Q13 : New English Translation (NET) Bible

Someone mentioned to me the NET Bible (www.bible.org) which has thousands of translation and study notes. I downloaded it (the standard PC version is free) and this Bible does have a lot of information. I haven't used it that much yet but I know that faculty from Dallas Theological Seminary produced it. Thus, I'm assuming that it has dispensational notes?

A13 : by Tony Garland

The NET, New English Translation Bible (www.bible.org), has thousands of study notes, but they are not like the notes of a traditional study bible. The notes of most study bibles focus on passages, history, and themes. The notes of the NET bible are primarily focused on grammatical insights related to the underlying Greek text. Because its emphasis is upon exegesis of the Greek rather than doctrine per-se, you won't find a great deal of information which is characteristic of dispensationalism. I do believe it is a useful reference to consider when studying a passage in detail.

Although I certainly cannot claim to have anywhere near the expertise in the original languages as those who worked on the text of the NET Bible, I do recall encountering some notes here and there which, it seemed to me, took a somewhat novel—and perhaps questionable—slant. I don't have anything specific on this at the moment, that has just been my overall impression. However, I have found the study notes to be helpful in places.

Several years ago, we requested permission to include the NET Bible as one of the bibles in our free WordLinks^a Bible study package. However, those who produced the NET Bible were unwilling to allow us to host it on our website or on our free teaching CDROMs^b. Although it is technically possible for us to display the NET Bible within a frame served up directly from their website, the problem at the time was that the digital text lacked the necessary verse anchors to allow the bible to synchronize with other works. Eventually, we gave up working with them because they were unresponsive to our questions and suggestions.

The paper version, which I also have, is less accessible due to the huge number of notes. Due to its size, it is probably not a bible that you would readily take to church or bible study groups on a regular basis. Like any study bible—with many notes—caution is advised. The more time one spends in notes and the less in the actual bible text, the more easily one is influenced by the teachings of man rather than God's Word.

Overall, I think it is a helpful tool, but I wouldn't say it is a high priority. Nor would I recommend it for a new believer.