Customer Reviews

HCSB Hand Size Giant Print Bible (Blue Imitation Leather)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this Bible on 10/9/09 at a local bookstore. This is a beautifully bound Bible and is a great value! It has a very easy to read font size with very little bleed-through on the uncluttered pages. The size of the Bible is perfect for carrying to church and is very comfortable to hold. The burgundy bonded leather is very attractive and the cover is soft and flexible enough that the Bible lies flat, even when opened near the front or back of the book. It has numerous helps and colored maps in the back and a ribbon marker.

Please note that a previous reviewer reported numerous errors in this Bible. He was reviewing a Bible with a different ISBN number purchased several years ago. I have found no such errors in my copy. I highly recommend this Bible.

I have bought the HCSB several times since it was published to give to new Christians, but had never bought one for myself. I have used the NKJV (a much smaller print) for 20 years, but having senior eyesight issues, I wanted the HCSB in the giant print to just sit and read for my own pleasure. It does not disappoint! #1 -It's a well made Bible for the price; #2 -The pages turn easily; #3 -The print is larger than other Bibles I have considered; and #4 -I have been carrying it to church with me as the HCSB even clarifies for me some of what our pastor is preaching from the NKJV.

This Bible is a great translation, and the print is easy to read. The quality of the bonded leather is better than most that I see today. There is no bleedthrough on the pages. This is primarily a text Bible though there are some footnotes. I recommend this Bible whether you would use it as a primary translation or comparitive.

**Warning--first graf discusses publisher's product nomenclature, an unfortunate but necessary evil. -- This review is of the "HCSB Hand Size Giant Print Bible (Burgundy Bonded Leather) [Large Print] [Leather Bound]." It is not a review of the 'HCSB Large Print Compact Bible (Burgundy Bonded Leather w/Snap Flap),' nor the 'HCSB Super Giant Print Bible (Burgundy Imitation Leather),' nor even the 'HCSB Gift & Award Bible (Burgundy Imitation Leather),' let alone the many other Holman Christian Standard Bibles that are blue, black, or hardbound. These designations are not necessarily intuitive as to size of book and size of font; in fact, it took me a long time to figure out which one of these I wanted; and hopefully you the reader will not have to be quite so inconvenienced if you care to follow my travail... Happily, this Hand Size Giant Print Bible turned out to be pretty much what I had researched and hoped for: a takealong bible, not a study bible but not a thin version or a glovebox-ready version either. **

In all this welter, I'm still not sure I know what the publisher means exactly by "hand size" or "Giant Print," but clearly these terms are relativistic: my copy measures roughly nine inches tall by 6.5 inches wide by 1.5 inches thick, and the publisher's assessment of 10.5 point type size seems accurate. I would call it a good reader's bible. I myself would not subject the pages to bleed-through markers but it suffers my dedicated bible-marking retractable color pencils quite well. As for the cover, it is indeed what the industry calls "bonded leather," but a less tactful person might called "slurried leather" -- leather bits processed papier-mache style with glue/binder (the "bonding" effect, perhaps) into a sheet, and dyed and trimmed, then stitched. In its utter consistency of grain it doesn't look like real leather ("genuine leather??") but feels a good deal like it, and it has a leathery but not tanned smell (think shoe store, not Men's Furnishings). Unlike a petrochemical-derived, full ersatz for leather I notice that my finger oil and perspiration wick in without leaving a slick feel -- to the extent that I'll probably carry this guy around in a bible holder. Any size other than the really small ones should do. Thus far there have been no glaring defects like wrinkled or skewed paper or bad stitching. I am also obliged to say that bonded leather has been an option for the covers of many bibles by many publishers over many years (in fact, my first NIV was published by Zondervan, in then-stylish Eighties teal). BTW the tome under discussion was manufactured in South Korea.

The main thing is, I am happy with the physical product because, after a lot of comparison, I got the size and "heft" I need. The bible is indeed a nice burgundy color, not brown-liverish or brickish as other, older books sometimes can be. (One suspects that the other bonded-leather "burgundy" colored bibles run pretty true to this one's color, too, an advantage of economies of scale; and so the photographs of the other models would imply.) I should repeat, though, that this bonded-leather format (why that is partially contravened later by their inclusion of the term "leather-bound" is beyond me) is not full-grain natural leather and at this price, how could one expect it to be? Almost any version of leather-bound bible in, for lack of a better term, "heirloom" size, is in the fifty-dollar and up range. On the road, this one behaves like leather, though, with enough give to be flexible but not so little as to feel like a paperback. The edges are "gilt" just adequately and bore a couple of extraneous marks when the bible was still new in its box (at least there is a nice window box!). A built-in ribbon marker matches the color of the cover.

But the real revelation is not the "hardware" of physical product and print technology but the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) translation version itself. HCSB is a relatively new (2005) translation that strives to be appealingly fresh and readable, and to be not as paraphrastic as some of the other contemporary versions but not so, well . . . clunky (my term) in its prose or stumbling over political correctness as some other recent translations have been accused of. Bells-and-whistles are minimal, a few maps and a word guide that doesn't really count as a glossary, but I am happy enough. If what you're after is a personal-use bible in the HCSB format in the under-twenty-buck format, this one does quite nicely. And there are, trust me, easily twelve other shapes, colors and styles to buy this bible in, if the one under review doesn't appeal. I make no claim about the font sizes in other styles.

For those who are new to the HCSB, welcome! And I hope a great many of you will enjoy the translation. I call your attention, in particular, to an excellent review by "doxtorray" dated June of 2006; as it happens, that review is filed (sigh) under a different burgundy version of this bible: the HCSB Large Print Compact Bible (Burgundy Bonded Leather w/Snap Flap). His/her comments about the translation and the reading experience helped me considerably. Thanks!

Appended below are a couple of translation comparisons between HCSB and other better known, or similarly contemporary, bible translations. Bon appetit!

PROVERBS, Chapter 17, verses 1 - 5:
New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), © 1989 Division of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ.
Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully, and will share the inheritance as one of the family. The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests the heart. An evildoer listens to wicked lips; and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue. Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

New American Standard Bible (NASB), ©1984, 2002 The Zondervan Corporation.
Better is a dry morsel and quietness in it than a house full of feasting with strife. A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully, and will share in the inheritance among brothers. The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests hearts. An evildoer listens to wicked lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

The Holy Bible, Today's New International Version (TNIV), © 2005 International Bible Society
Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son and will share the inheritance as one of the family. The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart. A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for the Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

**(HCSB)**Holman Christian Standard Bible, © 2005, Holman Bible Publishers.
Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting with strife. A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son and share an inheritance with brothers. A crucible is for silver, and a smelter for gold, but the Lord is a tester of hearts. A wicked person pays attention to malicious talk; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker, and one who rejoices over disaster will not go unpunished.


NEW TESTAMENT -- Matthew 5:13:
NCV- New Century Version (1991): Matthew 5:13- You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its salty taste, it cannot be made salty again. It is good for nothing, except to be thrown out and walked on.

NASB- New American Standard Bible (1984, 2002): Matthew 5:13- You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

CEV- Contemporary English Version (1995): Matthew 5:13- You are like salt for everyone on earth. But if salt no longer tastes like salt, how can it make food salty? All it is good for is to be thrown out and walked on.

*HCSB* - Holman Christian Standard Bible (2005): Matthew 5:13 - You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It's no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.

CEB - Common English Bible (NT only-2010): Matthew 5:13 - You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It's good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled at people's feet.

All versions with used with permission.

The HCSB is an excellent word-for word translation and suitable for reading, study, recitation, and Memory. The quality is great. Just as advertised. The Giant-Print is really Giant-Print. Mighty easy on these old eyes. Price was great. I selected the lowest price for a used product. Represented as good condition, but, at the price, I really expected something not good. I was surprised when I got a notice that it was shipped the same day and showed up a couple of days later (ordered standard shipping). The Bible I received was shrink wrapped in a new box, and the product looked like a new Bible. Totally unmarked, no signs at all of use.

Would highly recommend this translation and this supplier.

This is a very nice Bible, with all the beni's of the HCSB, but the print is by no means giant, though perhaps it is as big as it could be given the size of the book.

Hi,
I recently purchased from Amazon.com the HCSB Hand Size Giant Print Bible for an Assisted Living facility. Most in attendance range in age from 75 to 96. This Bible is perfect. Perfect in print size and in size for the elderly to handle.
I plan to purchase more and if you know of some one older I recommend this Bible. I plan on ordering more.

I purchased this Bible for an elderly lady in my church. She just loves the type size and ease of reading. Thank you for a great price.

Great font size very easy to read. This will be one of your favorite reading Bibles.

I like this translation. It is very readable and appears to be more accurate on some of the finer details than the NIV or the NLTse.

However, I can no longer recommend this edition. purchased a Hand Size Giant Print edition(ISBN# 1-58640-182-3). I really like the text layout and the end of paragraph references.

I have found 3 significant typo's in my copy.

The first is in Isaiah 2:3. On the 5th line the word "of" is split between two lines - with "o" at the end of a line and "f" at the beginning of the next line.

I checked other copies at my local LifeWay Store and found the same typo in ALL copies of the Hand Size Giant Print edition (Classic included). I did not find the typo in the hardbound text edition.

I also found a typo in the note for Mark 7:34. It reads "An Aram expression". It should say Aramaic. All editions that I have looked at HAVE this error.

The word salvation is misspelled in Isaiah 52:10. It reads "salsvation". I checked the electronic version on-line and it was okay. This error was also in the Hand Size Giant Print editions that I examined in the store.

I purchased another copy of the HCSB on 4/25/06. This time it was the Large Print Reference edition, black genuine leather and indexed (ISBN# 1-58640-122-X).

To my horror, I found two new typos.

On page 551 the heading at the top of the page says "Psalm 87:8" - it should say "Psalm 89:8".

On page 552 the heading says "Psalm 87:9" - it should say "Psalm 89:9".

This version still has the error in the note for Mark 7:34.

I am returning this one today to the store.

This is an excellent translation, but I will not buy another copy until I become convinced that it is possible to by one without serious defects. These production problems are just too serious.

I hope the he HCSB will be fixed soon. I really like the translation, but these production errors are embarrassing.