There are more excellent translations of the Bible — including some of just the Old Testament/Hebrew — available today than ever. If anything, perhaps there are too many translations available! Most modern English translations, such as the New International Version or the New Revised Standard Version, are based on the best text and modern translation principles.

One translation I want to highlight is the New JPS translation, otherwise known as the Tanakh. I like to recommend this Jewish translation of the OT/HB because it provides a fresh translation outside the tradition of most Christian translations:

• Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, The New JPS Translation according to the Traditional Hebrew Text (Jewish Publication Society, 1985). Note that this translation has the OT in the traditional Jewish order, so you may have to refer to the index to find certain books. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com

There are a number of Study Bibles available that help guide your reading of the OT/HB:

• The New Oxford Annotated NRSV Bible with the Apocrypha, Third Edition (Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins, eds.; Oxford, 2001). This study Bible is ecumenical in breadth and represents the best of scholarship to bear on the biblical text. It is not evangelical, though some contributors to specific books represent the evangelical tradition. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
• NIV Study Bible (Fully Rev. edition; Kenneth L. Barker and Donald W. Burdick, eds.; Zondervan, 2002). This is the best evangelical study Bible available. Its notes reflect the most current conservative Bible scholarship. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com