Foreword<br > The Layman s Bible Book Commentary in twenty-four volumes was<br >planned as a practical exposition of the whole Bible for lay readers<br >and students. It is based on the conviction that the Bible speaks to<br >every generation of believers but needs occasional reinterpretation<br >in the light of changing language and modern experience. Following<br >the guidance of God s Spirit， the believer finds in it the authoritative<br >word for faith and life.<br > To meet the needs of lay readers， the Commentary is written in<br >a popular style， and each Bible book is clearly outlined to reveal its<br >major emphases. Although the writers are competent scholars and<br >reverent interpreters， they have avoided critical problems and the<br >use of original languages except where they were essential for explain-<br >ing the text. They recognize the variety of literary forms in the Bible，<br >but they have not followed documentary trails or become preoccupied<br >with literary concerns. Their primary purpose was to show what each<br >Bible book meant for its time and what it says to our own generation.<br > The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is the basic text of the<br >Commentary， but writers were free to use other translations to clarify<br >an occasional passage or sharpen its effect. To provide as much inter-<br >pretation as possible in such concise books， the Bible text was not<br >printed along with the comment.<br > Of the twenty-four volumes of the Commentary， fourteen deal with<br >Old Testament books and ten with those in the New Testament. The<br >volumes range in pages from 140 to 168. Four major books in the<br >Old Testament and five in the New are treated in one volume each.<br >Others appear in various combinations. Although the allotted space<br >varies， each Bible book is treated as a whole to reveal its basic message<br >with some passages getting special attention. Whatever plan of Bible<br ><br >