Customer Reviews

Zondervan NASB Wide Margin Bible

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Lockman Foundation (owners of the NASB translation) also have a wide margin edition, but I like the page layout of this one better because the Lockman Foundation's one has a lot of cross references in the margin that add visual noise to the page. But it is a matter of preference and certainly they are very, very nice in other respects.

The best place to find every NASB Bible in print, along with a good description, by visiting the web site of the Lockman Foundation. Do a google on "Lockman Foundation" and you will find it.

My leather bound edition looks well made.



HOWEVER, for those reviewers whose Bibles are not doing well, I would like to point out that Zondervan's web site says they have a lifetime guarantee on leather Bibles and a limited time guarantee on hardback Bibles. Do a google search on "zondervan bible guarantee" (without quotes) and you should find it.

The Font Point Size is 8.8, which is comfortable to read.

The reason for the four-star review is the page opacity. If you look closely at page (n), you can not only see the mirror image of the page (n+1) but also the page after that (n+2). I think this won't bother most people but is does bother me.

Hope this helps.
UPDATE: I like this edition much better:
The New Inductive Study Bible (International Inductive Study Series) (Hardcover)The New Inductive Study Bible (International Inductive Study Series)

At the age of 60, I think I must have every version of the Bible produced since the 1960's. The majority of them have been gathering dust for years. I have had only 2 Bibles since 1986 that have been heavily used. One is a very small print KJV and the other is a NIV that I used after the KJV started falling apart at the seams.

Many of the Bibles I own are "study Bibles". Although I enjoy "reading" them, I must admit that when I use a study Bible, I find myself relying on the notes more than I should. I don't really "study" when using a study Bible but tend to rely on the author's interpretation of Scripture.

I recently started to attend a church where they use the NASB almost exclusively. I had a NASB Study Bible that I began using but again, I found myself reading the notes more than the Word. Since I DO write in my Bible (I always have and I write a lot), I went looking for a wide margin Bible. Due to lack of free space in most Bibles, I end up either writing over the text or writing so small that I can't read what I wrote.

After a lot of research, I decided on Zondervan's NASB Wide Margin Bible. It is bonded leather which I have found will last for years of constant use before it falls apart. I can usually get 10 years out of a bonded leather Bible before I have to replace it. It's color is burgandy which is OK although I wish they made more black Bibles like they used to. The print is easy to read, even for my old eyes.

I like how each verse is separate, starting on it's own line. It makes finding a particular verse much easier than trying to pick it out of a block of text. There is OVER 1 1/2" of space on the outside margins in which to write notes and there are no distracting side notes or references except for a few on the bottom of the page. If you are looking for a cross reference Bible, this one is NOT for you. This may not be a good Bible for personal Bible Study but for group study, I think it is perfect. And, if you like myself have a Pastor who is an expository teacher, the lack of cross references is no big deal and you DO have a lot of room in which to write YOUR OWN references. I think you will learn much quicker having to write it down yourself. If you do use a study Bible, just remember that you are reading somebody else's interpretation of the Scriptures which might not necessarily be the correct one.

I really can't think of many negatives about this Bible. I DO wish the paper was a bit thicker as you can faintly see the print on the next page. But personally, that doesn't bother me at all. I don't use highliters in my Bible so I don't know if they will bleed through or not. I have tried "dry markers" but I don't think they are dark enough to be much good.

The Zondervan NASB Wide Margin Bible is reasonably priced and I am really enjoying using it.

Make sure and buy an XL Bible cover for this wonderful edition of the NASB. While I still refer to my cross reference Bible, this edition by Zondervan allows me all the "elbow room" I could ever want, germinating notes fit for a good Bible study. Also, this is one of the few Bibles that have not printed Jesus' words in distracting red ink! A must for pastors who still like to preach and teach the word, and not predigested, prepackaged "sermons".

If you really enjoy studying the scriptures, making your own notes, cross-references and the like, you'll find this a powerful tool in your studies. The notes and references you make will actually be useful, unlike the many notes and references found in many bibles out there. Pastors, teachers, and students would do well to have one of these on their bookshelf.

I requested and received this for my birthday. Outside of getting over the initial heebie-jeebies of making my first note in such a pristine space, I have found it to be a wonderful resource.

Good points:
The text is laid out very plainly, easy to read and without visual clutter. (References are great, but this is a journaling Bible - you write your own references.)

The paper is sturdy and accepts ink well. (I am not much of a highlight-er so no reviews, there.)

As a person who does not journal much or write in my bible much, it has introduced a meaningful and personal application to my bible study time.

Points to Consider (or improve, if you have such influence):
The book and chapter references are aligned with the body of the text. It sounds minute, but it is difficult to flip through quickly and find a chapter and book with all of the white space to the side of the references. These should be as far to the outer edge of the page as possible to allow the reader to flip through and find their reference.

Another crazy request: for those of us with perfectionistic tendencies, a blank page in the back where we can test our pen inks would be helpful - you never know how the paper will accept the pen ink or what the ink will do to the other side of the page.

Overall, if you are not journaling in your bible, it is a great exercise and this one is a good one to start with.

All as appears on Amazon etc, but unfortunately in reality there is some read-through of the text on the other side of the sheet.

I highly recommend this Bible for those of you who like to take notes. The font looks nice and is easy to read. Each verse begins on its own line and their are no footnotes cluttering the pages.

I love to write in my Bible as I study it, but normally I only have about a quarter of an inch or less to make notes or ask the questions that are on my mind. With this Bible that is no longer an issue, the margins are over an inch and a half. The text is readable and the NASB is the most literal translation of the Bible that we have. And on top of all of that it is printed right here in America. At this price this Bible is a great buy. Make the notes in it that will both inspire and encourage your children and granchildren for generations to come, and really get into the word of God again.

I use the NASB for scripture memory and study so I picked this bible up when it was on sale a couple of years ago. Excellent value. I think that having a place to make notes as the Holy Spirit reveals them has truely transformed my understanding of the scriptures. The only drawback is that this bible does not have Christ's words in red, which I prefer. It also doesn't have cross-references, which is ok for me. Do yourself a favor and get the leather version. I admit that I'm hard on my bibles but I've had this hardback one for a few years and I can see that it's not going to last for the next 10 years (not a problem since I paid less than $20). I'm getting ready to spend some real $ on a new bible that will last. Why not. It's worth it, right!

I'm a recently graduated Bible student who is pursuing missionary work as my life's work. I have been an avid reader of books since a young age and thus have experienced a variety of different aspects of the make-up of books. The best books have always been those with good covers (if softback then I don't expect much, but with hardback I'm pretty critical of those which scratch extremely easily and quickly become noticeably 'used'), good binding (nobody wants to have a new book's binding just come apart (even if only barely) after regular use and wear, and good pages (those which you don't necessarily have to be extremely careful with b/c you're afraid of tearing them). Now when considering a Bible that I want to use for my personal study I was recommended the Zondervan Wide Margin. I even looked at my friends' same Bibles and became increasingly excited with the possibility of buying this product. I wanted a Bible which wasn't full of another's work and which I could fill in with my own cross-references and notes (kind of like my own commentary). I especially appreciated the giant margins this product offered which would make notes-taking in it a whole lot easier and more readable later. I must say that I have been satisfied with that aspect of this product. However, the biggest problem I have with this product (and the reason I gave it a 4-star instead of a 5-star) is the pages used. They are EXTREMELY thin. Now I know that nobody wants to have a study Bible (which already weighs a lot b/c of the extra space and thus extra pages within) that weighs more than necessary but there must be alternative types of paper to use. I have been using pencil to take notes and have been trying to not press the point into the paper too forcefully but it seems that no matter how light I appear to be making my notes, they always leave impressions on the other side of the page. Also, after erasing some of my notes I found that the marks made by my pencil were embedded in the paper b/c of its extremely thin quality. Well, that's the end of my rant about the pages of this product. All-in-all I'm satisfied with my purchase and will probably use this product until it falls apart, but I will still be on the hunt for another wide-margin Bible whose paper is of better quality.