The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.

An angel of God came to an old priest while serving in the Holy Temple and told him his prayer would be answered. Zechariah and his aged wife would bring a son into the world, and he would be called John. The angel said John would be a joy and delight to Zechariah and Elizabeth, and many would rejoice because of his birth. John was destined to prepare the way in the spirit and power of Elijah for the coming Messiah. He took his first breath in Ein Kerem, not far from the Holy Temple. Six months later, by miraculous conception, John's cousin was born in Bethlehem, and his name was Jesus. He was born to be a ruler and king of all people. As small children, John and Jesus escaped the wrath of King Herod, who massacred the innocents to secure his throne. John was taken to the hills of Ein Kerem to hide, and Jesus was carried to Egypt. After the king died, the children were brought from their havens. They often played together, keeping childhood secrets and sharing their dreams. They grew to be men, strong in spirit and hopeful. John struggled to understand his purpose but believed Jesus was the Messiah who would free Israel's people from Rome's tyranny. Finally, in fulfillment of his purpose, John went through Judaea and preached repentance, making the way for the Messiah. He was then arrested by Herod Antipas, the son of the man who had murdered the children of Bethlehem. For nearly two years, John was in a dark prison cell, tormented by loneliness and the king's taunting. He struggled to understand where he had failed, and he began to wonder if Jesus was the one. Then he found his answer.

An analysis that challenges the conventional Christian hierarchy of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth While the Christian tradition has subordinated John the Baptist to Jesus of Nazareth, John himself would likely have disagreed with that ranking. In this eye-opening new book, John the Baptist in History and Theology, Joel Marcus makes a powerful case that John saw himself, not Jesus, as the proclaimer and initiator of the kingdom of God and his own ministry as the center of God's saving action in history. Although the Fourth Gospel has the Baptist saying, "He must increase, but I must decrease," Marcus contends that this and other biblical and extrabiblical evidence reveal a continuing competition between the two men that early Christians sought to muffle. Like Jesus, John was an apocalyptic prophet who looked forward to the imminent end of the world and the establishment of God's rule on earth. Originally a member of the Dead Sea Sect, an apocalyptic community within Judaism, John broke with the group over his growing conviction that he himself was Elijah, the end-time prophet who would inaugurate God's kingdom on earth. Through his ministry of baptism, he ushered all who came to him—Jews and non-Jews alike—into this dawning new age. Jesus began his career as a follower of the Baptist, but, like other successor figures in religious history, he parted ways from his predecessor as he became convinced of his own centrality in God's purposes. Meanwhile John's mass following and apocalyptic message became political threats to Herod Antipas, who had John executed to abort any revolutionary movement. Based on close critical-historical readings of early texts—including the accounts of John in the Gospels and in Josephus's Antiquities—as well as parallels from later religious movements, John the Baptist in History and Theology situates the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism and compares him to other apocalyptic thinkers from ancient and modern times. It concludes with thoughtful reflections on how its revisionist interpretations might be incorporated into the Christian faith.

Examines how and why the authors of the first three Gospels shaped the story of John the Baptist around the story of Jesus. Careful comparison of these foundational texts yields not only the perspectives of the Synoptic authors but also a provisional sketch of the historical figure of the Baptist, which is then placed within the religious, political and economic context of first-century C.E. Judea. Special attention is given to the interface between John and the Qumran community that scholars have proposed ever since the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

The Antiquities of the Jews is a 20-volume historiographical work composed by Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian. The book contains an account of history of the Jewish people, written in Greek for Josephus' gentile patrons. In the first ten volumes, Josephus follows the events of the historical books of the Hebrew Bible beginning with the creation of Adam and Eve. The second ten volumes continue the history of the Jewish people beyond the biblical text and up to the Jewish War. This work provides valuable background material to historians wishing to understand 1st-century AD Judaism and the early Christian period._x000D_ _x000D_ Titus Flavius Josephus was a first-century Romano-Jewish scholar, historian and hagiographer, who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry. He initially fought against the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War as head of Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in 67 CE to Roman forces led by Vespasian after the six-week siege of Jotapata. After Vespasian became Emperor in 69 CE, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the emperor's family name of Flavius. He fully defected to the Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship. Josephus recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the first century CE and the First Jewish–Roman War, including the Siege of Masada. His most important works were The Jewish War (c. 75) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94)._x000D_

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

Retells stories of some of the most well-known people of the Bible that are adapted for a preschool audience.