April 24, 2025 • 29 mins
In this episode we are joined by Philip Nation, Vice President and Publisher at Thomas Nelson Bibles, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The OPEN Bible!
From exploring Philip's own story of faith, to advice on using topical indexes and Bible translations for encouragement and spiritual growth, this episode offers fresh inspiration to approach God's Word with intention and joy. Join us to discover how The OPEN Bible continues to make Scripture accessible and meaningful fifty years after its groundbreaking publication.
Learn more about Thomas Nelson Bibles
Philip's favorite journaling tools: Pigma Micron Pens │Mini-ruler │Interleaved Journaling Bible
Philip's favorite Bible study website
Join our community! If you are a Christian woman seeking to know God deeper, study Scriptures, pray with and for others, strengthen your faith, and support other in doing the same, this is the place for you.
Want to study God's Word for yourself? Try our In-Depth Bible Study Academy
Click here to try a free mini-course!
📫 Subscribe to the Coffee and Bible Time newsletter
🤝 To support the work of Coffee and Bible Time, donate here
💗 See what Ellen, Taylor, Ashley, and guests are loving on Amazon
https://coffeeandbibletime.com
Some of the links in this episode may be affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
At the Coffee and Bible Time podcast.
Our goal is to help you delightin God's Word and thrive in
Christian living.
Each week, we talk to subjectmatter experts who broaden your
biblical understanding,encourage you in hard times and
provide life-building tips toenhance your Christian walk.
We are so glad you have joinedus.
(00:25):
Welcome back to the Coffee andBible Time podcast.
I'm Ellen, your host.
Today's episode is going to besomething very special.
We are celebrating somethinghuge in the world of Bible
publishing, and that is the 50thanniversary of the Open Bible.
(00:46):
And to help us understand whythis Bible has stood the test of
time and how it can help usgrow deeper in our faith, we're
joined by someone who spent hislife making God's Word more
accessible and understandable.
Our guest today is PhilipNation, vice President and
(01:06):
Publisher at Thomas NelsonBibles.
In addition to his work inpublishing, philip has also
served as pastor, church planterand professor, and he's
authored and edited manyresources to help believers
meaningfully engage withscripture.
(01:26):
Philip brings a wealth of wisdomfor helping people fall in love
with the Bible, and today we'regoing to talk with him about
his journey.
We'll find out his top tips forstudying scripture and dig into
the story behind the open Bible, including what makes it unique
and how you can make the mostof it in your own spiritual life
(01:49):
.
So grab your coffee and getready to be inspired to open
your Bible with fresh eyes and arenewed heart.
All right, philip, welcome.
We are so glad to have you onour podcast today.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Oh, thanks, ellen, it's going to be a fun
conversation today.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Absolutely.
Why don't we just start out byhaving you tell us a little bit
about what's given you, yourpassion for working with God's
Word, and just want to know alittle bit about your history?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So my history is a very blessed one.
My mom and dad my mom is withthe Lord now, but mom and dad
raised my sister and I aschurch-going kids.
They have been believers sincethey were young adults both, and
so church was just always apart of our life.
(02:48):
So I grew up in church andhealthy churches, with really
good Sunday school teachers, andso learn the value of God's
word from an early age.
But then I would say it reallythat whole valuing it for myself
took root in my later teenageyears.
I felt a call to the ministryand to preaching when I was a
(03:11):
teenager and a young associatepastor in our church took me
under his wing and discipled meon a weekly basis for about
three years, on a weekly basisfor about three years.
And so even before I finishedformal training at the
university and in seminary hisname was Matthew.
Matthew had already driven intomy life this great hunger and
(03:37):
value of the Word of God on avery personal level.
So I attribute a lot of it tothat discipling relationship
level.
So I attribute a lot of it tothat discipling relationship.
And then God has just been sovery gracious to allow me to
serve the church in ministry andthen serve the broader church
through Christian publishingwork and now in Bible publishing
(03:57):
.
So it started from an early ageand I have tried to just simply
maintain a faithful life ofdevotion to God and His Word.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
That's beautiful and how profound that you can look
back and see the faithfulness ofyour parents and, I'm sure,
praying and believing andtrusting that God would work in
your life and he clearly hasgiven you a passion for God's
word.
What was the start of thatpassion, would you say?
(04:28):
Was it?
You know you described thatrelationship with the pastor.
Did you start reading the Bibleon your own before school, or
how did that come into play?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I did.
Again, I was very blessed to bein a very healthy church that
had a healthy set of staffmembers, and so as a teenager,
we were encouraged and not justencouraged to go do it, but
taught how to do it.
Of this is how you study theword on your own, this is how
you have a quiet time, adevotional time, devotional time
(05:07):
.
And so I would say, kind of asa younger teenager, I began that
whole kind of endeavor offiguring out how to read my
Bible on a fairly daily basis.
I mean, teenage boys aresomewhat unfocused, so I
wouldn't say that I was hittingseven days a week with it, but I
did figure out the rhythm.
And as I figured out that rhythmand began to just feel the
(05:28):
Lord's drawing to certain booksand passages of the Bible, that
I have her Bible back here onone of my shelves Mom's Bible
(05:48):
was just a kind of a visualmarker in our house.
I can still picture it in mymind's eye, exactly where mom
kept her Bible in the kitchenwith her notebook that she kept
all of her prayer list in, andso it was just a very regular
presence in our lives.
And so, as a teenager,beginning to read the Bible on a
(06:09):
regular basis and hear itpublicly taught very well, and
then having these personalrelationships where talking
about the Bible was just anormal occurrence.
That is all of these things.
God conspired all of thesedetails together to give me that
hunger so that when I launchedinto my 20s and into adulthood,
(06:33):
that was already thefoundational portion of my life.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Thank you for giving us a little bit of a glimpse to
behind the scenes there.
Well, let's talk about the OpenBible, because we shared with
our listeners that this is aspecial event that's happening
with the Open Bible.
For those that aren't familiarwith it, fill us in.
What is it and who is it madefor?
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Well, we love talking about it.
So this is the 50th anniversaryof Thomas Nelson Bibles
publishing this particularedition, as you've said, called
the Open Bible, that they hadall of these great resources out
of a couple of different studyand reference editions that they
(07:27):
wanted to see collaboratedtogether into one edition, and a
keystone in it was what was atthat time known as the
Cyclopedic Index, which we'verenamed as the Nelson Topical
Index, and it's about a 300-pagetopical index in the front of
the Bible.
So before you get to Genesisthere's this giant topical index
(07:51):
and alongside of that theywanted to show how it is that
the Scripture interpretsScripture.
One of the great basicprinciples of how we approach
the Bible is, when you findyourself in a difficult passage,
you find a passage that youunderstand already that perhaps
(08:11):
has clarity for you, and allowScripture to inform the other
passages.
So they constructed thisedition, this reference edition
of the Bible that had this gianttopical index, this really
great set of cross-references,and then a chain-link group of
small study notes to carry youthrough the major themes of the
(08:35):
Bible.
And so the hope is with thisedition is that there's lots of
articles and ancillary materialin it, but the hope is that, for
readers of any maturity level,whether you're just starting out
or you've been reading theBible for a long time, is that,
once again, these are tools inyour hand to be able to see oh
(08:56):
well, I'm over here in Joshua,but there are cross-references
to later on in Old Testamenthistory.
Or I'm here in Psalms, and, oh,there's cross.
There's cross references overto the New Testament, to the
Gospels to see how the Bible isone unified, beautiful message
from God of who he is and whohe's making us to be.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
You know, I had the opportunity of looking at it and
I think that index is prettyincredible.
How would you say you use thatin your own personal use?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah Well, and I'll just say I've been using a copy
of the open Bible since I was 17years old.
It was one of the first studyBibles I received and so I've
been using that topical index mywhole life.
That whenever it is that I amjust at a loss for well, what
does the Bible say about?
(09:52):
And then fill in the blank.
And it could have been whatdoes the Bible say about
forgiveness, or what does theBible say about anxiety or a
particular sin that I waswrestling with, that temptation,
or a big theological idea likegrace or justification.
And so it has served as just agreat tool in my hand so that
(10:15):
when I want to know what theBible says, I could go and look
it up, Even if it's the largestidea, like you want to know what
does the Bible say about God?
And so you go to the word Godand then it has all the little
subcategories about all of hisdifferent attributes, that then
you can just kind of riflethrough the Bible, all of these
different verses from Genesis toRevelation, about where does
(10:39):
this idea show up in the Bible.
And so for me that topicalindex has just been a gold mine
to be able to dig into aparticular idea, whether it was
because I was in need or becauseI was on the hunt studying some
big idea that I wanted to justunderstand better.
That's how I've used it overthese years.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Yeah, that's amazing.
I was thinking about wow, Iwish I had that, because so many
times we want to encouragesomeone.
Maybe they're experiencinggrief or, like you said, anxiety
.
I think that could be awonderful tool too, to be able
to use the index and pull outsome applicable passages.
(11:24):
To use the index and pull outsome applicable passages.
Well, this version of the openBible was published in the new
King James Version and theremight be people out there
listening who don't really knowwhere that falls on the spectrum
of word-for-word translationsversus more thought-for-thought.
Can you share with us someperspective on where that falls
(11:47):
in there?
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah, that's a great question.
The New King James falls more onthe formal side of the
translation spectrum, as you say, more of the word-for-word
versus the dynamic side of moreof the thought for thought or
phrase by phrase.
And the New King James Versionwas commissioned by Thomas
(12:10):
Nelson Bibles back in the 1970sand then it first was fully
published in 1982.
And so, even though it feels along way away, we're already
beginning to think about the50th anniversary of the NKJV,
and the translation committeesought to bring to the forefront
(12:31):
an optimal equivalence kind oftranslation where they wanted to
maintain all of the beauty andthe poetry of the old King James
Version, that kind ofmagisterial feel, that lyrical
feel to the scripture, whilealso bringing the language
(12:51):
forward in order to make it amore accessible and readable
translation.
So you get this trustworthykind of feel from it being a
more formal translation, butthen it is in a modern language
that is helpful for any reader.
It is still in all of thevocabulary of what we're
(13:15):
accustomed to, but maintainingsome of that really important
theological language as well.
So it is a it's a funtranslation.
For me.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
It feels like home when I read it Right, right,
what I love about it is kind ofhow you've described like for
those of us who grew upmemorizing scripture in the King
James version.
I do love that.
The flow is similar.
It's just not the these andthous and that really kind of
help.
You see that it's the samething just how we talk today.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
It is, and some of the other things I love about
what the translation does is itdoes convert all of those these
and thous into modern pronouns.
But then the translationcommittee had the foresight to
go ahead and do certain thingswith.
When you're reading it and yousee it on the printed page,
(14:13):
there are certain words that arein italics.
And if you read the preface andas a Bible publisher I will
encourage everybody you shouldsit down with your Bible and go
to all of the stuff that'sbefore Genesis and you should
read all of it, because there'sa preface there to the
translation that helps you tounderstand it.
(14:33):
And in the preface it describesthat these italicized words are
part of the supplied words, sothat these are not words that
were in the Hebrew or the Greek,but in order for it to be
readable in the English, youhave to supply words in.
Sometimes they're modifiers orconnector words, and so it helps
(14:56):
you to get a better view ofexactly what's here in the text.
And then also the inclusion oftranslator notes that are
usually at the bottom of thepage, where the translators
would say, oh, but here'sanother way that we could have
translated this phrase, or thereis a textual variant here, that
(15:18):
another translation may usethis word or this phrase here,
and so all of those littlethings put together just
continuously kind of buildconfidence that this is a great
translation and it's a moderntranslation, it's one that is
useful for all of us today, andI just love the way it sounds
(15:41):
when it's read publicly as well.
It's comforting and challengingall at once.
What would you say to someonewho might be considering maybe
they have another translationnow, but using this one for the
first time, I am a big advocateof using multiple translations
in your personal devotional life, because you will find that
(16:03):
there's a richness that willcome to bear in your reading of
Scripture if you will use atranslation that is dynamic and
thought for thought and one thatis more formal.
And so the inclusion of atranslation like the NKJV helps
you to stand in that wonderfultradition of what was happening
(16:25):
with English translations fromthe late 1500s all the way up to
our modern day.
It will be one that, if you aremore accustomed to a dynamic
translation, there's some pointsof accuracy that I think that
you'll find to be very helpfulby reading a more formal
translation like the NKJV.
(16:45):
And then there is and I knowI've said this already, but
there's a certain measure ofpoetry that happens with the
NKJV.
That is not absent from othermodern translations, but
certainly I think it'shighlighted in the NKJV,
especially when you're in Psalms, proverbs, ecclesiastes, song
(17:07):
of Solomon and even Job and theother places in Scripture where
a song is sung or a letter isreceived, there's a certain way
that it is typeset on the pagethat helps you to visually see,
and so to read it properly, forthe lyricism and the poetry that
(17:29):
God had intended for thosepassages to have.
There's just benefit there thatI would encourage people to
look into.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Yeah, absolutely, and I completely agree with you
that having more than onetranslation really does help to
expand your understanding of thetext as you're reading it.
Well, you're someone with awealth of experience and
knowledge in Scripture.
Tell us some advice that youmight have pertaining to
(18:00):
studying God's Word, how peoplecan use that in their own
personal time of study.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Studying God's Word often the advice and the counsel
I want to give.
It often depends on whensomebody is brand new or
somebody's very seasoned at it.
But there are some universalprinciples that I want to
encourage people that you dohave a plan, but that you not be
driven by that plan especiallythose that people who love to
(18:30):
check off the boxes and theylike to get things done that you
just have to keep rememberingthat the purpose of your Bible
reading plan is not to finishthe plan, it's to meet God in
His Word, and so sometimes themeeting of God and the
interruption that the HolySpirit is going to make in your
life is a good interruption toyour Bible reading plan, because
(18:54):
you get to stop and insteadenjoy the presence of the Lord.
And so I think that it iscarrying a careful balance, that
you do want to consume thewhole of the Bible, you do want
to study deeply into passages,but it's keeping at the
forefront of your mind that thepurpose here is that I want to
(19:16):
meet with God, and so anyinterruptions that the Spirit
has are good interruptions.
That if he wants me to pause onthis chapter and spend the next
week here, that that's a goodthing In terms of then digging
into the scripture passages.
I encourage people to learn howto ask really great questions
(19:37):
About.
I guess it was eight years agoI wrote a book that I had
published, called Habits for OurHoliness, about the spiritual
disciplines, and one of thechapters was specifically about
Bible study, and in that I laidout a series of questions that
we can ask of any passage weencounter, and the first
(19:59):
question is always the Godquestion.
You know, what does thispassage tell me about God?
Because, as humans, we oftenwill rush to the application
question of what does this meanfor me?
What does this mean for me atwork?
What does this mean for me, youknow, in my daily chores, but
keeping at the forefront what isthe God question here?
(20:23):
Who is God telling me that heis in this passage?
But one of the other reallyimportant questions that I've
learned to ask is the rebellionquestion, and that is how do I
naturally rebel against thetruth in this passage?
To go ahead and get yourselfalert to.
(20:43):
You know, god's told mesomething about himself, about
his work, about who I am, aboutthe redemption that he has for
me in Christ.
Let me go ahead and get myselfarmored up to understand what is
it that I've done in the pastto rebel against this idea, or
(21:04):
what are the temptations I'mcurrently facing that are trying
to draw me away from this truthof who God is and what he's
doing in my life?
And so just being willing topause for whatever the Spirit
has and then make sure thatyou're working to ask really
insightful questions so that youcan hear from what the Spirit
(21:28):
wants to teach you, those havebeen really important practices
for me in my own devotional life.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yeah, that is so important, and I love your
reminder about the checklistthat we can't just get it
checked off the list.
It's the value of doing it andmeeting with God, as you say.
Well, how can people find out,philip, more about the Thomas
Nelson Bibles and be able tofind out more about you?
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Yeah, the easiest thing to do is just go to our
website, thomasnelsonbiblescom,and there you will be able to
filter a search of all of ourBibles, either by translation of
the various Englishtranslations that we publish or
by Bible type.
(22:18):
If you're looking for areference Bible that's got lots
of cross-references, or a studyBible, or a devotional Bible, or
one of our journaling Biblesthat's got wide margins, so that
you've got place to make yourown notes of what you're
learning, and so you can gothere and filter by that.
So that's the easiest way tofind the Bible that is right for
(22:41):
you and the one that you'relooking for.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Okay, Well, we will make sure we have links in our
show notes to those Before we gothough.
Philip, we have to ask.
We ask all our guests thesequestions, but I think I might
know the answer.
But I'm going to ask you anywaywhat Bible is your go-to Bible
and which translation is it?
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah, so the translation it is the New King
James.
That's the one that I kind oflive and move and have my being
with all the time and the onethat I carry with me most often.
It is called the large printthin line Bible, and so I like a
Bible that's kind of as thin asit can be, but I'm getting a
(23:25):
little older and so I like thelarger print and that's also
very helpful for when I preach,and so I have an NKJV Large
Print Thin Line and we've gotthis beautiful edition that the
words of Christ often in many ofour Bibles are printed in red,
but this is one that the wordsof Christ are printed in this
(23:46):
really beautiful blue color, andso it's just a really pleasant
read.
I deeply, deeply enjoy usingthat Bible.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Oh, excellent, okay, I'm glad I asked that Bible.
Oh, excellent, okay, I'm glad Iasked.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Do you have any?
Speaker 1 (24:05):
favorite journaling supplies or do you enjoy doing
any type of?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Bible journaling Absolutely.
And so I've got a set of pens.
They are Pigma Microns, are thetype of pens that I use because
they work so well on our verythin Bible paper.
And I actually have this littletiny six-inch plastic ruler
that I know that's very oldschool that I like my lines to
(24:28):
be very straight, and then wehad the opportunity to publish
an interleaved Bible severalyears ago, and so that is it's
really thick, but that means forevery page of scripture then
there is an entirely blank pagenext to it, and so you can make
as many notes as you want onthose, and so I love having it
(24:51):
and being able to write andjournal and put down my prayers,
and so I generally use thosemicron pens and that's the
addition that I use to to do alot of my journaling.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Oh, that's awesome.
Yeah, my daughter actually hasthat interleaved one and, uh,
she she absolutely loves that.
I should say that is her, hercurrent Bible.
She's had many but that one, uh, she really does love because
it has all that space, like yousaid, to take notes.
So, yeah, All right.
(25:25):
Last question what is yourfavorite app or website for
Bible study tools?
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah, so the website that I use most often is Bible
Gateway, and I find it to bejust super helpful and easy to
navigate.
I do have several Bible apps onmy phone that I access when I'm
on the go and don't have aBible with me and need to look
something up or have a momentthat I want to read, but in
(25:54):
general, most of mine is donewhen I'm at a computer, and so I
like Bible Gateway as my go-towebsite to do extra study and
have extra resources.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Awesome.
Yes, great website.
Okay.
Well, thank you so much, philip, for being here.
That was such an inspiringconversation.
I appreciate all your insightsand tips.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Well, God bless and blessings to all of your
listeners.
Hope that it was anencouragement to everybody.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Yes, it certainly has been To our listeners.
I hope you're walking away witha fresh excitement to dive into
God's word with intention andjoy.
We will have the links to allthese different things that
Philip mentioned in theconversation, and if something
from today's episode has spoketo you or you know someone who
(26:45):
might need a new Bible, be sureand share this episode with a
friend.
So, philip, can I tap into yourpastor's heart and ask you to
pray for our listeners before wego.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
I'll be glad to.
I'll be glad to, father, thankyou.
Thank you so much for theblessing of giving us your word
so that we might know who youare, we might understand Jesus
Christ as our Lord and Savior,and that we might be the
beneficiaries of all of yourgood work.
I pray for these listenerstoday that you would just well
(27:18):
up great joy for your salvationin their lives, that you would
just anchor a hunger and athirst for your word in their
lives.
And for those that aresearching for answers, I ask
that today would be the day thatthey would be able to find
those answers from you in thescripture, that they would find
hope and healing, that theywould find forgiveness and
(27:40):
freedom through Jesus Christ andhis word.
It's in his name we pray, amen.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Yes, it is Amen.
Thank you so much, Philip again, and thank you to all of our
listeners for joining us today.
We will talk again with youvery soon.
At the Coffee and Bible Time podcast.
Our goal is to help you delightin God's Word and thrive in
Christian living.
Each week, we talk to subjectmatter experts who broaden your
biblical understanding,encourage you in hard times and
provide life-building tips toenhance your Christian walk.
We are so glad you have joinedus.
(00:25):
Welcome back to the Coffee andBible Time podcast.
I'm Ellen, your host.
Today's episode is going to besomething very special.
We are celebrating somethinghuge in the world of Bible
publishing, and that is the 50thanniversary of the Open Bible.
(00:46):
And to help us understand whythis Bible has stood the test of
time and how it can help usgrow deeper in our faith, we're
joined by someone who spent hislife making God's Word more
accessible and understandable.
Our guest today is PhilipNation, vice President and
(01:06):
Publisher at Thomas NelsonBibles.
In addition to his work inpublishing, philip has also
served as pastor, church planterand professor, and he's
authored and edited manyresources to help believers
meaningfully engage withscripture.
(01:26):
Philip brings a wealth of wisdomfor helping people fall in love
with the Bible, and today we'regoing to talk with him about
his journey.
We'll find out his top tips forstudying scripture and dig into
the story behind the open Bible, including what makes it unique
and how you can make the mostof it in your own spiritual life
(01:49):
.
So grab your coffee and getready to be inspired to open
your Bible with fresh eyes and arenewed heart.
All right, philip, welcome.
We are so glad to have you onour podcast today.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Oh, thanks, ellen, it's going to be a fun
conversation today.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Absolutely.
Why don't we just start out byhaving you tell us a little bit
about what's given you, yourpassion for working with God's
Word, and just want to know alittle bit about your history?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So my history is a very blessed one.
My mom and dad my mom is withthe Lord now, but mom and dad
raised my sister and I aschurch-going kids.
They have been believers sincethey were young adults both, and
so church was just always apart of our life.
(02:48):
So I grew up in church andhealthy churches, with really
good Sunday school teachers, andso learn the value of God's
word from an early age.
But then I would say it reallythat whole valuing it for myself
took root in my later teenageyears.
I felt a call to the ministryand to preaching when I was a
(03:11):
teenager and a young associatepastor in our church took me
under his wing and discipled meon a weekly basis for about
three years, on a weekly basisfor about three years.
And so even before I finishedformal training at the
university and in seminary hisname was Matthew.
Matthew had already driven intomy life this great hunger and
(03:37):
value of the Word of God on avery personal level.
So I attribute a lot of it tothat discipling relationship
level.
So I attribute a lot of it tothat discipling relationship.
And then God has just been sovery gracious to allow me to
serve the church in ministry andthen serve the broader church
through Christian publishingwork and now in Bible publishing
(03:57):
.
So it started from an early ageand I have tried to just simply
maintain a faithful life ofdevotion to God and His Word.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
That's beautiful and how profound that you can look
back and see the faithfulness ofyour parents and, I'm sure,
praying and believing andtrusting that God would work in
your life and he clearly hasgiven you a passion for God's
word.
What was the start of thatpassion, would you say?
(04:28):
Was it?
You know you described thatrelationship with the pastor.
Did you start reading the Bibleon your own before school, or
how did that come into play?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
I did.
Again, I was very blessed to bein a very healthy church that
had a healthy set of staffmembers, and so as a teenager,
we were encouraged and not justencouraged to go do it, but
taught how to do it.
Of this is how you study theword on your own, this is how
you have a quiet time, adevotional time, devotional time
(05:07):
.
And so I would say, kind of asa younger teenager, I began that
whole kind of endeavor offiguring out how to read my
Bible on a fairly daily basis.
I mean, teenage boys aresomewhat unfocused, so I
wouldn't say that I was hittingseven days a week with it, but I
did figure out the rhythm.
And as I figured out that rhythmand began to just feel the
(05:28):
Lord's drawing to certain booksand passages of the Bible, that
I have her Bible back here onone of my shelves Mom's Bible
(05:48):
was just a kind of a visualmarker in our house.
I can still picture it in mymind's eye, exactly where mom
kept her Bible in the kitchenwith her notebook that she kept
all of her prayer list in, andso it was just a very regular
presence in our lives.
And so, as a teenager,beginning to read the Bible on a
(06:09):
regular basis and hear itpublicly taught very well, and
then having these personalrelationships where talking
about the Bible was just anormal occurrence.
That is all of these things.
God conspired all of thesedetails together to give me that
hunger so that when I launchedinto my 20s and into adulthood,
(06:33):
that was already thefoundational portion of my life.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Thank you for giving us a little bit of a glimpse to
behind the scenes there.
Well, let's talk about the OpenBible, because we shared with
our listeners that this is aspecial event that's happening
with the Open Bible.
For those that aren't familiarwith it, fill us in.
What is it and who is it madefor?
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Well, we love talking about it.
So this is the 50th anniversaryof Thomas Nelson Bibles
publishing this particularedition, as you've said, called
the Open Bible, that they hadall of these great resources out
of a couple of different studyand reference editions that they
(07:27):
wanted to see collaboratedtogether into one edition, and a
keystone in it was what was atthat time known as the
Cyclopedic Index, which we'verenamed as the Nelson Topical
Index, and it's about a 300-pagetopical index in the front of
the Bible.
So before you get to Genesisthere's this giant topical index
(07:51):
and alongside of that theywanted to show how it is that
the Scripture interpretsScripture.
One of the great basicprinciples of how we approach
the Bible is, when you findyourself in a difficult passage,
you find a passage that youunderstand already that perhaps
(08:11):
has clarity for you, and allowScripture to inform the other
passages.
So they constructed thisedition, this reference edition
of the Bible that had this gianttopical index, this really
great set of cross-references,and then a chain-link group of
small study notes to carry youthrough the major themes of the
(08:35):
Bible.
And so the hope is with thisedition is that there's lots of
articles and ancillary materialin it, but the hope is that, for
readers of any maturity level,whether you're just starting out
or you've been reading theBible for a long time, is that,
once again, these are tools inyour hand to be able to see oh
(08:56):
well, I'm over here in Joshua,but there are cross-references
to later on in Old Testamenthistory.
Or I'm here in Psalms, and, oh,there's cross.
There's cross references overto the New Testament, to the
Gospels to see how the Bible isone unified, beautiful message
from God of who he is and whohe's making us to be.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
You know, I had the opportunity of looking at it and
I think that index is prettyincredible.
How would you say you use thatin your own personal use?
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah Well, and I'll just say I've been using a copy
of the open Bible since I was 17years old.
It was one of the first studyBibles I received and so I've
been using that topical index mywhole life.
That whenever it is that I amjust at a loss for well, what
does the Bible say about?
(09:52):
And then fill in the blank.
And it could have been whatdoes the Bible say about
forgiveness, or what does theBible say about anxiety or a
particular sin that I waswrestling with, that temptation,
or a big theological idea likegrace or justification.
And so it has served as just agreat tool in my hand so that
(10:15):
when I want to know what theBible says, I could go and look
it up, Even if it's the largestidea, like you want to know what
does the Bible say about God?
And so you go to the word Godand then it has all the little
subcategories about all of hisdifferent attributes, that then
you can just kind of riflethrough the Bible, all of these
different verses from Genesis toRevelation, about where does
(10:39):
this idea show up in the Bible.
And so for me that topicalindex has just been a gold mine
to be able to dig into aparticular idea, whether it was
because I was in need or becauseI was on the hunt studying some
big idea that I wanted to justunderstand better.
That's how I've used it overthese years.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
Yeah, that's amazing.
I was thinking about wow, Iwish I had that, because so many
times we want to encouragesomeone.
Maybe they're experiencinggrief or, like you said, anxiety
.
I think that could be awonderful tool too, to be able
to use the index and pull outsome applicable passages.
(11:24):
To use the index and pull outsome applicable passages.
Well, this version of the openBible was published in the new
King James Version and theremight be people out there
listening who don't really knowwhere that falls on the spectrum
of word-for-word translationsversus more thought-for-thought.
Can you share with us someperspective on where that falls
(11:47):
in there?
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah, that's a great question.
The New King James falls more onthe formal side of the
translation spectrum, as you say, more of the word-for-word
versus the dynamic side of moreof the thought for thought or
phrase by phrase.
And the New King James Versionwas commissioned by Thomas
(12:10):
Nelson Bibles back in the 1970sand then it first was fully
published in 1982.
And so, even though it feels along way away, we're already
beginning to think about the50th anniversary of the NKJV,
and the translation committeesought to bring to the forefront
(12:31):
an optimal equivalence kind oftranslation where they wanted to
maintain all of the beauty andthe poetry of the old King James
Version, that kind ofmagisterial feel, that lyrical
feel to the scripture, whilealso bringing the language
(12:51):
forward in order to make it amore accessible and readable
translation.
So you get this trustworthykind of feel from it being a
more formal translation, butthen it is in a modern language
that is helpful for any reader.
It is still in all of thevocabulary of what we're
(13:15):
accustomed to, but maintainingsome of that really important
theological language as well.
So it is a it's a funtranslation.
For me.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
It feels like home when I read it Right, right,
what I love about it is kind ofhow you've described like for
those of us who grew upmemorizing scripture in the King
James version.
I do love that.
The flow is similar.
It's just not the these andthous and that really kind of
help.
You see that it's the samething just how we talk today.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
It is, and some of the other things I love about
what the translation does is itdoes convert all of those these
and thous into modern pronouns.
But then the translationcommittee had the foresight to
go ahead and do certain thingswith.
When you're reading it and yousee it on the printed page,
(14:13):
there are certain words that arein italics.
And if you read the preface andas a Bible publisher I will
encourage everybody you shouldsit down with your Bible and go
to all of the stuff that'sbefore Genesis and you should
read all of it, because there'sa preface there to the
translation that helps you tounderstand it.
(14:33):
And in the preface it describesthat these italicized words are
part of the supplied words, sothat these are not words that
were in the Hebrew or the Greek,but in order for it to be
readable in the English, youhave to supply words in.
Sometimes they're modifiers orconnector words, and so it helps
(14:56):
you to get a better view ofexactly what's here in the text.
And then also the inclusion oftranslator notes that are
usually at the bottom of thepage, where the translators
would say, oh, but here'sanother way that we could have
translated this phrase, or thereis a textual variant here, that
(15:18):
another translation may usethis word or this phrase here,
and so all of those littlethings put together just
continuously kind of buildconfidence that this is a great
translation and it's a moderntranslation, it's one that is
useful for all of us today, andI just love the way it sounds
(15:41):
when it's read publicly as well.
It's comforting and challengingall at once.
What would you say to someonewho might be considering maybe
they have another translationnow, but using this one for the
first time, I am a big advocateof using multiple translations
in your personal devotional life, because you will find that
(16:03):
there's a richness that willcome to bear in your reading of
Scripture if you will use atranslation that is dynamic and
thought for thought and one thatis more formal.
And so the inclusion of atranslation like the NKJV helps
you to stand in that wonderfultradition of what was happening
(16:25):
with English translations fromthe late 1500s all the way up to
our modern day.
It will be one that, if you aremore accustomed to a dynamic
translation, there's some pointsof accuracy that I think that
you'll find to be very helpfulby reading a more formal
translation like the NKJV.
(16:45):
And then there is and I knowI've said this already, but
there's a certain measure ofpoetry that happens with the
NKJV.
That is not absent from othermodern translations, but
certainly I think it'shighlighted in the NKJV,
especially when you're in Psalms, proverbs, ecclesiastes, song
(17:07):
of Solomon and even Job and theother places in Scripture where
a song is sung or a letter isreceived, there's a certain way
that it is typeset on the pagethat helps you to visually see,
and so to read it properly, forthe lyricism and the poetry that
(17:29):
God had intended for thosepassages to have.
There's just benefit there thatI would encourage people to
look into.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Yeah, absolutely, and I completely agree with you
that having more than onetranslation really does help to
expand your understanding of thetext as you're reading it.
Well, you're someone with awealth of experience and
knowledge in Scripture.
Tell us some advice that youmight have pertaining to
(18:00):
studying God's Word, how peoplecan use that in their own
personal time of study.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Studying God's Word often the advice and the counsel
I want to give.
It often depends on whensomebody is brand new or
somebody's very seasoned at it.
But there are some universalprinciples that I want to
encourage people that you dohave a plan, but that you not be
driven by that plan especiallythose that people who love to
(18:30):
check off the boxes and theylike to get things done that you
just have to keep rememberingthat the purpose of your Bible
reading plan is not to finishthe plan, it's to meet God in
His Word, and so sometimes themeeting of God and the
interruption that the HolySpirit is going to make in your
life is a good interruption toyour Bible reading plan, because
(18:54):
you get to stop and insteadenjoy the presence of the Lord.
And so I think that it iscarrying a careful balance, that
you do want to consume thewhole of the Bible, you do want
to study deeply into passages,but it's keeping at the
forefront of your mind that thepurpose here is that I want to
(19:16):
meet with God, and so anyinterruptions that the Spirit
has are good interruptions.
That if he wants me to pause onthis chapter and spend the next
week here, that that's a goodthing In terms of then digging
into the scripture passages.
I encourage people to learn howto ask really great questions
(19:37):
About.
I guess it was eight years agoI wrote a book that I had
published, called Habits for OurHoliness, about the spiritual
disciplines, and one of thechapters was specifically about
Bible study, and in that I laidout a series of questions that
we can ask of any passage weencounter, and the first
(19:59):
question is always the Godquestion.
You know, what does thispassage tell me about God?
Because, as humans, we oftenwill rush to the application
question of what does this meanfor me?
What does this mean for me atwork?
What does this mean for me, youknow, in my daily chores, but
keeping at the forefront what isthe God question here?
(20:23):
Who is God telling me that heis in this passage?
But one of the other reallyimportant questions that I've
learned to ask is the rebellionquestion, and that is how do I
naturally rebel against thetruth in this passage?
To go ahead and get yourselfalert to.
(20:43):
You know, god's told mesomething about himself, about
his work, about who I am, aboutthe redemption that he has for
me in Christ.
Let me go ahead and get myselfarmored up to understand what is
it that I've done in the pastto rebel against this idea, or
(21:04):
what are the temptations I'mcurrently facing that are trying
to draw me away from this truthof who God is and what he's
doing in my life?
And so just being willing topause for whatever the Spirit
has and then make sure thatyou're working to ask really
insightful questions so that youcan hear from what the Spirit
(21:28):
wants to teach you, those havebeen really important practices
for me in my own devotional life.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yeah, that is so important, and I love your
reminder about the checklistthat we can't just get it
checked off the list.
It's the value of doing it andmeeting with God, as you say.
Well, how can people find out,philip, more about the Thomas
Nelson Bibles and be able tofind out more about you?
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Yeah, the easiest thing to do is just go to our
website, thomasnelsonbiblescom,and there you will be able to
filter a search of all of ourBibles, either by translation of
the various Englishtranslations that we publish or
by Bible type.
(22:18):
If you're looking for areference Bible that's got lots
of cross-references, or a studyBible, or a devotional Bible, or
one of our journaling Biblesthat's got wide margins, so that
you've got place to make yourown notes of what you're
learning, and so you can gothere and filter by that.
So that's the easiest way tofind the Bible that is right for
(22:41):
you and the one that you'relooking for.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Okay, Well, we will make sure we have links in our
show notes to those Before we gothough.
Philip, we have to ask.
We ask all our guests thesequestions, but I think I might
know the answer.
But I'm going to ask you anywaywhat Bible is your go-to Bible
and which translation is it?
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah, so the translation it is the New King
James.
That's the one that I kind oflive and move and have my being
with all the time and the onethat I carry with me most often.
It is called the large printthin line Bible, and so I like a
Bible that's kind of as thin asit can be, but I'm getting a
(23:25):
little older and so I like thelarger print and that's also
very helpful for when I preach,and so I have an NKJV Large
Print Thin Line and we've gotthis beautiful edition that the
words of Christ often in many ofour Bibles are printed in red,
but this is one that the wordsof Christ are printed in this
(23:46):
really beautiful blue color, andso it's just a really pleasant
read.
I deeply, deeply enjoy usingthat Bible.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Oh, excellent, okay, I'm glad I asked that Bible.
Oh, excellent, okay, I'm glad Iasked.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Do you have any?
Speaker 1 (24:05):
favorite journaling supplies or do you enjoy doing
any type of?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Bible journaling Absolutely.
And so I've got a set of pens.
They are Pigma Microns, are thetype of pens that I use because
they work so well on our verythin Bible paper.
And I actually have this littletiny six-inch plastic ruler
that I know that's very oldschool that I like my lines to
(24:28):
be very straight, and then wehad the opportunity to publish
an interleaved Bible severalyears ago, and so that is it's
really thick, but that means forevery page of scripture then
there is an entirely blank pagenext to it, and so you can make
as many notes as you want onthose, and so I love having it
(24:51):
and being able to write andjournal and put down my prayers,
and so I generally use thosemicron pens and that's the
addition that I use to to do alot of my journaling.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Oh, that's awesome.
Yeah, my daughter actually hasthat interleaved one and, uh,
she she absolutely loves that.
I should say that is her, hercurrent Bible.
She's had many but that one, uh, she really does love because
it has all that space, like yousaid, to take notes.
So, yeah, All right.
(25:25):
Last question what is yourfavorite app or website for
Bible study tools?
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah, so the website that I use most often is Bible
Gateway, and I find it to bejust super helpful and easy to
navigate.
I do have several Bible apps onmy phone that I access when I'm
on the go and don't have aBible with me and need to look
something up or have a momentthat I want to read, but in
(25:54):
general, most of mine is donewhen I'm at a computer, and so I
like Bible Gateway as my go-towebsite to do extra study and
have extra resources.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Awesome.
Yes, great website.
Okay.
Well, thank you so much, philip, for being here.
That was such an inspiringconversation.
I appreciate all your insightsand tips.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Well, God bless and blessings to all of your
listeners.
Hope that it was anencouragement to everybody.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Yes, it certainly has been To our listeners.
I hope you're walking away witha fresh excitement to dive into
God's word with intention andjoy.
We will have the links to allthese different things that
Philip mentioned in theconversation, and if something
from today's episode has spoketo you or you know someone who
(26:45):
might need a new Bible, be sureand share this episode with a
friend.
So, philip, can I tap into yourpastor's heart and ask you to
pray for our listeners before wego.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
I'll be glad to.
I'll be glad to, father, thankyou.
Thank you so much for theblessing of giving us your word
so that we might know who youare, we might understand Jesus
Christ as our Lord and Savior,and that we might be the
beneficiaries of all of yourgood work.
I pray for these listenerstoday that you would just well
(27:18):
up great joy for your salvationin their lives, that you would
just anchor a hunger and athirst for your word in their
lives.
And for those that aresearching for answers, I ask
that today would be the day thatthey would be able to find
those answers from you in thescripture, that they would find
hope and healing, that theywould find forgiveness and
(27:40):
freedom through Jesus Christ andhis word.
It's in his name we pray, amen.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Yes, it is Amen.
Thank you so much, Philip again, and thank you to all of our
listeners for joining us today.
We will talk again with youvery soon.
Popular Podcasts
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.