The Logos Complete Study Bible is a study Bible published in 1972 by Logos International.[1] It is based upon The Cross-Reference Bible, published in 1910.[2]
The Logos Bible uses the 1901 American Standard Version (ASV) translation of the Bible, which has been called "The Rock of Biblical Honesty" by Bible scholars.[3] This study Bible has:
No further editions were published. The company itself failed not many years after publication.[4]
The Scripture text, variant renderings and readings, topical analyses, most of the Preface, and Index of the Logos International Study Bible are almost entirely photo-reprinted from "The Cross-Reference Bible containing the Old and New Testaments", edited by Monser and copyright by him in 1910.[5] The title page of the 1910 edition says "The text of this Bible is that of the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible (Copyright, 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sons), With Variorum Readings and Renderings, With Topical Analysis and Cross References." The Cross-Reference Bible was reprinted several times after 1910, including once by Baker Book House in 1959. The Logos edition excluded the following items from the Cross-Reference Bible:
The Logos edition added:
The following example is part of the first column of page 1756, which includes parts of Matthew 2:23 and 3:1:
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† JOHN THE BAPTIST: Career.—Announcement of Birth—Lu. 1:5-25; Time in days of Herod the Great B.C. 6—Lu 1:5. Piety and old age of Zacharias and Elizabeth—Lu. 1:5 f. Barrenness of Elizabeth—Lu. 1:7. Zacharias aPriest in service when the angel Gabriel appears to him.—Lu1:8-13. The name of the child (John) given by the angel—... | ||||
The letter a that appears after the word "city" in the first line corresponds to the "a" in the left margin, where there is an entry containing "Gen. 4:17". In the text of Genesis chapter 4, verse 17, the word "city" also appears, where it has the symbol "‡" next to it. At the bottom of that page, there is an article entitled CITY, next to the symbol "‡", which has nearly all of the references in the Bible to the word or idea of "city". In the fourth line, there is a superscript "1" next to the word "that". The corresponding margin entry has the letter "Q", followed by a reference to Isaiah, chapter 11, verse 1. This indicates that the passage that follows the letter, in the text, is a quotation from the Old Testament. Similarly, parallel passages are indicated with a P, as used under footnote "e" for chapter 3 verse 1 in the left margin.
At the bottom of the page are two more examples of in-text articles. The article for Nazareth is referenced from verse 23 with the symbol "*", and the article for John the Baptist, with the symbol "†". The latter article continues for two more columns in the text.
In the first and fifth lines, the words Nazarene and Nazareth are rendered Nǎz’ǎrẽth and Nǎz-ǎ-rẽne’, respectively. These are indications of the pronunciation, and are given for most words translated or adapted from Biblical languages, particularly including place and personal names. The editors chose the then-current means employed by the Webster's International Dictionary to indicate pronunciation.
Translation always involves a certain amount of subjective judgment. The Logos Bible endeavors to make all such judgments explicit and available to the reader. These are given immediately under the text, in the section labeled "Var. rend.". The variorum readings include those from the Variorum Bible.[6] To this extensive set of readings was added the work of some 150 highly regarded Bible scholars.[7]
Following a comprehensive index, which lists all of the in-text articles and references, the Logos Bible includes The Layman's Commentary on the Holy Spirit, edited by John Rea. The Layman's Commentary includes in-depth treatment of most New Testament passages that deal with the Holy Spirit, beginning with Matthew 3:11-17 (the baptism of Jesus). The commentary comprises over 100 pages, and draws from a number of English translations, Bible commentaries and dictionaries. The Layman's Commentary was also published separately by Logos International, also in 1972, as and .
Finally, the Logos Bible also includes a concordance, coordinated with the index, and a number of maps.