English-speaking people have no shortage of study Bibles. I have more than a dozen in front of me as I write these lines. All study Bibles have certain features in common. They bring together in one fat volume the complete text of the English Bible, and, on the same page, explanatory notes, maps, illustrations, etc. to help readers understand what they are reading. There is a danger in this, of course: we would not want any reader to confuse the authority and reliability of the biblical text with the notes and commentary that we provide. Although we have tried our best to provide true and faithful comments, our added features never claim the inspiration that belongs to Scripture alone. But provided readers avoid the danger by being careful not to confuse the biblical words and the words of the accompanying notes, study Bibles have a great advantage: in one volume readers have both the text of Scripture and some basic aids to help them understand what they are reading.
That such helps are necessary should not come as a surprise, for the Bible itself depicts the importance of teaching the words of Scripture to others. When Philip sees the Ethiopian eunuch reading the book of Isaiah, he boldly asks him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30). “ ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ ” (8:31), which is exactly what Philip proceeded to do. That is how Paul understood his own ministry; his concern was to teach people “the word of God,” which is variously identified with the gospel and with Scripture itself. For example, “Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God” (Acts 18:11). When Nehemiah and Ezra and others led the Israelites in reformation, “They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read” (Neh 8:8).
Although all study Bibles have certain things in common, they vary quite a lot. Some are written by scholars who do not revere Scripture as the word of God, while others affirm Scripture as inspired. Different study Bibles are based on a variety of English translations. Some are long, detailed, and occasionally verbose; others aim for crisp brevity. Some add many maps, charts, and illustrations; others provide integrative theological essays.
So what characterizes this NIV Zondervan Study Bible? First, in common with the best study Bibles, all our contributors revere Scripture as the Word of God and joyfully bow to its authority. Our desire is not so much to be masters of the Word, as to be mastered by it. That shapes how we approach the text and how we write about it. Our aim is to bring glory to God by helping people think his thoughts after him, and to bring understanding and edification to his people as they do so.
Second, this study Bible is based on the NIV, which continues to be the best-selling, most widely circulated modern English version of the Bible in the world. This version excels in idiomatic accuracy. It remembers that not only the words of the original languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek—are inspired by God, but so also are the phrases, the sentences, the idioms, the kinds of writing that make up the Bible, and all must be taken into account and worked through to generate a smooth and faithful translation.
Third, this study Bible aims to provide enough detail to answer the questions that many readers raise when they read the Bible without indulging in all the details that might be better left to separate commentaries.
Fourth, in addition to the notes on the biblical text, this study Bible provides an excellent collection of charts, maps, brief essays providing the historical circumstances when each biblical book was written, and many photos and illustrations.
Finally, this study Bible emphasizes biblical theology. By this we mean that instead of focusing primary attention on how the Bible as a whole addresses many questions (which is what many people mean by “systematic theology”), we have tried to highlight the way various themes develop within the Bible across time. Nowhere is this clearer than in the 28 articles at the end of the Bible, which survey the way certain themes develop in the Bible, taking us to their climax in the book of Revelation—such themes as temple, for instance, and sacrifice, Jerusalem, kingship, Messiah, and many more. In this way we hope to encourage readers of the Bible to spot these themes for themselves as they read their Bibles, becoming adept at tracing them throughout the Scriptures. Such biblical theology enables readers to follow the Bible’s themes in the terms and categories that the Bible itself uses.
All of us who have worked on this project will be satisfied if readers come away from the Bible with increased understanding, greater grasp of the gospel, greater confidence in Scripture, more love for the Lord Jesus, renewed fear of sin and renewed love for the church, and greater joy in God.
Soli Deo gloria.
D. A. Carson