The NET Bible - Reader's Edition is the result of bible.org's users telling us what you would really like to see in the next printed version of the NET Bible. You said...

"I really love my NET Bible - First Edition with all the translators' notes when I am preparing for my Sunday sermon, but when I preach I find the text to be too small and the notes to be distracting. Could you give me another NET Bible with larger fonts, lighter weight and without all the notes to make it easy to work with from the pulpit." (Typical response from many of our pastors who use the NET Bible)

"I would really like to see another NET Bible that I can use in my morning devotions. While I find the NET Bible translators' notes extremely helpful in my Bible study, they can actually detract from my devotional and worship time in the Word...I just cannot keep myself from looking at the notes. Besides, when my eyes are a little tired I would like to have a larger font." (This is a common thought for many of us)

"I am getting pretty old and my eyesight is just not good enough anymore to read smaller print. I use the NET Bible with all of the notes when I go to bible.org for Bible study, but I want something I can have in print that I can read with these old worn out eyes." (We really do want to serve our users with poor and aging eyesight to have a NET Bible they can read easily)

"Thank you for giving us such a great Bible translation. My wife and I really like the NET Bible tranlsation, and especially those wonderful translators' notes. They really help us dig deep into the Word and we have seen things in the text we have never seen before. It makes the Bible come alive for us. But sometimes when I travel, I want a NET Bible to carry with me that is smaller and lighter. My wife prefers to carry a smaller Bible to church. Please be sure and let us know we you come up with another version of the NET Bible that meets those needs. Thank you and blessings to your wonderful ministry and the gift of the NET Bible." (Pretty common request and scenario from bible.org users and NET Bible fans)

"I have been coming to bible.org for years. You guys are awesome! I just love your ministry heart and that you give away the NET Bible and all those Bible study resources away for free online. I have bought every version of the NET Bible and I buy additional copies to give away to others as my own personal ministry. It would be great to have a version of the NET Bible that costs less so I can reach more people." (A number of bible.org users buy NET Bibles by the case to give away to others as one aspect of their own personal ministry...have you ever thought about doing that? We have created the Reader's Edition to make that feasible for many more people)

The Greek text behind the NET New Testament is based on the best available manuscripts. These are often, but not always, the oldest manuscripts (MSS). No MS is perfect, just as no translation is perfect. But for the past 120+ years, scholars have increasingly come to embrace the MSS that Westcott and Hort thought were superior. There is no ulterior motive in this; the evidence is incredibly strong that these MSS are very good. Indeed, the more ancient papyri we find, the more ancient patristic commentaries we find, the more WH's opinion is generally vindicated. The original preface of the KJV offered a preemptive strike to those who questioned the translators' judgments in using certain materials. They said that regardless of the source--whether it be heretical or orthodox, Christian or otherwise, all truth was God's truth and thus the data deserved to be looked at and considered on their own merits. KJV followers, unfortunately, usually forget this preface. In other words, the attitude of the KJV translators would certainly not have been to condemn patristic writers' quotations of the New Testament or MSS just because the writers were heretical! Origen, in fact, was one of the most careful biblical scholars of the ancient world, as was Jerome.

The standard vilification of Westcott and Hort usually neglects to mention that there is absolutely no proof that the MSS on which they based their NT were produced by heretics. Indeed, today we know of only one group of MSS that were definitely produced by heretics: several of the Byzantine MSS of the book of Revelation. (These MSS stand squarely behind the KJV of Revelation.) Yet, even these were decent MSS, in spite of the scribes who worked on them.

We have no MSS from the first century as of yet. But we do have as many as a dozen or so fragments from the second century.

The Biblical Studies Foundation Contributor License Agreement

Thank you for your interest in the NETBible or the Chinese NET Bible (CNET) and the ministry of the Biblical Studies Foundation (the "Foundation". In order to clarify the intellectual property license granted with contributions of intellectual property and/or software from any person or entity (the "Contributor"), the Foundation would like to have a Contributor License Agreement on file that has been signed by the Contributor, indicating agreement to the license terms below. Where a contributor is an author, photographer, artist, Reader of the NETBible, or software developer. This license is for your protection as a Contributor of intellectual property to the Foundation and does not change your right to use your own contributions for any other purpose.

You and the Foundation hereby accept and agree to the following terms and conditions:

1. Your "Contributions" means all of your past, present and future contributions of intellectual property to the Foundation, however submitted to the Foundation, excluding any submissions that are conspicuously marked or otherwise designated in writing by You as "Not a Contribution."

2. You hereby grant to the Foundation a non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, no-charge, transferable copyright license to use, execute, prepare derivative works of, and distribute (internally and externally, your Contributions. Except for the rights granted to the Foundation in this paragraph, you reserve all right, title and interest in and to your Contributions.

2a. Should your “Contributions" includes any material that was derived from material whose copyright is owned by the Foundation or Biblical Studies Press (BSP) e.g. NETBible, then you must seek permission from the Foundation before the Contribution can be made available to anyone else. If you remove all the material that was derived from copyrights owned by the Foundation and BSP then you reserve all right, title and interest in and to your Contributions.

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7. If you have not already done so, please complete this Agreement and send it by a scanned image to permission (at) bible (dot) org  (note-change the (at) and the (dot) so it looks like a email address eg.  [email protected]) or a facsimile to the Foundation at +972 767 3166, or send a photocopy by regular mail to The Biblical Studies Foundation, you may find our address here. Please keep the original for your records.

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Download Page for the NET Bible

- Just like the Windows help screen, the HTML Help version of the NET Bible is searchable.
- You can search the text and notes by opening the search window.
- The button for the search window says "Show" and is at the top left of the main screen.
- You'll notice that when you enter a search, the results window shows the files.
- Double Clicking on those file names (or clicking on "Display") will open it up in the right window.
- You will not be able to see the notes window if you are looking in the results. - To hide the search window click "Hide" at the top.

Navigation

- Click on "Home" to return to the main NET Bible navigation screen.
- Just like the online HTML version, you can click on a particular book and then chapter to read.
- Click on the footnote reference number opens the footnote in the bottom right frame.
- The "Back" button works just like your internet browswer and returns to the previously viewed frame.

Fonts and Printing

- The "Font" button will increase the font size.
- You may also increase the size of the entire window.
- If you click on the "Print" button the print dialog box will come up. When you select your printer and press "Print", the printed page will not reflect the frames. It will print the window you last clicked in.