To my mind, every Christian should be armed with all of these resources. They are the “bare minimum” when it comes to Bible study and learning. If you cannot afford all of them all at once, buy them one at a time with extra income, gift money, etc.
*The IVP Bible Background Commentaries of the New Testament and Old Testament
(All three Bibles together make up for where each one lacks. But even then, it’s not perfect.)
After the above (or instead of), I recommend you purchase Logos Bible Software. It comes with some of the resources listed above, but you can add more. And there are different editions that range in price.
Helps for Bloggers & Authors
Have you ever checked out the New English Translation (NET)?
At the moment, it is by far my favorite. The best thing about it is its transparency. For any translation, a lot of the interpretive work is done for you, before you ever even read the words. Compare 1 Cor. 14:33, 34 between a few versions as an example. For the NET, there are translators notes all over the place, so at least you know why things are worded a certain way.
In addition, the notes offer some rich insight into certain scriptures and nuances of the Greek language. Sometimes it will go into depth about the history or context of verses. It’s awesome. If you haven’t, you should totally check it out.
The NET is my favorite as well.The NASB used to be my bible of choice, but the NET easily trumps it!
Going to order the Chronological study Bible asap. Our book club is about to start the “untold story” so I figure this will be an awesome companion to our study. I read Laggard Smith’s narrated bible years ago when he came and spoke at the college I went to…he’s a great and very thoughtful brother…thanks for the great work you do Frank!