NIV, Student Bible, Hardcover Hardcover – August 6, 2011

If you are looking for a great printed version of the Bible to give to a teen/tween/young adult, this is the one to pick up! I am a pastor now, and I was a youth pastor for fifteen years, and I have given hundreds of these away to young people. In the very near future I will be buying a copy for my own kids (as soon as they are old enough to read it). Not only that, but the NIV Student Bible was around when I was a teenager, and I still have the one given to me when I was a young man. Everything that made it great for my own personal study has been maintained and improved over the years.

Here are some of my favorite features:

- From the moment you open it up there are in-text "helps" (think signposts) that help direct you so that you can navigate the Bible easily (note: this is not reviewing the Kindle edition - I have not seen that)
- There are many in-text sidebars that give very brief, yet helpful explanations about what you are reading. There aren't so many that it takes up too much space, but there are enough to help a reader have some crucial "aha moments" while reading.
- Reading Plans: There are three great reading plans ("tracks") available to guide someone who wants to read through the Bible but doesn't know where to start. The first time I read through the Bible entirely I used the "track" that takes you through the entire Bible in three years (requires reading about 5 min. a day).
- Introductions to Books of the Bible: Accessible and simple, these give the reader an idea of how the particular book fits into the larger Biblical narrative.
- "Cool Factor:" I know... this seems like it should not matter, but if you expect a teen/young adult to leave a Bible out in their room or carry it around, this is a factor. I love that the Student Bible's design is simple, yet clearly tailored to young people. It doesn't have the cheesy designs of some kid Bibles or the stuffy academic style of adult study Bibles.

My final comment has to do with translation version for those of you curious about the NIV. I personally have moved beyond using the NIV for my personal study and teaching since taking Biblical Hebrew and Greek because of some rather sloppy translation in places. They came out with the NIrV, which was a much better translation, but it was not made available in the Student Bible and it was largely shot down by those who objected to the "inclusive language." That being said, the NIV is still one of the best translations for striking a middle ground in the English language between too simple and too many big words and I don't have any qualms about using it when teaching youth.

The NIV student bible is a great all around Bible for students and young adults. It's especially well suited for personal study and devotionals, as well as Bible studies and bringing to church. As a college student, I choose the student Bible for my daily reading while using a Study Bible more for reference.
The leather bound edition is very nice, especially as a gift, and will last a good long time. I'd suggest the hardcover if it will be kept in a Bible cover.

I'm going to start with a list of pros and cons.

Pros:
Tim Stafford and Philip Yancey write excellent study notes.
The binding feels durable.
The faux leather feels borderline indestructible. (It feels like the same material as a basketball lol.)
The resources (maps, 100 people you should know etc.) are really nice to have.

Cons:
Aesthetics. I Had a previous version of this study bible and the 'theme' was blue and had a road sign for the guided tour. Now the theme is like a tealish color and the guided tour has a tree (The same one you see on the front). Personally I like the old color and I think the road signs make more sense for a 'Guided Tour' of the Bible.

Overall I'm very happy with it. The aesthetic changes aren't personally my favorite, but the study notes are by far still my favorite.

I generally try not to review Bibles, because I naturally think there is something inherently wrong with the whole idea of it. But since I am certainly not reviewing anything about God's holy Word (or, needless to say, the translations thereof), but I am instead only reviewing the marketing aspect of book, then I suppose my review could prove helpful to at least some people looking to purchase a brand new Bible for their own personal study.

The NIV Student Bible that picked up for my Kindle was greatly disappointing, I am sad to say. Being new to my Kindle and the whole e-reader venue, my reasons may be immature and naive, but I will relate them anyway for the sake of sharing my opinion on the issue. I have found the Kindle NIV Student Bible thoroughly difficult to navigate with any speed or ease, because the file is linear (you might recognize the 0% - 100% bar on the bottom) and is only navigable by moving page-to-page or by performing word searches, by going to a location, or by setting and using bookmarks. Page-to-page is certainly a terrible option for when I need any passage past Genesis 1, which leaves me with only one of the three remaining options.

If I were to perform a word search, this may prove useful if I have already memorized key words in verses or if I have the words available in some other way. But this word-search does not work if I desire to look up a passage (for example, if I need Isaiah 30, I may finally get to the book of Isaiah after a great deal of searching, but would then need to scroll through 30 chapters of pages just to get to where I am going).
If I were to go to a location, I would first have to memorize the locations of book openings, or least make educated guesses as to where the books might begin. This also takes more time than I have when sitting in church or when in need of a particular passage in a hurry.
If I were to use bookmarks, I would have to set at minimum sixty-six bookmarks, one for each of the books of the Bible, and would thus have to scroll through each of them simply to get to Hebrews or Revelation. Once again, this is theoretically doable, but simply not a good use of my time.

Besides these obvious navigation faults, in my book, the Kindle version is also terribly difficult to navigate because of all the study notes strewn throughout the meat of the biblical text. The notes themselves are educational and worthwhile, but simply too cumbersome to use on my Kindle.

All in all, I do not like this particular Kindle Bible. I believe that I would be much happier with a Kindle Bible that offers simplified navigation and one that lacks anything but God's Word along with the added titles and references. But even then, I do not think I would be terribly happy. After all, I love my paper Bibles with margins for personalizing with notes and underlining and everything else I habitually write inside. I love God's Word, and I think I have discovered that nothing can outdo His Word in the traditional, tactile, delicate paper that we all remember from the olden days (ca. 2007 and before).

©2011 E.T.

This is an excellent Bible. The notes in each chapter are very helpful. The index and alphabetical listings of important people, events, and miracles, as well as famous passages, like The Lord's Prayer, are extremely useful. This is a clear translation based on modern linguistics. I highly recommend this version of the Bible to anyone new to Christianity, or to anyone who has grown up in a tradition that does not focus on reading and memorizing the Bible. It is very user-friendly and accessible.