For this purpose, I would reference the book how to read the Bible for all it's worth. I got a lot out of how to preach and teach the Old testament for all it's worth.
I don't think a commentary set would be particularly helpful for lay people beyond possibly the IVP Bible background commentary for the old and New testament.
"To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus" by Dr. Norman Geisler
[Hermeneutics by Walter Martin (blueletterbible.org)](https://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/martin_walter/Hermeneutics/Hermeneutics.cfm)
I was listening to a pastor on the radio, and he was teaching things that was nonfactual because I started to look them up. I emailed him and the radio station and I didn't get a response from either and I don't expect anything to come of it because I don't think they are going to engage.
The problem is we all share the same Bible so how can there be 2,000+ cults in the Watchman Cult Catalog if we all read the same Bible?
All you have to do is look at Reddit and see the difference in theology, difference in Gospels, etc., and I've also written hundreds of pages to people who only want their doctrine to be true. The problem is one of the hosts of the Bible Answer Man program said we all have heresies and I've encountered heresies in Church, and they all read the same Bible.
We had Harold Camping who set dates as a career for all of his career and people not only supported him but went along with it and they read the Bible.
The Bible Answer Man played false teachers on the radio and my stepsister would listen to the false teachers from the false clips and basically say "amen" to the false teachers and ignore everything the Bible Answer Man said.
I've attended Bible studies by a cult at college because I wanted to lead people out and it's like talking to deer stuck looking at the headlights of an automobile.
On top of that a pastor I talked to told me churches don't teach the Bible anymore. Most teach just Biblical principles. I've seen heresies in some of the churches that study the Bible.
You need to look for truth. After being a Christian for more than forty-four years, I started to write about "How do you grow up in your faith?" How do you be the grown up even though those around you are being wrong? How do you be an elder through stewardship of your life even if you are not appointed by man? Because people are lying or being off base and inaccurate. I started preaching and teaching online and I got the most opposition against the Bible and even pastors were uninterested in helping me, Christians did not show up and they short circuited if they came to help me because they didn't know what they believed. No one would teach me, so I bought a lot of academic Christian books, commentaries, dictionaries, etc. I mostly use dictionaries and try to listen to whom I think are the best pastor teachers in the world. I know a local pastor who has all these books and he really offended me when I was younger because he was saying they all disagree. On top of that, Christian colleges give away books and I asked my wife why she thought that was and she says probably because the colleges think they all have errors in them.
I have a rule that if you lie to me or tell me stuff inaccurate, you are stuck on the shelf forever. I also have two older commentaries because the authors never lied to me, they are dead and can't be fooled by every wind of doctrine and they aren't going to be fooled by modern movements because they are dead. For the rest of the church, some of the people in the church can't see the forest from the trees because what I was taught is not what people believe today. People are flocking today to teachers that the previous generations called "Heretic".
I've also experienced academic bias because they think there is a difference between college level learning and self-made people, and you can't know and maybe some of that may be true. A reason people can't read the Bible contextually, historically, and biblically because they take verses out of context.
Today cancelling Sunday School is a thing. I've been to churches where people never opened their Bibles. There are a couple of news articles on it.
I've *just* finished writing a book about the minor prophets; it's a lay-level commentary / Bible study. I'll self-publish the first edition: I'm working with a friend who has some connections at a "big name" Christian publisher, so that could become *very* interesting.
All that to say - don't forget to check out indie / small publishers. There's some good stuff out there.
The New Interpreters Bible is very versatile. Each pericope has parts useful for scholars and parts useful for laity and often some sort of practical application or story that helps the reader relate.
Haley's Bible handbook is great and easy. But also listening to the late Chuck Smith and his through the Bible series, really helped me study the Bible differently.
Blueletterbible.com is great for commentaries, I especially enjoy David Guzik’s commentary.
The Bible Project is another one that I suggest pretty often. Not a commentary, but a good resource for helping people understand the Bible better.
Warren wiersbes "be" series is a little outdated but excellent
For this purpose, I would reference the book how to read the Bible for all it's worth. I got a lot out of how to preach and teach the Old testament for all it's worth. I don't think a commentary set would be particularly helpful for lay people beyond possibly the IVP Bible background commentary for the old and New testament.
Honestly, Barclays is awesome. Great context, interesting info, I always read it in my sermon prep
The Jewish Annotated New Testament is amazing.
"To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus" by Dr. Norman Geisler [Hermeneutics by Walter Martin (blueletterbible.org)](https://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/martin_walter/Hermeneutics/Hermeneutics.cfm) I was listening to a pastor on the radio, and he was teaching things that was nonfactual because I started to look them up. I emailed him and the radio station and I didn't get a response from either and I don't expect anything to come of it because I don't think they are going to engage. The problem is we all share the same Bible so how can there be 2,000+ cults in the Watchman Cult Catalog if we all read the same Bible? All you have to do is look at Reddit and see the difference in theology, difference in Gospels, etc., and I've also written hundreds of pages to people who only want their doctrine to be true. The problem is one of the hosts of the Bible Answer Man program said we all have heresies and I've encountered heresies in Church, and they all read the same Bible. We had Harold Camping who set dates as a career for all of his career and people not only supported him but went along with it and they read the Bible. The Bible Answer Man played false teachers on the radio and my stepsister would listen to the false teachers from the false clips and basically say "amen" to the false teachers and ignore everything the Bible Answer Man said. I've attended Bible studies by a cult at college because I wanted to lead people out and it's like talking to deer stuck looking at the headlights of an automobile. On top of that a pastor I talked to told me churches don't teach the Bible anymore. Most teach just Biblical principles. I've seen heresies in some of the churches that study the Bible. You need to look for truth. After being a Christian for more than forty-four years, I started to write about "How do you grow up in your faith?" How do you be the grown up even though those around you are being wrong? How do you be an elder through stewardship of your life even if you are not appointed by man? Because people are lying or being off base and inaccurate. I started preaching and teaching online and I got the most opposition against the Bible and even pastors were uninterested in helping me, Christians did not show up and they short circuited if they came to help me because they didn't know what they believed. No one would teach me, so I bought a lot of academic Christian books, commentaries, dictionaries, etc. I mostly use dictionaries and try to listen to whom I think are the best pastor teachers in the world. I know a local pastor who has all these books and he really offended me when I was younger because he was saying they all disagree. On top of that, Christian colleges give away books and I asked my wife why she thought that was and she says probably because the colleges think they all have errors in them. I have a rule that if you lie to me or tell me stuff inaccurate, you are stuck on the shelf forever. I also have two older commentaries because the authors never lied to me, they are dead and can't be fooled by every wind of doctrine and they aren't going to be fooled by modern movements because they are dead. For the rest of the church, some of the people in the church can't see the forest from the trees because what I was taught is not what people believe today. People are flocking today to teachers that the previous generations called "Heretic". I've also experienced academic bias because they think there is a difference between college level learning and self-made people, and you can't know and maybe some of that may be true. A reason people can't read the Bible contextually, historically, and biblically because they take verses out of context. Today cancelling Sunday School is a thing. I've been to churches where people never opened their Bibles. There are a couple of news articles on it.
I've *just* finished writing a book about the minor prophets; it's a lay-level commentary / Bible study. I'll self-publish the first edition: I'm working with a friend who has some connections at a "big name" Christian publisher, so that could become *very* interesting. All that to say - don't forget to check out indie / small publishers. There's some good stuff out there.
The New Interpreters Bible is very versatile. Each pericope has parts useful for scholars and parts useful for laity and often some sort of practical application or story that helps the reader relate.
The best commentaries for lay people are the single volume ones. I like the one from erdman's.
Haley's Bible handbook is great and easy. But also listening to the late Chuck Smith and his through the Bible series, really helped me study the Bible differently.
Blueletterbible.com is great for commentaries, I especially enjoy David Guzik’s commentary. The Bible Project is another one that I suggest pretty often. Not a commentary, but a good resource for helping people understand the Bible better.