Rating: 
Summary: The Standard Jewish Bible for the English-speaking world
Review: I doubt I will ever go past English in the reading of the Holey Scriptures. So I had help in the choice of this translation. I have read parallel bibles and this makes it easy to read and keep up with. Too easy. So I have added tabs and slowed down. So far this is a most readable book. As with any translation there will be praisers and those that say it missed the mark. I would say read it your self and you may find new insights.
At least look at the Amazon.com "look inside" feature. This is a five star item for me.
Rating: 
Summary: A good starter but not the definitive...
Review: I found this book very enlightening on most major points. Being of a Jewish heritage, some of the points don't sit exactly right though. Non-Jews may miss some of the subtle but extremely important points (ref. "echad", the hebrew word for "one" being translated as "alone" in Deut 6). The captions at the bottom of the pages are helpful in pointing out where the authors took liberty though. A good tool for discussion but not the definitive answer.
Rating:
Summary: I want to learn and understand
Review: I know that this might sound ridiculous. But i went to hebrew school and i was bat mitvahed when i was 19 , to prove to my mom i could do it. Well I lost my mom dec.2003 and i want to get in touch with my religion i guess i want to learn more i have never read the holy scriptures in full. This is easy to read and explains a lot.
Rating:
Summary: I want to learn and understand
Review: I know that this might sound ridiculous. But i went to hebrew school and i was bat mitvahed when i was 19 , to prove to my mom i could do it. Well I lost my mom dec.2003 and i want to get in touch with my religion i guess i want to learn more i have never read the holy scriptures in full. This is easy to read and explains a lot.
Rating:
Summary: What a great book
Review: I love everything about this book. It reads so smoothly, like a novel or a historical commentary. Also, it's great to read the scriptures without having to wonder about the intentions of the translator; it's a Jewish book written by Jews about Jews and the God of Israel, translated by Jews. Not too much worry about latent anti-semitism or "selective verbage." No, I think this work is true to the intent of it's original authors, and even as a non-Jew, I've decided that THIS is the translation I'll be using for my Old Testament studies from now on.
Rating:
Summary: What got me reading the Bible
Review: I never could get into the King James Bible. Too wordy, too preachy talky, too much Shakespearean muddle. Others find it a beautiful text, but in the beauty of the old English a lot of plot gets lost. There are other more modern translations but oft-times they are based upon this King James and the original mistranslations are preserved. After taking a class I fell in love with this book because it has all the things that I found wanting in other Bibles---wit, style, easy to read, and a wicked sense of humor. I have taken to judging Bibles by whether or not 1 Samual 5:12 admits that God gave the Philistines hemmerhoids as Divine Justice instead of "tumors" as most translations like to say. Also from a Jewish perspective, this book is perfect since it is not written as if it is a prologue to that Jesus material but a complete book in and of itself. Now taking a class in Biblical Hebrew I know that there is a lot of mistakes in this book as well. I also know that every individual book of the Bible (especially Torah) has better translations on the market, but this book is the best all around translation. Every book achieves a level of decency that would make people actually want to read the bible for reasons other than religious. When I read this book I was entertained which is something Bibles usually don't do for me. Also it is one of the main reasons why I've decided to convert to Judaism, but even if you are Christian and staying that way or if you are curious about what the Bible really says, this is a great resource
Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Scholarly Acheivement
Review: I once heard it said that reading the bible in translation is like "kissing through a veil." I am sure that Jews with various backgrounds will be disputing the merits of this translation as vigorously as Christians of different backgrounds dispute NT translations. Being a religious scholar must be a thankless job, especially if you are dealing with scripture translation.That being said, this is an excellent and scholarly achievement. As a Christian, I have all the major scholarly English language translations of the scriptures available. (I am speaking of the ones that include the NT... the NRSV, RSV, NAB, KJV, NKJV etc.) The translations of the Hebrew scriptures in some of these editions are lacking. The psalms in the new NAB for example are terrible in places. Thus far I have given Genesis and the Psalms a careful reading in the JPS. I have not been disappointed. The more reliable and scholarly translations I have for comparison the better. Plus, Oxford just published the Jewish Study Bible that uses the JPS translations, and also includes commentary from top Jewish theologians. This is really an asset. I get an excellent translation from the original Hebrew but I also get commentary from a Jewish perspective. This aids my understanding. Jesus was a faithful Jew, and working to both understand and appreciate Judaism seems essential to me. Some prior reviews by Christians bash the JPS translations as being "de-christianized." Hogwash. These translations are excellent, scholarly, and truly helpful. Any Christian clergyman or scholar ought to have them at his or her disposal. Ideally, Christians would be more like Jews and learn Hebrew, and some Greek in addition, and have copies of the original sources at their disposal. However it is not a perfect world.
Rating:
Summary: A very readable translation
Review: I own several copies of the "New" JPS translation (it has been around for a few decades now). I own the original three volume edition, the full-size and the pocket size with and without Hebrew text. And despite the fact that I have a few other bibles (including the Judaica Press edition of various books and the entire Soncino Bible) this is the one that I refer to the most. The translation is readable and accurate although not in the literal sense. When they stray from the literal meaning, it is included in a footnote, as good scholarship requires. The Hebrew-English addition has the original text facing the translation, which is sometimes helpful if you want to improve your vocabulary, but only beware, the translations is not always word for word.
Rating:
Summary: A very readable translation
Review: I own several copies of the "New" JPS translation (it has been around for a few decades now). I own the original three volume edition, the full-size and the pocket size with and without Hebrew text. And despite the fact that I have a few other bibles (including the Judaica Press edition of various books and the entire Soncino Bible) this is the one that I refer to the most. The translation is readable and accurate although not in the literal sense. When they stray from the literal meaning, it is included in a footnote, as good scholarship requires. The Hebrew-English addition has the original text facing the translation, which is sometimes helpful if you want to improve your vocabulary, but only beware, the translations is not always word for word.
Rating:
Summary: A very readable translation
Review: I own several copies of the "New" JPS translation (it has been around for a few decades now). I own the original three volume edition, the full-size and the pocket size with and without Hebrew text. And despite the fact that I have a few other bibles (including the Judaica Press edition of various books and the entire Soncino Bible) this is the one that I refer to the most. The translation is readable and accurate although not in the literal sense. When they stray from the literal meaning, it is included in a footnote, as good scholarship requires. The Hebrew-English addition has the original text facing the translation, which is sometimes helpful if you want to improve your vocabulary, but only beware, the translations is not always word for word.
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