NIV Study Bible [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

Zondervan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2011

The NIV Study Bible is the #1 bestselling study Bible in the world's most popular modern English Bible translation---the New International Version. This best-loved NIV Study Bible features a stunning four-color interior with full-color photographs, maps, charts, and illustrations. Since its first release in 1985, the Gold Medallion Award-winning NIV Study Bible has become the treasured and trusted companion of over nine million Bible readers. The in-depth notes are coded to highlight notes of special interest in the areas of character study, archaeology, and personal application. Visually arresting section breaks help you find your bearing in the Bible. Full-color photos, maps, and illustrations make this study Bible accessible and friendly. Referred to daily by millions of pastors, students, church leaders, and other Bible readers around the world, the over-20,000 NIV Study Bible notes are the handiwork of the same translation team that produced this Bible's text. The very best evangelical scholarship that brought you today's most popular modern English Bible also contributed to the most celebrated and widely used study notes in existence. All of these features, and more, also make it perfect for homeschool use. Like no other Bible, the NIV Study Bible places an entire resource library for Bible study in your hands. Features: * Full text of the world's most popular modern English Bible---the New International Version (NIV) * Over 20,000 study notes, with icons to make important information easy to spot * Introductions and outlines provide valuable background information for each book of the Bible * In-text maps, charts, diagrams, and illustrations visually clarify the stories in the Bible * 16 pages of full-color maps plus time lines and presentation page * Words of Christ in red * NIV concordance plus subject and study notes indexes

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The International Bible Society (IBS) commissioned both the NIV and TNIV. Its mission is to faithfully translate, publish and reach out with God's Word to people around the world. The Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) produced both the NIV and TNIV. It is an independent body of the most renowned English-speaking biblical linguists and scholars in the world. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 2560 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (October 18, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310438926
• ISBN-13: 978-0310438922
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Reference
  • #62 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Bibles
  • #99 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Updated NIV Study Bible is a big improvement & delight to read, October 31, 2011

By 

moviebuff (Walnut CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NIV Study Bible (Hardcover)

This review is for the hardcover edition of the NIV Study Bible 2011 in book form (not Kindle).

One thing to notice right from the start is that this new study Bible is called "NIV Study Bible" and not "Zondervan NIV Study Bible".

Initially I was reluctant to purchase another updated NIV Study Bible (since I've had several improved versions already of the NIV Study Bible); However, when I opened this updated edition and began reading it, I recognized right away that there were significant improvements.

A. The NIV text is revised -- this Study Bible uses the updated 2011 text rather than the 1984 NIV text. The main difference in the updated 2011 text is use of more gender inclusive language ("brothers and sisters" instead of brethren), and significant differences in translation than the 1984 NIV version.

Here are some of the significant changes:

1) Psalm 23: 4: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil ..." (2011 version); the older version (1984) reads "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."

2) In Genesis 1:6 the 1984 version says, "And God said, 'let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water"; in the 2011 version, Gen. 1:6 says, "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water."

3) Rom. 1:16: The 1984 version leaves out the conjunction "For" in the beginning: "I am not ashamed of the gospel .." The 2011 version correctly adds "For" in the beginning: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel.."

4) Rom. 8:5 The 1984 version translates the Greek word "sarx" as "sinful nature": "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." The 2011 version is much improved: "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance to the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." The 2011 translation "flesh" is much more accurate and closer to the original. I had a very difficult time accepting the 1984 translation "sinful nature" -- it is a mistranslation of "sarx," which should be translated as "flesh" (cf. ESV, NASB, NRSV)

5) Phil. 2:6 (2011): "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage" (1984 version says " .. consider equality with God as something to be grasped.").

6) 1 Cor. 7:1 (2011): "Now for the matters you wrote about: 'It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman'"; the 1984 version says "It is good for a man not to marry."

While I preferred Gen. 1:6 and Psalm 23:4 in the 1984 version, I liked the significant changes in the NIV (2011) as listed above. To its credit, this 2011 NIV text still retains the Messianic title "Son of Man" in Daniel 7:13; it did not go the way of the NRSV and translate it as "someone like a human being."

One thing that teachers using the 2011 NIV text need to know is that it reads differently from the NIV 1984 version. When I read from the NIV 2011 to my Sunday School students, they asked me, "Which Bible are you reading from?" Many of them had the 1984 NIV and the new 2011 version had different wording.

B. New updated features, charts and articles

1) There are colored introductions to each Bible book; colored illustrations, maps, and charts. These colored illustrations make this updated version much more appealing to read

2) Slightly updated notes -- the notes are very similar to the 2008 updated Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Some of the notes include a brief explanation of the Jewish understanding of biblical concepts (e.g. the notes to the Prologue of John in John 1:1-18).

3) New helpful colored charts and articles

Ancient Texts Relating to the Old Testament (all the Ancient Near Eastern Texts that are important for understanding the Old Testament)

In the Old Testament, there are explanatory articles and charts that explain key cities (e.g. the City of the Jebusites, Solomon's Jerusalem)

Explanatory articles on the Tabernacle, Tabernacle Furnishings, Old Testament Festivals, Old Testament Sacrifices, etc.)

Explanatory articles (and maps) on Important OT events (The Exodus, David's Conquests, Wilderness Wanderings, Division of the Land in Joshua's Conquests, etc)

In the prophetic books, there are charts like "Visions in Daniel" that explain and compare the vision of the statue (ch. 2) and the four kingdoms (ch. 7) in Daniel

Major Archaeological Finds for the NT (right after John chapter 21)

Colored Harmony of the Gospels

Charts that Summarize Christ's Life and Ministry (Jesus' Early Life, Jesus' Baptism and Temptation; Summary Charts on Christ's Life from Childhood, Baptism, Ministry, Last Week, and Resurrection -- (all within the "Matthew" section in the New Testament)

All the maps inside the text are in color (e.g. Paul's Missionary Journeys in the Book of Acts; Seven Churches in Asia Minor in Revelation)

Colored pictures and descriptions of important archaeological sites (e.g. Herod's Temple, Roman Colosseum, Jewish ritual bath, Temple of Trajan, etc.)

Helpful charts that illustrate key biblical terms and concepts in the NT book (e.g. "Slavery vs. Freedom" chart in Galatians)

Helpful articles that explain key theological concepts ("The Church and the Tribulation" article -- taken from Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds set)

4) Study Helps Section in the Back

Table of Weights and Measures
Revised Spelling of Proper Names (compared to the 1984 NIV version)
Topical Index
Index to the Notes
Concordance
Index to Maps at the End of the Study Bible

What I found most helpful was the Topical Index, which helps the reader find the right Scripture passage for a given topic. It was helpful that the concordance followed right after the Topical Index.

The colored maps are excellent in the back.

5) Suggestions for Future Editions

I hope someday the NIV Study Bible would include a Brief Survey of Biblical Theology, a brief overview of church history, and articles on key words in the Bible. Study Bibles such as the Ryrie Study Bible, MacArthur's Study Bible, and the ESV Study Bible include these helpful articles.

However, the new NIV Study Bible is a pleasure and delight to read. I'm so glad the editors included the colored charts, articles, and maps within the text of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Highly recommended!!

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good content, but very disappointed by the layout, October 24, 2011

By 

Daniel C (10850 Stone Hill Ln,Manassas, VA 20109) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NIV Study Bible (Kindle Edition)

First of, the content is amazing.. commentaries, maps, etc... exactly what I wished for.

Unfortunately, the layout (in Kindle) is disappointing. There is no index to go to a specific chapter or verse. To do that I would need to go way back to the table of contents. It's difficult clicking the commentaries (I was hoping it would show below similar to magazines or my annotations). To go to the maps if would take several clicks and by that time, it would be difficult to return to the verse I came from.

In summary, the content is really good and for a straightforward read of the Bible, functional. But if you would like to really study the Bible or use this for a study, it's really difficult.

UPDATE: After using the study Bible even more.. I now love it! The content is really good.. full of commentaries and even pictures. Navigation is not perfect, but it just takes getting used to. What I would do is to read the chapter, go back to v1 and read the commentaries for the rest of the chapter. I am now at Leviticus and what was a difficult and boring read for me, now is much more meaningful and insightful. It's nice to have all that info anywhere.

79 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A mixed bag, but overall I'm disappointed, October 19, 2011

By 

R. Briggs - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: NIV Study Bible (Kindle Edition)

From the pre-publication hype, I really expected a blockbuster of a Bible. Add to that, this is the 2011 edition, which I was excited about reading. So my bias was very much positive when I first opened this version of the Book.

Let's start with the positives. The content is good, pretty much as advertised. There are many, many references, about 90 maps, etc. And it's the 2011 edition, which I wanted.

I'm out of positives. Here are my concerns and issues.

__________________________________________
1) By far the biggest: Navigation is really poor.
---- (A) When you are reading pane (i.e., somewhere in the text of the Bible), there is no indication of what book you are reading until you get to the next chapter. All you see are verse numbers. Tapping the screen once causes translucent bars to appear at the top and bottom. The top bar shows the book (e.g., Matthew), but the bottom bar shows the "location" -- a 6-digit number like 303531 (for Matthew, Chapter 10, verse 35).
---- (B) Your bookmarks use the same cryptic "location" code as their identification. If you have only a few bookmarks that may not be a problem, but if you create more than a dozen bookmarks the 6-digit reference system will have you tearing out your hair.
---- (C) If you press a cross-reference link, you are taken to that link on a one-way journey. There is no "back" function -- the regular "back" key takes you out to the Kindle icon on the main screen, not back to where you were before you touched the cross-reference. Restarting the application usually takes you back to the notes page, not the verse you were reading before following the cross-ref.
---- (D) When you add your own note to a page, a little blue box (with the note number) appears on top of the Bible text, covering it up so you can't see it any more.

__________________________________________
2) Typographic issues: These may seem minor, but for me they seriously detract from the usability of the Bible in study mode.
---- (A) Pages are all justified (except for poetry). In a paper Bible this is not a problem, but in an electronic Bible on a 7" screen, rather ugly gaps appear in the word spacing. There should be an option for ragged-right viewing (i.e., turn off justification), but I can't find such an option.
---- (B) The choices for font sizes favor large to very large print. Even the smallest font size is too large (and I suffer from much less than perfect eyesight).
---- (C) There is only one reading font. You can't change it.
---- (D) Words of Christ are not highlighted. This is a real disappointment, as there is another "study" version of this Bible (due out October 25) that has "words of Christ in red" and that costs a buck less. (I suppose that version might not have some maps.)
E) There is way too much "white space" -- often pages have only 50-60% coverage. In a paper Bible that is nice, but on a tablet we need a bit more efficient use of space. For example, after the last verse of a poetic passage, there are 4 or 5 blank lines, only one of which is needed. (Actually, none are needed, since poetry is set ragged-right.)
F) Line spacing is inconsistent due to note marks. Lines WITH a note have a greater line spacing than lines WITHOUT notes, making for an awkward "stuttering" of line intervals.

__________________________________________
3) Problems with graphics
---- (A) For some maps, resolution is low. Zooming in on one of these maps in order to read a city name, for example, yields the blurry-fuzzy-ghosty image of a JPG file without sufficient resolution. As there are only 90 maps, a little more resolution would not have bulked up the book that much. Actually, the photographs seem to be at much higher resolution -- resolution that's not really needed. For example, I would easily have traded all resolution in the image of the temple of Trajan for more resolution in the maps of Paul's missionary journeys.
---- (B) Maps are sometimes rotated 90% from what you would expect. This might be a bug, or it might be the design, but it's disconcerting.

__________________________________________
BOTTOM LINE: If this were not the NIV version plus a huge amount of other resources, I'd give this book one star. I suspect that those who want to use this as a "study Bible" (as I do) will be very disappointed, as it's virtually impossible to flip back and forth between text and notes or to keep track of personal notes and bookmarks. Those who don't care about the reference material, but who just want the new NIV version in a readable format, won't be overly disappointed -- but that functionality is available for $9.99 in another Kindle version.

My next step? See if I can return it on the basis that it did not live anywhere near up to the hype.