Customer Reviews

NLT Study Bible (Bible Nlt)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Introduction to the NLT Study Bible
In the Introduction, there is a NLT Study Bible Features Guide. There is also a six page Master Timeline which covers the historical period from creation to approximately AD 330. The timeline is quite detailed and gives an overview of what was happening during the periods covered by books of the Bible. Not only does it list the Kings of Israel and Judah, but it also covers the kings of Assyria, Babylonia, Media-Persia and Rome.

The introduction also includes a list of NLT Study Bible Contributors. I'm no scholar and my library is limited, but several names managed to catch my eye: Daniel Block, Tremper Longman III, John Oswalt, Grant Osborne, Robert Stein, Mark Strauss, Douglas Moo, Sean Harrison and Philip Comfort.

Book and Section Introductions
The book introductions cover the usual Setting, Summary, Authorship, Setting and Date information to be found in most Study Bibles. There are several features of the Book Introductions which stood out to me as special. Each book introduction includes a map showing the geographic region covered in the book. There is a timeline for each book.

As in most Study Bibles, there is an Outline. The NLT Study Bible takes the Outline a step or two further than most in that it is a running outline. I have found this to be a very helpful feature. To quote from the Features Guide:

"Each book includes an outline with up to three levels of headings. In the introduction, we provide the first level of the outline to give the reader an overview. The full outline is embedded in the NLT text as running headings."

The Book Introductions also include a Further Reading section which has book recommendations for further study. In skimming the recommendations from several introductions, the books seem to be solid. I even own several of them so of course I like the lists.

In addition to the Book Introductions, there are Section Introductions. These include:

Old Testament
The Pentateuch
Historical Books
Books of Poetry and Wisdom
Books of the Prophets
New Testament
The Four Gospels
Letters of Paul
Paul's Letters to Timothy and Titus

There are also other informative articles of an introductory or chronological nature throughout, including:

Archaeology and Sources for OT Background
Abraham to Joshua
Time of the Judges
Israel's Monarch
Israel's Exile and Return
Life of Jesus
Harmony of the Four Gospels
Apostolic Age
Time After the Apostles

Miscellaneous Features in the Text
Scattered throughout the text are numerous helpful features including additional maps, genealogies, additional timelines, various charts and illustrations. You have to really try hard to get lost in this Study Bible. They keep everything pretty close at hand.

I have found the notes to be surprisingly relevant to the text. I say "surprisingly" because in other Study Bibles it seems that a rather large percentage of notes seem to be more filler than helpful. The notes in this Bible have been more consistently helpful to me personally.

Theme Notes and Person Profiles
Throughout the text there are notes regarding important themes and people. For instance, looking in the Gospel According to John there are numerous notes and profiles including:

The Word
John the Baptist
Miraculous Signs
Nicodemus
Believing
Living Water
The Jewish Leaders
That gets me through chapter 5.

Cross-References
I have found the cross-references to be more useful than that of most other Bibles. The references appear to be more consistently related to the idea of the verse rather than an individual word which is what was claimed in the introduction. Using them I have found it to be true. Parallel passages are clearly marked with parallel lines(//). Verses in the New Testament which are quotes of the Old Testament are marked with an asterisk (*).

Word Study System
Located within the cross-reference column are references to the Hebrew and Greek dictionaries in the back of the Study Bible. They are referenced to the Strong's Concordance numbers. The dictionaries include 100 Hebrew words and 100 Greek words. I wish there were more words included but I also want to be able to carry the NLT Study Bible without throwing out my back if you know what I mean. I would consider the words included to be rather significant, relatively speaking. The definitions are fairly broad in scope and at the end of each definition are a list of Biblical references where the words can be found. This has been a favorite, and helpful, feature of mine.

Subject Index
Following the Hebrew/Greek dictionaries in the back of the back there is a very comprehensive Subject Index which takes up 142 pages, slightly less than the TNIV Study Bible's Topics Index and Notes Index combined.

Dictionary / Concordance
The Dictionary/Concordance may be another favorite. Not only is it a concordance but it actually does contain definitions of many of the words, words from the KJV are so marked to aid someone (wisely) transitioning to the NLT, and brief biographical sketches of people.

Maps
In addition to the maps in the Introductions and in the text, there is a good collection of maps at the end of the Study Bible. There is no index included. However, given the other maps mentioned having an index in the back might be overkill. While I appreciate the inclusion of the extra maps in the back, I find myself using the Introduction and in text maps far more frequently as I find them much more convenient.

Concluding Remarks
Overall, I have found the NLT Study Bible to be an exceptional work. Beyond overall, each individual part of the work has truly impressed me. Perhaps I'm biased. When it was first announced and the features were listed on the NLT Study Bible website it seemed to me that someone had been reading my mind as to what features I had always wanted. It's almost like we were made for each other.

I give the NLT Study Bible my most enthusiastic endorsement and gladly recommend it to all.

This Bible is so easy to understand. I have much experience with the NIV, TNIV, RSV, ESV, Message, KJV, JB, etc and this one is BY FAR, the easiest to understand. There are three types of Bibles out there: Word-for-Word translations (KJV, ESV, etc) , Thought-for-Thought translations(NIV, TNIV, NLT, etc) and Paraphrase translations (Message, JB, etc). WFW translations are typically sturdy or slanted in their usage of language. Just as we have phrases like "he has fallen asleep forever" (i. e. "died"), so is the Bible full of such things and using a WFW translation makes things like that difficult to understand. Since it was written thousands of years ago, we don't understand their common phrases. TFT translations try to communicate the actual thought that was communicated, but they do consider the actual words (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic) used. Lastly, Paraphrases basically just communicate the primary idea of the text and sometimes don't give much attention to the original language. With that said, in my opinion, it is best to have a Bible in between the WFW and TFT section. The NLT is just that. It's easy to understand and you can connect it to the original languages. This bible is so handy. The introductions to the books are fantastic. They tell the reader the who, what, when, where and why in detail (which is crucial to understanding). The study notes are good and the diagrams and maps are very helpful. One of my favorite features of this book is that in the back, it outlines 100 OT and 100 NT words. Actually, it is as if the writers did a mini word study for you. I am using this Bible in my youth ministry of 6-12th grade students. It is easy for them to understand, but it also provides great opportunity to growth. Lastly, I use this Bible in my own personal study. I am a Christian College graduate and I am currently working on my Master's in General Bible and this is my BIble of choice.

I have had the personal size of this Bible for about a year now and at first I did not use it too much. At first the translation style was hard to get used to as I was used to a more literal translation such as ESV, NASB, NKJV, etc. There are times where other translations have some clunky sentence structure but after giving this Bible a second chance, I love it! Passages that I have read over and over in other translations, it seems like im getting it for the first time, which is definitely a good plus.

As for this actual study Bible, it has some great features and the notes are very helpful. The format takes some time to get used to as the study notes are split into three columns, but overall, you get used to it. The book introductions are great and are as thorough as any study Bible out there aside from the ESV Study Bible. A bonus in this study bible also are the Greek and Hebrew words in the back, so if a concordance or a dictionary seems overwhelming to you, this might be a good start. I am not Greek or Hebrew scholar but I appreciated this. Another favorite I like about this Bible are the half page articles found in many books of the Bible that really put things in perspective. For example in the book of John, some articles we can find are "The Word", "John the Baptist", "Miraculous Signs", "Nicodemus", "Believing", "Living Water' and many more. So, while the notes may be concise when it describes a particular verse, these articles are pretty extensive and useful.

All in all, I definitely recommend this Study Bible, I am finding myself coming back to this one more and more for the ease of reading and the helpful notes. Having said that, I wouldnt recommend this as the main Bible one would use, but it is a great compliment to another Bible. Personally myself, my main Bible is a Thompson Chain reference NKJV, which I could never depart with, I feel like i've grown so much in the Lord so it has a special attachment to me I guess you could say. Using the NLT SB alongside my Thompson is a great blessing.

Whatever Bible you choose, just know that you really cant go wrong with many choices. Ive owned almost any Study Bible you can find and give them to people I feel can use them but my three favorites are NLT SB, ESV SB and my good ol Thompson.

Thanks for reading this, hope it is helpful and never forget that while we decrease He must increase! God bless

We all have preconceptions which are defined as: "opinions or conceptions formed in advance of adequate knowledge or experience".

I've always believed that accurate Bible translations must be of the "literal, word for word kind". In particular, I love the English Standard Version and continue to use the ESV Study Bible. Recently, I was comparing the Holman Christian Standard Bible to my ESV Bible and (while I like the HCSB) the ESV was clearly superior in literary grace and flow. What SHOCKED ME was when I added my newly purchased New Living Translation Study Bible(NLTSB) into the mix. The texts I compared in the above three translations were Psalms 69, 70, 71 and Hebrews 8. To my surprise, the NLT not only flowed better and was more understandable but it had a literary grace of its own! It's use of "O" in the Psalms and it's overall rhythm in contemporary English was amazing. Instead of a word for word "half way into English" or "Biblish" type of translation, the NLT hits the mark by using contemporary language. This is something I think William Tyndale (translator of the first Bible form original languages into English) would have appreciated. Theological terms are also translated into contemporary language and if this troubles anyone, make a list of the 5-10 terms (propitiation, justification, sanctification etc.) in the back of your NLT with definitions.

So, the NLT Study Bible is based on an excellent, contemporary translation. In addition, it has great study helps such as Book Introductions; 25,000 plus study notes; Articles; Hebrew/Greek Word Studies; Dictionary/Concordance etc. While it is clearly evangelical, it does not push a particular interpretive system at you but explains the text in its original context. Of course the NLTSB also interprets scripture from a Christological point of view because that's what Jesus and the New Testament writers did (John 5:39; Acts 17:1-11: Hebrews etc.). The NLTSB text comes in a readable 2 column font with 3 column study notes. The Hardcover is durable but the Genuine Leather (black or burgandy) comes with a long lasting SmythSewn binding.

In summary, you won't be disappointed with the New Living Translation Study Bible. It may be the best out there and using it alongside the ESV Study Bible is so informative. Either could be your primary Study Bible with the other being good for comparison. If you have a bias towards word for word translations, leave it behind or you will be missing something by not purchasing the NLT Study Bible!

My wife and I both bought the new NLT STUDY BIBLE. We have been using the NLT as our primary BIBLE for study for the last 12 years, so we immediately jumped at the opportunity to acquire the new study BIBLE version of the NLT. We have compared important verses between the two versions and have found minor improvements that are not really impactful.

What makes this BIBLE the one we both will use for next 12 years over our other 40 BIBLES are the incredible notes. These are by far the most helpful notes in any study BIBLE we have ever seen. We use the NLT STUDY BIBLES everday for our evening BIBLE study and heartily endorse the NLT STUDY BIBLE to everyone who wants to grow in knowledge.

First off, let me say how happy I am that they finally made a NLT Study Bible version for the Kindle! So much more transportable than the brick I have! And the Kindle Version has EVERYTHING the NLT Study Bible has: maps, in-text commentary notes (easy to navigate to on kindle) as well as the scholarly theme notes and person profiles.

FEEL: the feel for the NLT Study Bible is basically what it looks like in the hardcover version. On the kindle, i'd say this is a detriment, because while the NLT SB Kindle version LOOKS LIKE the NLT SB hardcover version, that's not what I want! I want the text to flow nicely like i'm reading a book (like the ESV Study Bible does), not have the text look like a textbook. Don't get me wrong, its very readable, but its just not as pleasant looking as it could be.

SEARCH: awesome. just like the ESV Holy Bible and ESV Study Bible, you can navigate by going to the table of contents & clicking OR going to the index and using search terms like "mt 1:15" to get where you want to go. What makes the NLT SB so hardcore is that its theme notes & concordance are also index searchable, which means if I want to find out more about what the "day of the lord" is in the Bible, i just search that in the index section and not only get a concordance about where that phrase shows up in the bible, but i also get the scholarly mini-essays written about the day of the lord and what it means. awesome!

In-text commentary is also easily clickable (as it is in the ESV SB). you just look for the underlined verse number, click it, and it takes you to the commentary section for that verse and the ones around it, to get back to the text you just click "back." very simple and easy to use.

Altogether this Bible includes all the scholarly work of the NLT Study Bible right on your Kindle. And its a leg up better than the ESV Study Bible because of its inclusions of in-depth, scholarly theme notes on almost any biblical subject, and its in-depth person profiles of the Bible.

4/5 stars for having a textbook feel, but still having all the NLT Study Bible has to offer.

PS: just a friendly reminder that this is the UPDATED New Living Translation which is truer to the original greek and hebrew of the biblical text than some of the older NLT Versions (like NLT Life Application Bible). So don't rip on the accuracy of this Bible, because its good. It's a "dynamic equivalent translation" which means it tries to be literal while at the same time trying to show you what the text actually means in a readable, modern way. for instance, 1 Peter 1:13 says "Gird the loins of your mind!" (some NASB translations) while the NLT would say, "Think clearly!"

I'm a 43 year old male with 2 children and my wife is a devout Christian. Although I've always been Christian I figured it was time to educate myself more clearly on the Bible and it's teachings. This is my first study Bible and I really like it. It is easy to read, no thee's and thou's, and the measurements are in feet, inches and miles. There's plenty of pictures, maps, graphs, and timelines (for us guys). Also beside the running commentary; at the beginning of each Chapter there's a overview to explain the mindset of the writer and what was going on in the world at the time of writing. It really helps me understand what the writer is trying to convey. I think this study Bible is great for beginners like me, as well as more advanced scholars. I read one chapter then read the commentary, about 15 minutes each day. After only about two months, I'm already a little more clearer on some questions I had. I don't think I'll ever outgrow this Bible. I highly recommend it for all.

This is one of my study bibles which I bought when I commit myself to reading the bible again. It proved to be very useful in our small bible study group due to its great readability (NLT translation) and insightful notes.

On the other hand, the bible paper used is one of the thinnest. It is still sturdy but the printing on the other side of the page as well as on the next page show through well enough to be distracting at times. Pardon my saying this but compared to the ESV Study Bible and even the NLT Life Application Study Bible, the NLT Study Bible's paper has a bit more printing "bleed-through" (for lack of a better word.)

I wished the words of the Lord Jesus Christ was not printed in red. I am not against differentiating the words of the Lord if that's what the publishers want. I'm OK with that. What I don't like is the color itself. There are places where the red lettering becomes much more uncomfortable to read especially when you also factor in "bleed-through" of the printing on the other side of the page. The red fonts are not as strong as the black fonts. They're pale. How about dark green instead, or dark blue? Or how about just offering a version where all text color are the same black? I would avoid this red letter version in favor of the all black version if that's available.

That said, I still love the NLT Study Bible for the following reasons:
1. The way the two-column format is laid-out has a certain dynamism to it. They invite reading, if such can be said!
2. The format of the page content is easy on the eyes. Although as much content as possible are placed on a page, they're not cluttered.
3. The time-lines, study notes, personal profiles, mini-essays are some of the best tools I found in reading the bible.
4. Whatever purists say about the dynamic equivalence translation in general, and the NLT in particular, I thank the Lord this translation exist for it allows me to understand difficult texts in other translations, and makes my bible reading easier. I say easier in a "mechanical" sense as I didn't have to stumble or wade through unusual sentence structures.
5. I can read without using my reading glasses, the small fonts used for the study notes and commentaries. In contrast I needed my reading glasses to read the even smaller fonts used in study notes of the ESV Study Bible.
6. I appreciate the full access code to the online version of the bible included in this volume! The online version has the same content as the book version plus a few more tools unique to the Web version alone. This is useful, too.

If it's possible for you to preview this bible physically, I'd strongly suggest doing so- if only to see whether the printing and layout are comfortable enough for you.

I have nothing but praise for the content itself. With the caveat mentioned above, I highly recommend the NLT Study Bible. The gift of ease by which the Word of the Lord is made available for all, the dynamism of the page lay-out together with generous amounts of study tools- they far outweigh the thin-paper and red-letter issues of this volume for me.

I have been conducting Bible studies for over forty years. I have had experience with a wide variety of translations in both English and French.

In small group studies these days many translations tend to be used. It is my opinion that the NLT most often hits the mark for really conveying the sense of a given passage or text. I have had many people purchase the NLT simply from hearing it read in comparison with other translations during the studies.

As for the NLT study Bible I thought I would give it a try since comes with the NLT translation. There are many things I like about this new study Bible. It has a very attractive format. The cross references are very good. It comes with some good helps such as the dictionary/concordance and the subject index. There are some very attractive color maps in the back. The maps, however, do not have a good index for locating the towns etc.

The introductions to the Old and New Testaments and the book introductions are very well done. I would rate them as well above average and the various articles placed throughout the Bible are also extremely well done and very helpful.

The verse by verse notes are fine, but I don't feel that they stand out above those in the NIV study Bible or the Life Application Bible. I still feel that the most helpful notes are those found in the Quest study Bible.

I would love to see a joint project with the Quest notes and the NLT. I have a feeling it's not going to happen soon so in the meantime I would recommend the NLT study Bible

I got this book today. It is far better than I expected. I have other NLT bible. I order this new bible because I wanted a smaller one. However, I found it is comletely different one from the old one. With new, clear comments, this will be a good guide for me, and others, too.