50 years and this is still a great book in a great series. Unlike so many popular Christian books that become dated over time, William Barclay's Daily Study Bible just seems to get better. He has excellent historical material. He offers valuable insight that will apply to your life as we begin the third millenium. You will be glad you bought this book, or any of the others Barclay wrote in the New Testament Series.

I find that William Barclay's "The Gospel of Mark" is an excelent book to learn more about what is the true meaning of what the Gospel of Mark is all about. It is fairly easy to read and it puts what is written into historical contexts. It let me know a lot more about what was going on during the life of Jesus Christ. so that I could understand the Gospel in much greater depth than I ever had before.

I would greatly recommend this book for use as a suppliment to the Bible for study groups or individual study of the Scriptures. I also think that this book is good for both a historical and/or a theological study of the life of Jesus Christ. It really helps to make sense of what Mark had to say by reviewing what the people knew and thought during the time that Jesus was among them so that we could view the Gospel from that perspective as well as what it means to us today.

I think that every Christian will find that they will learn a great deal from this book. As a Christian I feel that this book should be on everyone's must read list.

Reading this commentary was like having a daily conversation with a deeply learned companion. Barclay's remarks are always insightful. Without being dogmatic, he brings Mark's prose alive. His understanding of the original Greek and of the customs and mores of the ancient world provides helpful context to the story. What a wonderful personal tutor! I now am reading his book on the letters to the Corinthians and will read the entire series.

I have tried to read the Gospels several times, and had always come away dissatisfied, feeling that I was missing the true meaning. This book (and part two) solved that problem for me. Barclay takes anywhere from one to several verses at a time and discusses them in the contexts of the time they were written, the prevailing religious thought, and their admittedly proseletizing purpose. He demonstrates how Matthew took ideas from the Hebrew Scriptures and showed that they predicted the coming of Christ. He also tells that many of these references were inappropriate, but because Matthew was intended for the Jews, this method was used. Beyond this, though, Barclay explains the meaning of the words and deeds of Christ, making opaque parables and homilies clear and compelling. The love of Christ and his ministry to save mankind come alive in this book. Barclay elucidates the message of Christ in a powerful, heart-gripping and understandable way. I am a Jew, and recommend this book to people of any faith if they wish to understand Matthew.

this book is really good...i especially enjoyed the depth of knowledge and insight. it tells you how customs and manners were relevent to that time period and why people did the things they did during that time. ive been looking for books of this nature for a long time and finally found some. it is a very good book and i will probably buy the entire series.

This is one of the two volumes Barclay wrote on the Gospel of Matthew - each covering roughly half of this book of the Bible. These are a part of his series on the New Testament, where Barclay clearly discusses each section of each book of this portion of the Bible. Each section of the book starts with William Barclay's personal translation of the text and then goes into a discussion of the text, the times, the culture, the people, and the beliefs surrounding the text. William Barclay talks about the Bible in the context of when it was written and how it applies today. It is not surprising that the writings of this scholar hold up now as they did 30 years ago. Funny how truth stays the same year after year - it keeps going, and going...

Most modern Christians, Catholic or not, are well versed in Latinate theological terms and notions. But how well do they know the Greek words and ideas of the Scriptures themselves? Despite that the Greek New Testament has been back in the West for several centuries now, its vocabulary still has not become a part of the mental furniture of the common Christian. Logos, agape, kyrie eleison.... Can you go any further? And more importantly, how well do you understand these words, words that were spoken, prayed, discussed, and debated almost every day in the ancient church?

Even if the only Greek you know is "alpha" and "omega", Barclay's little classic is an enjoyable and accessible place to start your word studies. (It might even encourage you to learn Greek!) In a series of graceful short essays, Barclay examines a few dozen important or interesting words in light of their biblical and classical usage; what he comes up with is one part philology and one part devotional reading.

For the student who has some Greek, this book will remind him or her why one studies Greek in the first place. It should also cure the beginning student of the tendency to impose English meanings and connotations on Greek words, treating the Greek as if it were only elaborate dress for his own thoughts--a code, and not a language.

Written in 1964, some of the information might be out of date in the scholarly world; also, considering that a number of the words have been the subjects of whole books, one must not expect Barclay's accounts to be the end-all and be-all. But there is much good to be had from this book, and I recommend it both for individual study and small-group discussion.

I have looked at and own some of the schorlarly greek word study books. They are not easy for a layman like me to understand. Barclay presents it simple and clear. He quotes from several ancient greek minds and tries to communicate the mindset of that age so you get an idea of the picture the Bible writer is trying to describe. He presents several different definitions of the same word. A excellent book, I only wish it was on all the Bible greek words but I guess he picked the nuggets.

This book takes certain great New Testament words (more than 70) and traces their meanings in classical Greek, the Septuagint, in Hellenistic Greek, and in the Papyri, giving the reader a greater understanding of what these words meant to the writers of the New Testament and to those who read and heard their message. It makes a great starter book for someone just beginning word studies.

I have many translations of the New Testament that I use for different spiritual needs. Of all of these, the Barclay translation is my favorite. Yes, I know it is not a literal word-for-word translation and I know that one man translations are open to bias. (Barclay humbly points this out himself in the introduction). However, when I want to feel the presence of the Spirit in word, I feel it with Barclay's version the easiest.

When I feel analytical, I think there are two reasons that I feel moved by the Barclay translation. First, Barclay artfully combines literal meanings (word choice and historical usage)with the contextual meaning of each passage. The second reason I choose the Barclay for my "reading" New Testament is that it is scholary in translation of the original manuscripts but highly readable in its final result. One the advantages to this one-man translation is there is a consistent clarity, simplicity and warmth throughout. When I read my Scriptures before bed each night, I sense the strong hand of the Holy Spiritin these words.

I have many versions of the New Testament (including origninal greek texts) and I treasure each one of them. Having several versions of the bible often allows you to find the one translation that you feel is plain enough and true to the original meaning ( I suggest a good Interlinear bible as an aid for this). However many translations often sacrifice accuracy in order to create "new" translations in "modern english" which they then market to the public as if it where the newest Soft Drink that will expand your understanding and abilities. Well this bible is different, it is very attractively typeset ( though not flashy) and it includes introductions to each book which are both concise and helpful. The translation is just wonderfull. If you want a bible that is readable and uses modern language this is it. Simple, insightfull and accurate. For example Acts 20:7 is often translated as occuring on a Sunday, which some texts go as far as translating as "the Lords Day" (which was not used to reffer to Sunday until long after the time of the apostles) even though the correct translation is Saturday evening as the T.E.V. translates it. In addition many good literal translations such as the King James series translate Hebrews 4:9 as simply "there remains therefore a "rest" for the people of God" When the word rest is Sabbatismos which should be translated as "a sabbath rest" or "a keeeping of the sabbath" rather that just rest (katapausis) which simply implies a cessation of work. Barclay's translation of Hebrews chapter 4 allows you to really follow the reasoning of the whole statement and grasp it's meaning. Overall I think that this is great translation to have, especially to use as a more readable version to supplement your reading from a more literal translation such as the KJV or NASB ect.

This is a beautiful book. Dr. Barclay is the consummate New Testament scholar, and this book is a compilation of topics from his Daily Study Bible series dealing with the subject of the Second Coming of Christ. In this book you will not discover people disappearing from airplanes due to a "rapture" or any of the other sensational fads of the "Left Behind" series; rather, you will be instructed in how Jewish apocalyptic thought combined with early Christians' hope for the second coming. You will learn much about how the symbols (and they are symbols) of the beast, 1,000 yr. reign, coming in clouds, etc. have been traditionally interpreted in mainline seminaries and churches. I find it terribly disappointing that Christians are lured into easy, simplistic, literalistic notions about the Bible's teachings rather than consulting educated yet understandable writings about the Bible such as Dr. Barclay's. As a Presbyterian elder, I am very proud to recommend all of Dr. Barclay's fine books to you with the prayer that they will bless your understanding of the Bible and draw you closer to Christ.

This book is an easy to use reference book which pulls together the various renderings of the content of Chronicles in other Biblical books. There are charts which succinctly show the emphasis of particular accounts by charting the number of verses in particular books spent on the history of specific individuals. The book makes it easy to study the historical period covered by Chronicals as a single unit rather than the hop-scotching that reading the Bible straight through provides.

Highly recommended for anyone studying Chronicles - whether you call it Tanak or Old Testament.

The book is the best factual Christian book I have read to date.

Barclay gives a clear understanding of how people at the time Jesus came viewed him. He uses many sources of the times, including the Lost Books and Greek Mythology. The book is excellent for those that want to examine facts rather than feelings. He does not mince words but lays the material out in an easily understood manner.

I have read many commentaries and Barclay and John MacArthur are the best in my opinion. Barclay is the easiest to read. He aims at the people to which it is written, the culture in which it is written and the language at the time. Barclay is the most quoted in terms of history. Very, very interesting reading.

This is a small study of five Psalms and was the last thing William Barclay ever worked on. That alone ought to encourage you to buy the book. I used this to teach a class on prayer and was blessed by it. As with all of Barclay's work, he draws the reader into the biblical text. The Psalms come to life as they are set in their context and then applied to our lives today. Caveat emptor! You would think with this title that the 23rd Psalm would be one of the Psalms studied. Nope! Barclay did not get to it, but I imagine the publishers knew they would sell more with that title than by calling it, "5 Random Psalms". Even so, this is a fine work, and you will want to have it in your library and make its teaching part of your life.

But it's not my favorite of his works. However, it is full of nuggets that you will want to write down and keep foremost in thought and near your heart. Barclay passed on before this manuscript went through the final editing process and you can see this little volume is not quite as powerful as Barclay's other works.

It certainly is very worthy of a couple read-throughs.

My favorite Barclay books are his Daily Bible Studies on the New Testament - which are NOT out of print. Among these, my favorite are Matthew and John, plus Revelation.

To summarize, "The Lord is my Shepherd" is very interesting, inspiring and memorable. Plus, this small book is full of those trademark Barclay anecdotes and word pictures that bring home a point like no one else can, but it's not his very best A-#1 work.