Customer Reviews

New King James Version Ultrathin Reference Bible : Black Genuine Leather Ultra-Thin Non-Indexed

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The absolute best preaching Bible. Its most important feature (to me) is that it's smythe sewn, meaning it'll stay open no matter WHERE it's open (even on Genesis 1 or Revelation 22), and that means it's easily held open with one hand and won't blow closed by the air conditioning vents. While it's debated whether sewn Bibles really last longer than a well-glued Bible, it is a fact that sewn Bibles can be rebound without losing considerable inside margin space, unlike what happens when you try to rebind a glued Bible--you lose half your notes!

The inclusion of center column cross references are extremely important in my consideration for a preaching Bible. There is room there to add a few more of your own.
The genuine leather cover is also very important, as sweaty hands will quickly ruin even the best bonded leather. Unlike Holman's smaller counterpart Bible (ISBN 1558194371), there is elegant gold trim on the inside perimeter of this cover. I miss the days when Bibles had "Holy Bible" printed on the front, but oh well, this one doesn't have "Holy Bible" on the front; they are printed on the spine. Except for the words "Holy Bible" on the spine which are at the very top, the other gold lettering and bars on the spine in the middle and bottom has pretty much all worn off due to constant use of only a few years.

Being as thin as it is, this Bible reduces potential fatigue (and slipping out of my hand) when holding in one hand for extended periods of time.

The inside margin space for notes is about 12 mm, which is adequate, but not luxurious.
Unlike Thomas Nelson's (ISBN 0785202285) faint red letters, the red letters of this Bible are just as bright and heavy and legible as the black print, which is important for reading under low-lighted conditions or when there are stage lights on you.

The verse-format, as opposed to paragraph format in other Bibles, is ideal for quickly finding a verse. The first verse number for each paragraph is bold, and there is a non-bold header above each paragraph. The headers appear to be the same font size as the Text, making them appropriately discreet at a glance and non-distracting.

The premium acid-free paper holds up to note jotting with a mechanical pencil, and the gold gilded edges help to prevent tearing. Compared with Thomas Nelson's (ISBN 0785202285), the paper of this Bible is much whiter (whiter than snow!). I think Nelson's whitish paper is pleasant, but Holman's bright-white paper is not bad either. It is relatively non-reflective and so there is no distracting glare when reading under bright/fluorescent lamps. I guess the whitness of the paper actually increases legibility--the bottom line.

Included are 8 color maps. A diagram of the Tabernacle would have been nice, but it's not included. It appears there would have been room enough to include a diagram of the Taberncle, but alas, it's not there. And surprisingly, Holman's SMALLER counterpart Bible cited above (ISBN 1558194371) actually DOES include a diagram of the Tabernacle.

Book introductions are concise--about 15 lines of text each, spanning two columns.

The concordance is not bad, but has not always been as helpful as I'd like. In my experience, when it comes to Bible concordances, Zondervan's seem to be most helpful.
The Harmony of the Gospels is placed after Revelation and before the concordance. A list of parables and miracles would have been nice to include, but they're not there. Thomas Nelson's (ISBN 0785202285) has the same layout--Harmony of the Gospels and concordance; no list of parables or miracles either.

There's one ribbon (black) which does not fray easily under constant use. (It's the zipper on Bible case covers which destroy ribbons.)

I appreciate the fact that this Bible, like Holman's other Bibles, has the ISBN on the inside (the copyright page). Not only do they include the ISBN for that particular Bible, but for other similar ones (i.e., bonded, indexed, burgundy, etc.). This makes locating, reordering, cataloging, etc., much easier. For some reason, Thomas Nelson does not tend to print the ISBN in their Bibles.

This Bible includes a presentation page and a few other special information pages at the front.

Last but not least, the price is right. I have yet to see a Bible of this caliber at this price. I certainly wouldn't want to have to replace a Thomas Nelson Signature Series Bible too often!

I just received this Bible and am debating whether to return it or not. My main complaint is that the print in this otherwise lovely Bible is not large print, as advertised, by ANY stretch of the imagination. It is disappointingly small. I have several (that's an understatement) Bibles in various translations and in the last 15 years or so, have always purchased large print versions, and although the type size has not been uniform among them, not one of them has print as small as this one. The print is slightly larger than my older Bibles (from when larger print was not an issue), but not by very much.

However, this Bible is very slim and lightweight, has a lovely genuine leather cover, clear print, and does meet my primary need for it. My pastor mostly uses NKJV, so I wanted an easy to carry Bible to take to church and follow along in the same translation. I think it will fill that slot nicely and the bright lighting in our church should make it easier to read. I'll try it out in Bible study tonight and see how it works for me.

I am pleased with the overall size of this Bible. It even slips easily into several of my larger purses. I'll probably keep it, as I'm sure I would have to purchase a much larger and heavier Bible to get the size print I had really hoped for.

I have found that this is the best NKJV print on genuine leather that I have found. The following are the reasons:

1. This is a large-print edition. It is smaller than "giant-print" but makes reading much more comfortable. It helps a lot when used for preaching as I do not need to strain to read the words.

2. This is a ultrathin edition. It is much easier to slip this bible into a bag and does not take up that much space in width.

3. It is a genuine leather binding. I have had many different bindings for bibles but I have found this the best. Bonded leather bindings tends to split at the spine and other places after awhile, and it would give way after much use. The genuine leather does not split as easily and is much more hardy. The hardcovers are a little inflexible while carrying to preach or to read, and is not able to open as wide as a soft binding.

4. This is a NKJV translation. Every edition, translation and paraphrase of the bible has its pros and cons. Comparatively, NKJV is well balanced between readability and accuracy.

5. The leather color is black. This may be a personal perference, but black does not dirty easily.

Hence, I recommend this as one of the best bibles to travel with and preach from.

The NKJV is based on the textus receptus, readable, trustworthy, faithful to the original text, similar in poetic cadence to the KJV, and very suitable for memorization and ministering. If you want a modern version cleaner for sharing with this generation than the KJV, the NKJV is the way to go.

For old schoolers the layout of this Bible is very pleasing: Red Letter, dark font on both black letters and red, center column cross references, decent size print, compact, with book introductions, and a small-servicable concordance.

The maps leave a lot to be desired and after owning 10 of these I note that after about 3 years the bindings crack at the point where the maps start. This is not such a terrible thing for any book that gets used daily and is transported in all weather conditions outside the home.

I am ordering two more now to have one on file for replacement in a few years. The NKJV market in large print and format of this type is rare and becoming even harder to replace. Broadman and Holman still offer it, but Thomas Nelson pretty much own the rights, so I dont know how much longer this version will be available.

My only suggestion would be that BH manufacture an uber version of this text: Like the Thomas Nelson Signature Series Bibles; fine leather and uprgaded paper. I would definitely buy that Bible. Unfortunately for true Bible lovers, the NKJV does not appear to being treated very well by its translation stewards right now. Why NKJV stewards insist on following the ultra small print trend in Bibles is beyond me. Profits on all Bibles appears to have replaced the old conviction that providing the word of God to God's people is a sacred trust.

I was disappointed in this for a couple of reasons, all personal preference. I thought that the genuine leather would be softer/more pliable, but this was hard and not very "bend-y". I know, being new, it isn't broken in, but my bonded leather feels better than this. There's not much margin space for notes, nor is there much space between lines for underlining. It just seems very cluttered. I don't like the next book to start on the same page as the last ends. And, like all the others say, the type is quite small. I knew this when I ordered it from reading the other reviews, and this isn't that big of a deal to me, but it is misleading. Compared to the normal print in Bibles, I suppose it would be largER, but I don't consider it a large print Bible. For the price you pay, it's not bad. But it's not what I wanted/expected, and not something I will use long term. I'm sending it back and going for a more expensive Bible that suits my needs.

I didn't like this particular Bible because the pages were very see-through, so you could see through the back page of words....this was very distracting and difficult to read....also some of Christs letters in red were faint on many texts. I was disappointed that the publishers made such basic and fundamental errors for the most important Book in the world.

This Bible is not only a wonderful preaching Bible, but simply a beautiful Bible in itself. The leather is nice (although I thought the shininess to be a little gaudy)and I found the binding to be superb (although to be honest with you I didn't use the Bible for a long time). You can lay it down flat and it will stay open, something important when using a pulpit. It truly is "ultraslim" and fits in a backpack nicely.

The only reason I ended up giving the Bible away after a few weeks was because it was too big to put in a smaller bag like a purse. In my opinion, having a slim Bible isn't that useful if it feels as big as a 8.5x11 sheet of paper! DO NOT buy this Bible if you're looking for something to carry around with you everywhere, it's good enough for carrying to church, but that's about it.

Also be aware, this is "large print" (not "giant print"), so those wanting huge letters won't be satisfied with this one (as other reviews have shown). It is perfect for someone with moderately-weak vision reading it at arm's length.

If you don't mind the size, this is a definite must buy over anything Nelson publishes. Their Bibles are made cheaply and fall apart easily. This one felt like it was made to last. If only B&H would make a smaller version that wasn't large print!

Overall I was pretty satisfied with this Bible. I am very satisfied with the size of it. The print size is perfect - not too large. I was looking for a Bible that would give a little more room for marking scripture than my smaller Nelson slimline.

The only thing that I was a little disappointed in was the leather cover. My Nelson's leather cover was softer right out of the box. This leather cover is pretty stiff and shiny, but I am hoping that it will soften with use. It doesn't lay flat right out of the box either, but maybe that will change with use also.

I like my New King James Version Ultrathin Reference Bible : Black Genuine Leather Ultra-Thin Non-Indexed. . . mostly.

I like the size and the readability of the type (although calling it "Large Print" seems a stretch). Also, the Smythe sewn binding which allows it to lie flat makes both preaching and study easier.

My one disappointment is that the product description advertises this edition as follows:

"NEW special feature of the Words of Christ in bold letters."

When I received the Bible, it turned out to be just another Red Letter edition. I am not a big fan of Red Letter Bibles, and I kept this one only because I can't seem to find the NKJV in black letter with a suitable type size.

I should not have been surprised at the fact that the Bible was not as advertised, since the product description also says:

"This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title."

I'm not sure of the logic that lies behind using the description of one product to sell another. Also, I don't know whether the decision to do so comes from the publisher or from Amazon. Either way, it's misleading.

I was looking a Bible to study, where I can put my own notes and underline what call my atention. And I look for something that endures a long use. And I found it. The best quality for the best price. Really I am very happy about my new Bible. Genuine leather, and very affordable price.