Customer Reviews

Nelson's NKJV Study Bible

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I own many different study Bibles, from the NIV Study Bible, the Scoffield, New Scoffield, Thompson Chain Reference (NIV and KJV), Dake Bible, NIV Topical Study Bible and several Parallel Bibles. While I use them all, my favorite for study and for Scripture reading is either the Nelson Study Bible or the NIVSB. The language is easy to understand and the study notes are fairly comprehensive. The commentary hails from a conservative evangelical theology.

Book binding quality:
The binding is strong and is durable. I've carried this Bible around a lot, and it has held up with no sign of failure. Because of the extensive notes and indices, this Bible is quite a bit thicker than most.

Scripture Page layout:
The Scriptures are laid out in the natural paragraph form, rather than the bullet form based on verse numbering, which is less common in the KJ versions of Scripture. The Scriptures are laid out in two columns with letters guiding the reader to parallel passages and asterisks showing differences in other texts (See below). The bottom of each page contains commentary listed by corresponding verse and the references to other parallel Scripture passages is between the two commentary columns rather than between the Scriptures themselves, like most other Bibles. The words of Christ are in red, and contextual sections have headings that correspond to the outline at the beginning of each book.

Introduction to Books:
Each book of the Bible has a discussion of the author, audience and purpose, date and place of writing, characteristics, sources and a short outline of the book. A timeline of secular historical items that happened at the time of the writing is also provided.

Commentary:
The notes deal with archaeological, historical, lexical and cultural aspects that pertain to conservative hermeneutical exegesis. In disputables, they often do make definitive conclusions, but also at times give different views giving info on what the editors believe is the most probable correct conclusion. The prophetic passages are the only place where this lacks. It is impossible to put all information on a topic into a study Bible, but the Nelson does an awesome job of packing a lot of information in for a significant level of understanding.

Indices:
There are several helpful and easy to use indices at the back of the Bible. A Subject Index acts as a topical study help. There are several map and measurement aids and finally a fairly comprehensive concordance is included.

Special Features of the Nelson:
The Nelson's NKJV Study Bible has several features that are lacking in many study Bibles.
--There are 8 "Full View Bible Summaries," including the doctrine of the Trinity and the Old Testament at a Glance.
--There are 103 InDepth Articles that discuss items of interest. For instance, in James there is an article on Faith and Works and in Acts there is an article on Roman Citizenship.
--There are roughly as many QuickView Charts that help with quick overviews of passages. In John, there is a chart of the 7 "I Am" Statements and in Psalms, there is a chart called "Psalms for Every Occasion."
--There are roughly 90 InText Maps giving background to the passages.
--And finally, there are hundreds of WordFocus Word Studies. For instance, in 1 Kings there is a word study on ba'al and in John there is a study of logos.
--In passage asterisks point to differences between the Nestle-Aland 27/ UBS4 text, the Majority Text and the Textus Receptus, with the latter being the text used for the NKJV. This helps give differences between the manuscripts and is a superb tool for comparing them.

Upon receiving this Bible, I changed my main study Bible from the NIVSB to the Nelson NKJV Study Bible, because of its still-easy-to-read verbiage and its copious amounts of study aids.

Bible study is important to me, and I have studied my way through dozens of translations. After settling on NKJV as my translation of choice, I started looking for a study Bible that satisfied my preferences and needs. Unlike the first reviewer above, I prefer that the study notes and materials refrain from dictating private interpretations to the reader. I prefer the paragraph format and study aids that don't intrude into the text area.

It is a strength to me that the cross-references are placed out of my reading area, providing a space that is without major distractions while I am reading. If I want to check cross-references or refer to notes, I know where to look--the standard place for notes to a scholarly text, down below. The text floats uncluttered above what are amazingly useful study aids.

I have the Large Print edition, which is even heftier, but a study Bible is not designed to be a book for hauling around every place you go. I'd definitely want to carry a different book for street witnessing, for example.

I commend Nelson for bringing out this wonderful edition. Not only is it chock-full of highly informative and easily accessible study aids, but it is also handsomely laid out in a thoughtful arrangement to accommodate both straightforward reading and in-depth study. It won't indoctrinate you into a single denominational (or narrower) viewpoint, and it probably won't puff you up by taking sides with your pet doctrine either. It's about as close to perfect as anything gets in this life.

The recommended selling price (around $40) is a bit steep when you're on a tight budget, but the Amazon resellers are carrying several brand new copies for around $20 or less--and that is truly a bargain-basement price for an astonishingly good product. It's the best I've found, bar none.

I am returning the Kindle version as it is too difficult to navigate through. I can get to the Books of the Bible and to Chapters but not Verse without having to page up/down too many times. They need to make it much easier to navigate because it is a Study Bible and therefore has much more information to sift through. My Kindle is new to me so maybe there are tricks I am not aware of but it is just too much trouble and I will keep using my bound version until I can find a good Kindle version.

I absolutely love this bible. I have had several bibles and this ones has the best commentary, the new testiment chapters are broken down very well. In comparison to the life application study bible, this one is excellent. I do enjoy learning how to apply what I am reading to my life but sometimes you want to know why the author of the book felt the way he or she did and this bible definately breaks that down for you. Gives you understanding that you would not normally get from a regular bible. Also the expansive concordance, the scripture reference right in the text, the chapter outlines, they are all great tools to learning more about the book that you are reading. Great, great, great.....

The Kindle Edition of the NKJV Study Bible is in no way related to the hardcover edition. It has virtually no verse notes. It is a bible: not a study bible.
I am very happy and blessed with my hardcover with included CD (an invaluable study tool). I returned the Kindle version.

This is a readable kindle Bible if you bookmark the table of contents at the Old & New Testaments and then go to the chapter you want. However, it is not good for fast Bible study where you would have to quickly turn to another book and chapter. For this I've found Osnova's King James Version of the Bible with direct verse jump to work well with the kindle. The NKJV Study Bible is packed full of information and perhaps my kindle is still indexing the information for searches. I also don't like how this kindle edition doesn't allow the reader to know which book of the Bible you are in at every chapter. The kindle version also doesn't display the commentary notes on the same page as the text...maybe that's in the massive index.

The leather bound version of this Bible is real nice, though!

I own the paperback version of this bible. It is a wonderful translation. Extremely easy to understand. There is so much information included with the study part of it, you could read forever. Incredibly interesting! The study part of it provides so much evidence and documentation as to what the world was like during the time each book was written. I have had other Bible's in the past and this one is by far the best ever!

If you want to get the most out of Bible reading, this is a great choice. Each scripture is explained and crossreferenced right on the page you're reading. Not to mention the reference maps and concordance. Even after years of Bible study, I still come away with more in depth knowledge of my study subjects when I refer to this addition. I've bought one for each of my children, my grand daughter, and an extra one to replace our old NKJV. I'm sure you'll be satisfied when purchasing this edition.

I have many bible translations, and study bibles. I enjoy the NKJV study bible most of all because it addresses some very difficult idiomatic hebrew verses. I think it provides a great study resource. The only downside is the NKJV itself. Wish these notes were in the NIV or ESV.

You have to click on the underlined letters and numbers for each verse to see the notes but then hit the back button to go back to the scripture. I am so happy to have this on my Kindle although the price was ridiculously high.