day

Bible Gateway interviewed Jeannine K. Brown, PhD about her role in translating the NIrV.

[Sign-up to receive, once a month, the free NIrV Parent Packet, based on the popular easy-to-read New International Reader’s Version Bible translation!]

Tell us about yourself and your work.

Jeannine K. Brown, PhD: I have taught New Testament at Bethel Seminary (Saint Paul, MN) for over 25 years. My PhD work focused on the Gospels and I continue to love teaching and writing in this area (for example, see my recent book The Gospels as Stories). I was asked to become a member of the Committee on Bible Translation for the NIV in 2010 and have been a member of this committee for 11 years now. My husband, Tim, and I live in Saint Paul and love spending time with our two adult daughters, their husbands, and our two grandchildren.

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Jonathan Petersen
October 15, 2021

Weekly Brief – Week of October 10, 2021

Read this week’s Bible Gateway Weekly Brief newsletter
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⇨ Newsletter signupSee the Bible News Roundup archive on Bible Gateway
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⇨ See Bible News Roundup weekly posts

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Guest Post
October 14, 2021

COVID May Just Break Your Heart. But God Can Put It Together Again.

Medical doctor Erik Strandness asks whether this pandemic will put us in touch with spiritual reality.

A photo of a surgeon in the shadows looking forlornBy Dr. Erik Strandness

COVID caught us off guard. Peacefully snoring away in our cultural slumber an alarm went off that we didn’t set, a wake-up call that we didn’t request. Groggy and disoriented we fumble about trying to get our bearings and rearrange our schedule for the day.

We sat down with our Bible and a cup of coffee for our daily quiet time but found the air punctuated by a cacophony of confusion. Not content to internalize his Word for the day we asked God to leap off the pages and explain himself.

I think part of the problem was that we had been lulled into a false sense of technological security that remedies problems with patches and upgrades. Unfortunately, global tragedy doesn’t come with a delete button and the computer screen of pain doesn’t go to sleep if we ignore it long enough. The COVID outbreak has revealed that we may be more culturally complacent than medically unprepared.

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, COVID-19: Bible Reading Plan of Assurance]

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Mel Lawrenz
October 13, 2021

How to Live the Bible — Never Too Late

howtostudythebible

This is the one-hundred-seventy-eighth lesson in author and pastor Mel Lawrenz’ How to Live the Bible series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.

“We wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:13-14

Photograph of a cave entrance looking from the inside

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Chris Fann
October 13, 2021

Embrace Joy in Your Life: An Interview with Mark Batterson

Buy your copy of Philippians Study Guide plus Streaming Video: Embracing Joy in ChurchSource where you'll enjoy low prices every day

In the latest 40 Days Through the Book video Bible study series, Mark Batterson (@MarkBatterson) serves as a tour guide on Paul’s letter to the Philippians so you can embrace joy in your daily life. Paul, writing from a jail cell, speaks of joy, gratitude, unity, and purpose. In this interview with Mark, find out why joy is so important right now, what kind of letter Philippians is, and what word Paul repeats 9 times in the letter.

What would you say is the core message of the letter to the Philippians?

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Jonathan Petersen
October 12, 2021

Looking for a Concise, Fundamental Grasp of Scripture?

Sign up to get the Know the Bible free email lesson series from Bible Gateway

Because the Bible is such an influential book worldwide, many people wish they had at least a foundational grasp of what it contains.

Bible Gateway’s Know the Bible free email series begins to answer some of the practical and broad questions you might have about the Bible—whether you grew up in the church or have never set foot in one—and uses that orientating knowledge to make it a less daunting book to read and understand.

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Guest Post
October 12, 2021

Embracing the Gift of Sleep

Abide Christian MeditationBy Abide Christian Meditation

In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—for
he grants sleep to those he loves.
—PSALM 127:2

Perhaps you’ve never thought of sleep as a gift from God. But it is. Sleep is a beautiful gift of peace and rest that comes from the Father’s hand. Let’s unwrap the gift of sleep today.

Imagine your loving creator handing you a beautifully wrapped package. He encourages you to untie the ribbon and let it fall away. He guides you to remove the wrapping and set it aside. He waits patiently as you open the box to discover a beautiful gift—the gift of sleep.

Sleep is a gift, for it allows us to process, restore, and strengthen our bodies and minds. As we drift through the sleep cycles, our mind is able to sort out the day’s events. We are able to organize information, file it away, and remember what is most important. Each cell in our bodies benefits from sleep. Sleep rejuvenates us, repairs our tissues, and restores us after a long day of hard work.

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Jonathan Petersen
October 11, 2021

New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)—Meet the Translators: An Interview with Michael J. Williams, PhD

Michael J. Williams, PhDNow celebrating its 25th anniversary, the New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) easy-to-read Bible translation for young readers and English language learners has more than 8.5 million copies in print worldwide, being jointly published by Zondervan and Biblica since 1996.

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) Bible Translation Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary]

Buy your copy of the NIrV Seek and Explore Holy Bible in the FaithGateway Store where you'll enjoy low prices every day

Bible Gateway interviewed Michael J. Williams, PhD about his role in translating the NIrV.

[Sign-up to receive, once a month, the free NIrV Parent Packet, based on the popular easy-to-read New International Reader’s Version Bible translation!]

Tell us about yourself and your work.

Michael J. Williams, PhD: I taught Old Testament and ancient Near East languages and literature at Calvin Theological Seminary from 1995 until I retired in 2018. I continue to write, teach, and collaborate in these academic areas. I became a member of the Committee on Bible Translation (the translation team for the NIV) in 2005. My wife, Dawn, and I live in Grand Rapids, MI, and enjoy travel and hiking.

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Jonathan Petersen
October 8, 2021

Weekly Brief – Week of October 3, 2021

Read this week’s Bible Gateway Weekly Brief newsletter
⇨ Bible Gateway Weekly Brief
⇨ Newsletter signupSee the Bible News Roundup archive on Bible Gateway
▼
Support Bible Gateway—Find the Resources You Need At:
⇨ FaithGateway Store
⇨ Christianbook.com
Order Resources in Bulk At:
⇨ ChurchSource
▼

⇨ See Bible News Roundup weekly posts

Get biblically wise and spiritually fit. Become a member of Bible Gateway Plus. Try it right now!

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    The Bible Gateway Blog features the latest news, announcements, and reflections from Bible Gateway. We hope what you find here will add to your understanding of and appreciation for the Bible.