The Listener's Bible: English Standard Version

When I was young, I experienced great difficulty reading and understanding Shakespeare. I was bottom of the class. I then bought an audio copy of the story. I understood it much, much better. Subsequently, I was the only class member who passed the examination.

How much more difficult it was for me to fully comprehend 66 books written by 40 authors - the Holy Bible. In the past, my goal was to be able to say that I had read the whole Bible at least once in my lifetime. I had made attempts to read and understand the whole Bible - but the result was that I had simply read the words without amassing the totally of the message.

Fortunately, I heard the NIV version of the Bible by Max Maclean on the UCB Bible network. From all the English-speaking actors that I heard reading the Bible here was someone that authoritatively and emotionally conveyed the totality of the God's Word. To state the obvious, I had literally 'heard' God's Word for the very first time. I chose to purchase the more informative ESV version. For an example, visit ESV.org - where you can read and listen alongside Max Maclean. This is the best reason for buying an iPod to listen on the go.

For the first time in my life I have been able to connect all the dots of the message in the Old and New Testament - in a comparatively short space of time. Listening for an hour per day you can hear the whole Bible in 10 - 12 weeks. The reality is that you'll probably want more than an hour per day, simply to answer the question of `what happens next?'

The bottom line is that this is so important for your salvation, as an additional item to the written Word.