Customer Reviews

Holy Bible (NIV) (New International Version)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

This is the only Kindle Bible I have found (including free Bibles from non Amazon sources) which has a full table of contents. Each Book is easily accessed from the TOC and there is a clickable numeric list of chapters in each book when you open it.

I don't understand how T.Heyn could have misread this. Maybe he had an earlier Kindle version which has since been updated.

I can find John 3:16 or any other verse in this Bible in just a few seconds. Buy this one and you will not be disappointed.

This review will simply address the mechanics of this version of the Holy Bible in regards to the Kindle. I will refrain from any comments regarding the nature of the translation, leaving that for those far more learned than myself.

I have downloaded several versions of the Holy Bible and I am pretty pleased with this one. The Table of Contents is easy to access. The individual books listed are centered and run down the middle of the page. After selecting a book, you are taken to that book with the first line(s) being a list of selectable chapters followed by the beginning of the text of that book. You can start to read or you can select a line of chapters which will take you to a sub-menu which allows you to select the specific chapter you want.

The main problem I had with this set-up is the centering of the text sometimes made it difficult to select a specific book without occasionally hitting the one on top or bottom and having to go back and try again. Also, the Chapter list sub-menu seems to be an annoying additional step.

The best "Kindle" set-up I've found so far is the Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible (NASB) (Kindle Edition) by The Lockman Foundation. The TOC is set up with a right justification so the text is right next to the cursor. Once you select a book, you are taken to a right justified chapter list. Selecting a chapter takes you right to the text, avoiding the sub-menu step. This, for me, has proven to be the most efficient style of navigation for Bible Study and reading.

I will continue my collection of Kindle Bible versions, but I'm not going to waste any more money on versions which are not optimized for the Kindle with right justification of selectable lists.

I think this is a great Bible for the Kindle. It is almost perfect with maybe just a couple of tweeks. I find it quick and easy to navigate to just about anywhere in the Bible (except for the New Testament, which I'll explain later). Simply go to the Table of Contents, page/scroll to the book of the Bible you are looking for and click on it. This will open up to the first chapter of that book, at the top will be a list of verse numbers, click on the line that has your the verse # you are looking for, then click on the verse # and 'voila' there you have it (sounds more time consuming than it really is). This Bible also has clickable links within the text, sort of like a paper Bible... you'll see a 'half-size' letter next to a word signifying there is a link to follow, simply scroll up to the line containing that character and click on it, it will take you to the supplemental info. Click the 'back' button to go back to where you left off.

Now, on to the New Testament, it works the same way the Old Testament does, but I find it inconvenient because, say you want to look up something in Romans... You have to page through pages and pages in the Table of Contents before you get past all the Old Testament Books before you get to the New Testament. A better work around would be to give you the option of "jumping" to New Testament books via a 'clickable link' at the beginning of the TOC.

Next, I would like more of the Study Bible comments and links added to the Bible.

Other than that, it works great and I'm extremely pleased at out easy it is to use.

The navigation for this Bible, also indicated by other reviewers, is extremely cumbersome. For example, if you want to go to a specific verse, Isaiah 43:25 for instance, you will have to do the following:

Menu->Table of Contents->The Books of the Old Testament (5 clicks)->Next Page->Isaiah (5 down clicks)->Chapter 43 (12 clicks)->Verse 25 (8 clicks).

Navigating with the 5-way nub is slow to begin with, but having to go through 5 separate pages with more than 20 "clicks" of the nub to get to a single verse is a huge headache. Simply searching for Isaiah 43 doesn't work.

Compare this to the Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible (NASB) (Kindle Edition) where you can just search for Isaiah 43 and you are brought immediately to Isaiah 43 from where you can then "Next Page" to vs. 25.

The one star review is due to the incredibly poor navigation. I would love to see something similar to that which is found in the NASB Kindle or beyond that where you can search for "Isaiah 43:25" and be brought to the verse or even an abbreviated "IS 43:25".

Erin...you have listed several differences between the KJV and the NIV in you review of the NIV Holy Bible. And, in the process, you have attempted to point out alleged inaccuracies of the NIV. I have used the NIV ever since I became a Christian 23 years ago, and I feel God has spoken to me though the NIV just as I am sure He has spoken to you through the KJV. The fact of the matter is, the KJV is a very good version of the Bible. However, it is by far not considered the standard for accurate biblical interpretation by most modern Bible scholars. The mission of the NIV translation board was to present the most accurate version of the Scriptures based on the earliest and most reliable ancient Hebrew and Greek texts. The reason that many of the verses you have cited are omitted from the NIV, is because the earliest and most reliable texts do not contain those verses or the same versions of those verses that the KJV does. The NIV has been the most widely read version of the Bible by evangelical churches world wide since 1983. I am not saying that the KJV is necessarily a poor version, but the NIV is by far a more accurate version for serious bible students. In fact, it is the standard version used by most evangelical bible colleges. I am writing this in the love of Christ and do not wish to start a war of words, I just wanted to give you and the readers of your review some additional insight.

Ron

Navigating this Bible with the Kindle is not at all impossible, but it does take some getting used to. The chapter and verse numbers are the same size, but the verse numbers are set a half-space above the bottom line of text, so it's not as if you're reading, "16for God so loved the world... 17for God did not send his son..." This is a great feature as a few of the cheap eBook Bibles have the numbers right on line with the text and it's distracting.

This Bible has a linked Table of Contents. Go to the table and each line has just one book listed so it's easy to click that line and go to the chapter you want. Then you will be taken to the first page of the chapter, where there is a list of linked chapter numbers. You can start reading and clicking through, or you can click on the chapter you want and start there.

The chapter numbers are on line with the text. Chapter one of any book will look like, "1Here is the text." Chapter two will be, "2Here is the verse. 2Here is the second verse. 3Here is the third verse," with the verse numbers being a half-line above. Chapter 23 will be, "23Here is the verse. 2Here is the second verse. 3Here is the third verse," etc. So if you are, say, reading Job and you want to read chapters 1-4 and then skip to chapter 13 you have to look really carefully if you're just clicking through the middle chapters. But if you hit the "back" button it will take you straight to the first page of Job with the linked chapter list, you can click on Chapter 13, and go from there.

So, it takes some getting used to because it's not like just rustling through a few pages to skip ahead. But that has its advantages too- like not having those flimsy, tiny pages stick together, or having your highlighting bleed through, or being able to find your place a lot faster than the sucker sitting next to you in the pew who still has an analog Bible. :)

I have read this book in its entirety and am currently working my way through it again. I have other Bibles and I must say none of them can even compare to this version. If you want literal, precise reading that is untainted by other peoples veiws on the subjects within,then this is the Bible for you. RAYMIE D. CONNOLLY JR.

The NIV Study Bible is my favorite so of course I wanted it for my Kindle, otherwise what's the point of having a Kindle? This is not to rate the NIV Bible but the Kindle version. They appeared to be in a hurry. Having transferred a few books and articles myself I can see so many things they could have done to make it better, actually more useful.

The only navagation is the table of contents that lists each of the books. Once you have navigated to a book there is a list of links to each numbered section. That is it.

There are a few footnotes but this is not the study version of course.

If you don't know the Bible you could easily get lost as there is no way to tell where you are. The numbered sections do not stand out - if you see verse 34 then a lower number like 5 you can assume a new section (chapter). Why not take the time to put a heading before each section that shows the book and section number with a link back to the books toc?

There are some formatting errors as well such as Jesus words are in light gray but sometimes they are not gray due to coding mistakes.

I am not sure exactly what they did but even the bottom status bar is confusing because it does not show you where you are in either the whole Bible or Old or New Testament. Yet sometimes it appears to - at least according to the percentage indicated.

But I do have it on my Kindle to read. Which is pretty cool when you think about it.

I read through the other reviews and saw people were disappointed in the navigation of this Bible on the Kindle. Despite that I purchased it anyway because I prefer this translation. I did not find it to be difficult to navigate at all. I have the first generation Kindle and I do not know if that has anything to do with it.

All I had to do was go to the contents, select OT or NT, then select which book and then chapter and that was it. Easy as could be! I purchased mine to use as a reference while I am reading other books that refer to scripture so I will be going back and forth a bit. I am glad that I purchased this version and pleased with the ease of use.

I bought the Kindle version of this and use it daily. I love it. It's a little tedious moving between different chapters, verses and books within the bible, but I think that's just a part of using such a book on the Kindle. Now that I know how to use it, it's actually pretty quick. I am so grateful to be able to carry the entire bible with me on my Kindle. Very handy!!