The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today's context

The books of Judges and Ruth have relevance for our lives today. Judges because it reveals a God who employs very human deliverers but refuses to gloss over their sins and their consequences. And Ruth because it demonstrates the far-reaching impact of a righteous character. K. Lawson Younger Jr. shares literary perspectives on the books of Judges and Ruth that reveal ageless truths for our contemporary lives.

To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's context, each passage is treated in three sections:

• Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context.
• Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible.
• Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved.

This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.

K. Lawson Younger, Jr. (PhD, University of Sheffield) is professor of Old Testament, Semitic languages, and ancient near eastern history at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author, associate editor, and coeditor of several books, and has contributed to numerous collections of essays, dictionaries and periodicals.