Preaching resource: NET Bible

It's been a year since the last series here about online resources for preaching, so it's again time to feature links to the best aids for biblical exposition and preaching. One of the resources I've been using lately in my own study is the NET Bible.

The NET Bible is a new English translation (thus, along with the online format, the NET appellation). While the translation itself may not be exceptional, the notes are an unusually good resource. The Bible is displayed in browser frames and is available for download free of charge. The NET Bible was designed under "ministry first" principles to allow the translation to be used without paying royalty fees. For a good evaluation of the translation, see this review by Michael Marlowe, who points out that "The marginal apparatus of the NET Bible is . . . of considerable value as a free internet resource for poor scholars who would otherwise have no convenient access to the kind of grammatical and text-critical information presented in it." Good maps are also available free for downloading.

Web pages describing hardcopy versions suffer somewhat from marketing-speak. But the online copy is strong, helpful, and free.