Customer Reviews

KJV Concord Wide Margin Reference Edition with Glossary and Concordance Black calfskin KWM267

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I have used dozens of Bibles in my life, and I have formed strong preferences for what makes a Bible useful to me. This Bible combines more of these preferences than any other Bible in print today. Here is a brief list.

1. Translation: The King James translation is the best English translation of the best texts by some of the best translators the world has ever seen. The more one becomes deeply familiar with the Scriptures, the more one has an abiding respect for this amazing translation. Keep in mind, too, that there are minor differences even in "King James" translations. This one is of a line that is faithful to the "1611" original translation.

2. Size and font. This is obviously a highly personal preference. However, given good uncorrected eyesight, this Bible is just right in its overall size, typeface, and typesetting. I compare Bible printing to music reproduction. One can barely tell the difference these days between a poor-quality sound system and a high-quality sound system. But hours of listening will tell the tale as lower-quality sound induces listening fatigue and even headaches. Likewise with printing. Little differences add up. This is printing done right.

3. No red-letter text. Who are printers trying to impress when they put "words of Jesus in red"? Why aren't the prophetic utterances of Jesus in red? What about the areas where it is still debated whether Jesus or someone else was speaking? Don't waste your time with those Bibles unless you just want them for show, not study.

4. WIDE MARGINS! Yes! Here, you have room to write copious notes on what God is showing YOU in His Scriptures, instead of being spoon-fed someone else's interpretation.

5. Over 50 pages of note paper in the back. This is great for writing quick references for studies you commonly teach or general notes on the Bible.

6. Great binding. Even when brand new, you will find that this Bible opens cleanly to any page and lies almost flat when opened. Bibles requiring "break-in" will usually "break-down" pretty quickly under heavy use.

7. Top-quality paper. Although one should still study the Bible with clean hands, this paper will resist dirt, yellowing, and wear better than most.

8. Good study helps, including a brief glossary of King James words no longer in vogue today. The brevity of this list compared to the ~9,000 word vocabulary of the KJV highlights how the invention of printing and the King James Bible acted in concert to stablize and standardize the (until ~1650) capricious English language.

The bottom line is that this Bible is an incredible value. When comparing (for instance) how many meals one could eat out with the cost of this book and the many thousands of "meals" enjoyed in study, the expense is trivial. We value quality in cars, homes, computers, and even games. Should we not value quality in the reproduction of the Holy Scriptures?

None of the Christian book stores in the nearby metropolis seem to carry any kind of specialty bible like this. Same thing with most of the Christian book websites that I knew about. Why I had not thought to look on Amazon earlier I don't know, but I finally found this wide-margin Cambridge KJV1611 bible that I absolutely love! No messy commentaries to confuse and distract you from God's Word and I have found that the non-red letter actually adds so much to my reading. I have been able to spot check a handful of the references in the middle column with pictures of original KJV1611 leaves and the cross references are also from the original KJV1611 (in addition to other cross references). The original text of the dedication from the translators to King James, AND 18 pages of commentary about the translation from the translators to the reader is included. (According to Cambridge, this letter to the readers was rarely printed after 1611). If you are serious about growing in your Christian walk and are a person who likes to write notes, then I would encourage you to consider purchasing this bible. My comments from here would just repeat what most other reviewers have said.

Excellent, save your pennies and purchase it. Worth every penny.
The paper is good for writing notes on. The wide margins are sufficient and the font is beautiful. For a pastor, minister, teacher or serious lay-person this is THE Bible to purchase.

I believe the Cambridge wide margin, model 267 is the best wide margin bible in print. I've personally seen to it that all my Deacons and most of my Sunday School teachers all their own. I love this model.

I would like to echo the comments of 'wmarkh' from Alamogordo below. This is a truly wonderful Bible for serious study.

I just wanted to add one caveat. If you are over 40 spend some time with an 8pt font to make sure you are comfortable reading text at this point size. The font is listed as 8/9 which means it is 8 point with 9 point leading (leading which is the space between the lines). This extra space makes the reading a little easier. The font is Times Semi-bold so it is very clean and clear and quite similar to a newspaper typeface. At 49, I'd say I'm borderline with a font of this size. I can read fairly well with my glasses off, but would definitely prefer a 10/11 point font. I'm not sure I will be able to read comfortably over time.

That said, this Bible is an excellent choice for the serious student of God's Word. I unreservedly recommend the Bible to you.

I have been a Christian for 13 years and I have had a few Scofields, Thompson Chain and even, the Cambridge competitor, the [$$] Oxford Wide Margin. All were KJV Bibles, of course, and all where nice Bibles. But, I have always admired the quality, workmanship and finish of a Cambridge WM. There is nothing like this Bible. From the lined note pages to the quality of the Calf Skin leather all the way down to the "Bible Paper."
My first Scofield lasted nine months. My second lasted through my first two semesters of Bible College. My Thompson Chain has been faithul and lasted me for 9 years! And the Oxford...I couldn't ever get used to it. But, now I must say I am ready to "settle down" with a Bible that could easily last until my new born child graduates high school and starts college!
I look forward to reading and studying God's preserved Word in this unique package!

This is a beautiful, very high quality Bible. I have nothing to add to the other reviews that praise this Bible beyond saying that while I very much prefer the King James Version, I do wish that those who claim it is the only valid English translation would get a copy of this Bible and read the Translators' Letter to the Reader -- it is a very fine, nearly 400-year-old refutation of the KJV-only crowd's arguments. Also, I am over 40 and wish that Cambridge would make a text or a Concord version with a font somewhere between the 10 pt they call "large print" and the 22/24 pt "giant print" -- somewhere between 12.5 and 18 pt would be nice. Still, this is a very readable Bible, and the center column references are very good. Spend the money -- it's worth it.

Excellent, beautiful, quality bible and workmanship. A treasure. Sturdy and well made, type is easy to read. The paper is sturdy and you can write notes in the wide margins without worrying about the ink passing through or indentations being made in the pages. The binding is also sturdy. This bible has a wonderful leather smell. With care it will last many years. Amazon has it at an excellent price.

I have to agree with the previous poster who said the Letter from the Translators to the Readers is good to have. It is definitely a solid refutation to the KJV only crowd. I myself prefer the KJV and NKJV because they are taken from the accurate manuscripts. However, I am saddened by KJV only defenders who either deny or just don't know the history of their own English Bible. While the KJV is the only pure preserved English bible today (Hebrew and Greek meanings and pure manuscripts), we would probably not have it were it not for the Geneva and Tyndale bibles that preceded it, as well as several other English bibles. Men literally gave (lost) their lives for daring to translate God's word into the English common man's language, as Tyndale put it: so that the plowman would have his own bible in his very own language. The Geneva was the preferred bible for 100 years before the KJV was commissioned by King James to be chained to Anglican pulpits and become the only version used. The Geneva was one of over four bibles used by the 50 KJV translators (Textually the KJV is 95% Geneva bible text). The KJV-only stance that began under the King caused a stir among the Puritans who loved their protestant Geneva bible (they knew the KJV was not considered a protestant bible), and this prompted them to sail to America in search of religious freedom. They brought with them their Geneva bibles and that was the first main bible used in early America, until early Congress declared the KJV to be widely utilized in government and by our founding fathers. The KJV at the time it was translated and published was another update of the previous English bibles as English had changed and adapted between the time of the Anglo-Saxons to Wycliff to Tyndale to King James. Updating English words as English changes, such as in the New King James, is not a sin as long as meaning has not been changed or taken from. Most don't know that the original KJV 1611 had 80 books in it (the 14 extra were the Apocrypha) until 1881 when the 14 extra books of the Apocrypha were removed. KJV-only often say that the bible they hold in their hands today is the 1611 Authorzed version, but what they don't know is that the KJV underwent at least 7 revisions between 1611 and 1881. And they don't realize that if they did really have a 1611 AV their bibles would have the original English spellings of 1611, such as "f" used in place of "s" in certain words, "l" instead of "j" in certain words, as well as totally different spellings of certain words that changed between Tyndale's time and the 1800s. The original 1611 AV spelled Jesus as "Iefus." Pretty hard to read that way, eh? That's why the KJV was updated spelling-wise over the next 2 centuries after 1611, because such spelling of words changed and began to resemble closer to how we spell today. The NKJV is the same KJV bible with certain archaic words replaced with words of the same meaning that we use today. Such as the word "commodius" in the KJV in Acts has been updated to "suitable" in the NKJV. If one looks up the word commodius in most dictionaries and reads the archaic usage of the word they will find that the definition given is the same meaning that the NKJV has updated the text with. God transcends language with his holy word and God did not speak King James English any more than He spoke Chinese, but His spirit is able to adapt His word and meaning into many languages as long as the translators are being faithful to the true, exact meaning. To change His meaning is to add to or take away from His word. The updated NKJV has not changed meaning, but instead has updated certain English words just as the KJV translators updated certain out of date words and spellings from the previous English bibles. So, when a KJV-only person yells at you for reading your NKJV direct him to some English bible history and welcome him to make himself more well-rounded on information.

For those who love the poetic beauty of the KJV and want it in a bible that will last and that has great quality, this Cambridge bible will not disappoint you. Plenty of room to write notes on the outter and bottom margins.

It helps to learn the history behind something you believe in.

I just received my Concord wide margin calfskin bible and am thrilled at the workmanship. The price was steep, but I don't think I will have to keep replacing this bible every couple years, so I will actually save money in the long run. It has beautiful clear print, good concordance, a first class binding, wonderful maps, very sensible references (not too many, not too few), and 25 sheets of lined paper in the back. It is a note takers dream. Forget Nelson and Zondervan.

THIS IS THE ONLY BIBLE I WILL EVER USE. THE SIZE IS GREAT AND THE MARGINS ARE PERFECT FOR JOTTING DOWN NOTES...THE CALF SKIN LEATHER IS NICE TO THE TOUCH AND IT SMELLS GREAT