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Your Buying Guide for Bible Study Resources: Updated for 2023

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If you’re in the market for gifts to encourage Bible study, here are our top recommendations. We’ve reviewed most of these products on this site at many times and in many ways, but here they are in one place for you. Many wonderful new resources came out this year, so check around the guide for what’s new!

Bibles

readers-bible-6-volumeYou can’t beat a good Bible. Our top recommendation is to get yourself or someone you love one of the best editions of the Bible to hit the western world: the ESV Reader’s Bible, 6 Volume Set.

Our first review. Second review.

Get it at Amazon | Westminster

And while we use the ESV translation more than any other, we must mention that the 4-volume NIV Sola Scriptura Bible Project has perhaps the most innovative layout and presentation of the Scriptures, which make it a sheer delight to read.

ESV Reader's BibleIf 6 volumes seem too much to you, the single volume ESV Reader’s Bible is still well worth picking up.

Our review

Cloth over board: Get it at Amazon | Westminster

Reader’s Bibles are arriving with increasing frequency in other translations as well. See our reviews of the CSB, NIV one-volume, NIV 4-volume, and ESV Gospels. They’re even starting to come out with editions for kids.

And for something completely different, consider getting an entire book of the New Testament on a single page spread, with the ESV Panorama New Testament.

Chronological Bible

NEW: Though I haven’t had time to review it yet, the ESV Chronological Bible is worth your attention. Get it at Amazon

Study Bibles

There are so many options. See our buying guide for recommendations about which ones succeed at promoting OIA Bible study.

Markup Bibles

For something you can write in with greater ease, see our recommendations. Also consider large print and journaling Bibles. Or Scripture journals. If you prefer more space between lines of text, see the Inductive Version of the Journaling New Testament.

Journibles

If you or a loved one like the idea of copying out the Scriptures by hand, you might want to consider a Journible.

Audio Bibles

The Dwell app for mobile devices is a remarkable tool designed completely for listening to the Bible. NIV Live is a terrific dramatized audio Bible.

Bible Study

For a snapshot of the OIA process, see this blog post.

For a little more explanation of the principles, see our free booklet.

To go even further, with lots of illustrations, examples to follow, and exercises to practice, see One-to-One Bible Reading or Peter’s book Knowable Word (now revised and expanded).

If you’re familiar with the OIA model, and you’d like to hone your skills to perfection, consider getting Methodical Bible Study by Robert Traina. This book is dry and doesn’t tell many stories. But it delves the depths of the model like nothing else.

Leading

If you’d like to grow as a Bible study leader see Peter’s book Sowable Word or Colin Marshall’s terrific book Growth Groups.

Commentaries

See our page with recommended commentaries that promote OIA Bible study skills. We don’t have recommendations for every Bible book yet, but we update this page as we come across helpful volumes.

Beginners

Great places for beginners to start in gaining familiarity with the Bible’s layout and message are The Beginner’s Guide to the Bible (see Peter’s review), The Visual Theology Guide to the Bible (see Ryan’s review), and The Visual Word (see Ryan’s review).

Software

Peter still happily recommends Logos Bible Software, as it has drastically improved the speed and quality of his Bible study. See his reviews of Logos 7, Logos 8, and Logos 9 for details (Logos 10 is the latest version). Also see Ryan’s review of E-Sword free software.

Children’s Resources

The best thing you and your church can do for your children is to buy them a Bible and teach them to use it. In my household, that means we buy ESV pew Bibles (the cheapest we can find) almost by the case. These things will get beat up and need to be replaced often, so there’s no use in getting the authentic-porpoise-leather-imported-from-Mars-heirloom-editions just yet.

When children are first learning to read, it may be helpful to give them the NIrV. This builds their confidence in reading the very words of God in their own language. Remember, the story Bibles are good, but God’s undiluted word is even better.

And before dipping into the supplemental resources below, perhaps you’d consider printing out a few simple devotional pages for your kids, so they can explore the Scriptures for themselves before hearing what others have to say about the Scriptures.

Ages 0-2

The Big Picture Story Bible – A marvelous overview of the Bible’s rich storyline: The people of God under the rule of God in the place God gives. Get it at Amazon | Westminster

Read Aloud Bible Stories – Brief Bible stories that draw in young children, letting the children know these are their stories. Get it at Amazon.

Ages 3-5

The Gospel Story Bible – Retellings of 156 Bible stories, synchronized with the Gospel Story for Kids curriculum, and devotionals Long Story Short and Old Story New. The best part of these stories are that much use is made in the retelling of the actual text of Scripture. Get it at Amazon | Westminster

NEW: God’s BIG Promises Bible Storybook – Traces 5 major promises through the Bible from beginning to end. Great to read aloud to preschoolers, or to have young elementary read themselves. See my review. Get it at Amazon | Westminster

The Jesus Storybook Bible – Gripping gospel focus, though it sometimes seems to suggest that Bible stories are not meant to serve as examples (contrast with 1 Cor 10:6, 11, etc.). Get it at Amazon | Westminster

Ages 5-7

Mark’s Marvellous Book – I still hope this becomes more of a trend: A children’s story Bible that follows the shape and themes of a book of the Bible (rather than cherry-picking certain stories, ignoring the fact that they were written to an audience in a context). See my review. Get it at Amazon | Westminster

NEW: God’s Daring Dozen – Similar to Mark’s Marvellous Book, these short volumes each follow the shape and theme of a book of the Bible. These sets work through the twelve minor prophets, from Hosea to Malachi. And they are simply extraordinary. See my review. Get box 1 (Amazon | Westminster) or box 2 (Amazon | Westminster). Even better, get both, and wait eagerly for box 3 to come out!

The Big Picture Story Bible – A marvelous overview of the Bible’s rich storyline: The people of God under the rule of God in the place God gives. Read this to your kids at ages 0-2; then have them read it to themselves at ages 5-7. Get it at Amazon | Westminster

radical-book-for-kidsAges 8-14

The Radical Book for Kids – This is the kind of gift you get for your kids, but it’s also, sort of, partly, perhaps, for you. You know, like Legos, football tickets, or family room surround sound systems. It’s an engaging and delightful handbook of the Christian faith. See my review. Get it at Amazon | Westminster

NEW: The Really Radical Book for Kids – Just as wonderfully radical as the first one, only really so. See my review. Get it at Amazon | Westminster. Or get a deal on both Radical books at Westminster.

Or perhaps you’d like to consider getting them their own beginner reader’s Bible.

Family Devotions

I highly recommend the series of devotionals by Marty Machowski. These volumes don’t merely communicate Christian truth, as important as that is; they train children to study the Bible and find that truth for themselves. In addition, the “daily” family devotions take only 5 days/week, and they truly take only 10 minutes per day. The payoff is high, but the price of entry is low. This makes it more likely you’ll be able to stay consistent with them. Every volume in this series has the same high quality; each also has the same basic structure for each day’s devotion. See my review.

Happy gift shopping!

Disclaimer: Links in this post to Amazon and Westminster are affiliate links, which means this blog receives a small commission when you click those links. Doing this helps us to cover our costs, enabling us to continue recommending decent resources. Thank you.

When Our Study Bibles Get in the Way of our Bible Study

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A few years ago, Desiring God interviewed Glenn Paauw on his book Saving the Bible from Ourselves: Learning to Read and Live the Bible Well. We shared that interview on this blog, but it is important enough that it warrants sharing once again.

And this time, I’ll share it along with Kevin Halloran’s notes. So if you prefer not to listen to the entire interview, you can catch the key points in Kevin’s excellent summary.

The major takeaway is that your study Bibles are laid out and designed to prevent you from studying the Bible yourself. They presume little to no knowledge of the Bible, and they draw far more attention to the “helps” than to the text, leaving the text nearly untouched by most people. Please be aware of this trap, promote awareness of it, and form good habits of studying the text in context.

Check it out!

Amazon link is an affiliate link. Clicking it and buying stuff will provide a small commission to this blog at no additional cost to yourself.

5 False Authorities in Small Group Bible Study

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Bill Oxford (2019), public domain

Who’s in charge here? In government, family, and church, this question has sparked controversy aplenty throughout history.

In small group Bible studies, we have a similar question before us every time we gather. What’s our authority? What quotes do we share? To whom do we appeal? How do we handle disagreements?

For both leaders and small group members, our answers reveal our allegiances. And misplaced allegiances may short-circuit our learning or stunt our growth as Christians.

False Authorities

When small group members differ on a matter of interpretation, how is the question settled? To what authority do you and your friends appeal?

Our conviction here at Knowable Word is that God is the absolute and perfect authority, and he has revealed himself and declared his will through the Bible. The Bible speaks as an authority, and all humanity is called to submit their thoughts, plans, and interpretations of reality to God’s Word.

Despite the absolute authority of God’s word, we often rely on other helpful people and resources more than the Bible. Let’s examine five false authorities that emerge in small group studies.

A Respected Preacher or Pastor

There may be an author or preacher who has well-known thoughts on the topic your group is discussing. (This may be your own pastor!) A member of your small group may invoke this leader’s opinion on the matter when making their appeal.

Like much in life, quotations vary in their helpfulness. As a small group leader, I may share a quote when I find someone has a more powerful or elegant way of making my point. But if a quotation is not rooted in the biblical text, the appeal may be to eloquence or reputation instead of to the Bible.

The Small Group Leader

In an ideal small group Bible study, the leader does not function as an authority or expert. Rather, the small group leader guides the group in understanding and applying the Bible.

Attempting to answer every question is a dangerous approach to small group leadership. Small groups thrive when each member is grappling with the text, sharing observations, discussing interpretations, and praying together about applications.

Church Tradition

The historical tradition of a church or denomination can help us interpret Scripture. But tradition should never replace studying the Bible itself. The best sort of church tradition leads us back to the text, not away from it.

Group Consensus

Healthy small groups leave room for questions, further explanations, and repetition. No one should feel bad for having difficulty understanding the Bible, and no one should feel small for asking questions.

Many of the best discussions in my small groups have occurred when most of the group seemed ready to move on. But one person had a question they couldn’t shake. This forced us to examine a standard or easy interpretation of a passage.

Good leaders welcome questions that point back to the text, no matter when they arise.

Commentaries and Study Bibles

It’s happened more times than I can count. In response to a question in Sunday school or small group, someone notices an entry in their study Bible that addresses the issue head-on.

They read the entry and the discussion is over. After all, who would question a study Bible? Some people feel as though they’re questioning the Bible itself!

Small group leaders can make the same error when appealing to a commentary. It’s a discussion killer, and it often leads to no further insight or skill for those involved.

Again, I’m not against quoting other sources. But quotations which help with interpretations should make their arguments from the text of the Bible.

(As an aside, if you have a problem with study-Bible-answers in your small group, you might consider using ESV Scripture Journals for your next study and banning all other Bibles. Seriously.)

True Authority

God has given us other Christians—past and present—as a gift. As we learn about God from these other saints, we receive God’s gift with thanksgiving.

But we honor God most when we view these gifts in their proper place. Our leaders, resources, and traditions should all be used in service of the authority of God in his word. The more we demonstrate that the Bible has the answers we need, the more we remind each other that God’s word is knowable.

CSB Study Bible: Great Translation, Fine Study Resource

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The Christian Standard Bible hit with a vibrant ad campaign early in 2017, and a Study Bible version along with it. How does it stand under the hype? As this study Bible is my first exposure to this translation, my review has two parts: the translation itself, and this edition of it.

The CSB Translation

I am more than impressed. I often see Bible publishers promoting their translations as both “readable” and “accurate,” and sometimes I wonder whether they understand those terms the same way I do. Of course, some translations legitimately succeed in both areas, and the CSB is one of them.

The CSB has the courage to mess with a beloved verse to make it more clear:

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Yet every piece of the sentence is there. This is no paraphrase. This is a translation, and one that translates the Bible into the kind of English normal people speak normally in 2017.

If you’d like more examples of the CSB’s accuracy and readability, especially side-by-side with the ESV, see Jeff Medders’s helpful article, “Why We are Moving to the CSB at Redeemer Church.” Though Medders falls prey at times to the myth of literal Bible translations, much of his analysis hits the mark. I can’t unilaterally decide to switch to the CSB in my church and collegiate ministry, but I am eager to lobby for consideration of such a switch.

So I’m very thankful for this translation. You may be seeing more of it on this blog. But what about the CSB Study Bible itself?

The CSB Study Bible

Unfortunately, I am less than impressed. But there’s still much to celebrate. The CSB Study Bible has everything you’d expect in a study Bible: study notes, occasional articles, charts, maps, sketches, book overviews, and lots of cross references. And amid the standard fare, a few things stand out.

What’s good:

  • The book overviews are concise (almost always two facing pages) and focused on the most useful background information.
  • The maps in the back of the Bible are re-printed next to the relevant text. For example, the first map in the back, showing Abraham’s route of migration, is also printed right next to the text of Genesis 12.
  • While many of the articles have material that could be found in just about any study Bible (such as genre introductions or manuscript traditions), quite a few seem fresh and unique (for example: “Messianic Expectations,” “The Bible and Civil Rights, and “Opportunities and Challenges in Global Missions”).

What could be better:

  • I haven’t been able to read all 16,124 study notes, but those I have read (from a selection of testaments and genres) seem to largely lack careful observation of the text. They focus on interpretation, but without the observation, the interpretation goes unsupported.
  • In addition, the study notes tend to assume a certain theological spin, and without communicating any awareness of doing so. For example, on Psalm 87:5-7: “Despite the inclusion of Gentile nations, the Lord would appoint Israel to a special position of leadership in the eschatological kingdom because of her birthright (Is 60; 62:1-5).” Assuming such a view on the future of Israel and the “eschatological kingdom,” without having the space to sufficiently prove it, unfortunately trains readers to narrow their perspective and marginalize dissenters. This tone could have been much improved with a simple, “Despite the inclusion of Gentile nations, many see here a divine appointment of Israel to a special position…” With only 3 more words (which I’m sure could be trimmed even further), greater charity could be extended on less certain matters.
  • Word studies. This volume has 368 of them, scattered throughout the text, interrupting what could have been a fine study session. These “word studies” consist of a paragraph listing many (or sometimes all) of the different ways a certain Hebrew or Greek word could be translated. Unfortunately, the word studies do almost nothing to aid the reader’s study of the text at hand (the text on the top of that page) and therefore distract the reader from observing, interpreting, or applying these passages in context. Please be careful when you use tools like study Bibles, and don’t let them take you away from the inspired text!

Conclusion

I’ve added the CSB Study Bible to my Study Bible Buying Guide (which you can find anytime on the Resource page). It ranks in the top half of study Bibles I’ve reviewed and would be a fine choice to assist your OIA study of scripture. You can find it on Amazon.

I’m eagerly awaiting a reader’s version of the CSB, as I think this translation will lend itself to ravenous consumption.

Disclaimer 1:1: Amazon links are affiliate links, so if you click them to look at stuff, you’ll send a small commission our way at no extra cost to yourself. And the Hebrew word for “look” is navat, which “may involve just physical vision or include internal processes like approval, trust, or remembrance” (CSB Study Bible, p.1430). I’ll let you look back at the first sentence of this disclaimer and decide which way to best understand the word.

Disclaimer 1:2: The publisher sent me a free copy of the CSB Study Bible in exchange for an honest review.

Don’t Tell Me Something New

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Most small group Bible study leaders share a few goals. We want our friends to love and obey God more and more. To that end, we want our group members to be engaged during the studies. We want our groups to pop; we want fireworks.

Ralf Vetterle (2016), public domain

The Pull Toward Novelty

Our desire for effective, exciting Bible studies is a good thing. And as we point our friends toward the most important truths in the world, we should long for transformation.

But there’s a dangerous temptation that can surface when we focus on excitement. We’ll want to say something new each meeting, and we’ll end up reaching. We’ll stretch for connections between passages. We’ll present interpretations that are half-baked. In our quest to animate our group, we’ll fall into the trap of never-ending novelty, and we’ll end up softening the impact of God’s holy word.

Fortunately, this is a trap we can avoid.

How to Resist the Temptation of Newness

A hunt for newness in the Bible is often a symptom of boredom with its basic truths. Some Christians read and teach these truths so often (and with so little imagination) that the Bible seems to lack power.

But nothing could be farther from the truth!

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12–13)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10–11)

The foundation of all strategies to resist the pull toward novelty must be a trust in God and his word. But strategies can still be helpful. Here are three that come to mind.

Engage in faithful Bible study. The surest way to proclaim and believe the Bible is to study the Bible carefully. Don’t let others interpret the Bible for you.

Careful Bible study is a joy, an art, and a discipline. If you’ve never studied the Bible on your own, or if you’d like a refresher, look no further. The time-tested method we promote is called Observe, Interpret, Apply (OIA), and anyone can do it. Dig into the Bible prayerfully, asking God to help you communicate his word to your small group.

Use Bible resources. While you should study the Bible on your own first, don’t neglect other God-given resources. Both study Bibles and commentaries should be handled with care, but at the right stage of the process they can be invaluable.

We 21st century Christians are not on an island; great clouds of saints have read, studied, and lived out the Bible for centuries before us. The best commentaries and study Bibles will identify the most common errors and the most likely interpretations when discussing difficult passages. Check your own conclusions with some solid commentaries to see how your thoughts line up with the body of Christ over time.

Consult your church. Your local Christian community is a precious support and an important resource. We need people close to us to encourage us when we’re right and to tell us when we’re wrong.

If your interpretation of a passage doesn’t match up with what you find in commentaries, take it to your church. Seek out a pastor, an elder, or a wise friend who can weigh the evidence with you. This requires a humility produced only by the Spirit.

Fresh Statements of Old Truths

Instead of seeking out what’s new and shiny, take comfort in the powerful, unchanging words of God. His word is reliable, eternal, and earth-shattering.

What you and I need is usually not a brand-new teaching. Brand-new truths are probably not truths. What we need are reminders about the greatness of the old truths. We need someone to say an old truth in a fresh way. Or sometimes, just to say it. – John Piper, from preface to The Dawning of Indestructible Joy

Our small group members will be more transformed and engaged by the true word of God than by anything we import ourselves. Let’s commit to reminding our friends of old truths in new ways.

4 More Gifts to Encourage Bible Study

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Patrice_Audet (2013) public domain

Patrice_Audet (2013), public domain

There are two types of people: those who bounce through mid-December and those who slouch. There are two types of people: those who have finished their Christmas shopping by mid-December and those who haven’t. I trust you catch the correspondence.

My final pre-holiday gift to you is a list. (You’ll accept it unwrapped, I hope.) If you’re slouching, consider these suggestions for family and friends this Christmas. If you’re a bouncer (not that kind), don’t worry—these ideas are evergreen. Stash these tips for birthdays, graduations, or any gift occasion, like Limerick Day (May 12) or National S’mores Day (August 10).

Four Gift Ideas

Last year I shared three gifts to encourage Bible study; this year I have four more. As before, I’ve included a no cost option, so this list is for everyone.

  • A markup Bible — People are more likely to engage with the Bible when they interact with the text physically—circling, underlining, highlighting, outlining in the margins. Why not buy a Bible for a friend or family member dedicated to this purpose? This need not be an expensive gift. If you follow the links on this page, you’ll find several reasonably-priced options. (Additionally, remember that Westminster Bookstore has a great sale on ESV journaling Bibles through the end of 2015.)

    Bonus suggestions: For those who prefer to print out Bible passages instead of marking up a separate Bible, consider giving some printer paper and printer ink. Any markup Bible fan would be able to use good pens, colored pencils, or highlighters.

  • A Study Bible — Peter has recently cataloged his Study Bible recommendations, so read through his reviews and check out his spreadsheet to settle on a good option. If you buy a Study Bible for a loved one, make sure they’re aware of the many blessings and curses of such a resource. A Study Bible is like a sharp knife—a great tool when used carefully; dangerous otherwise.
  • A commentary — Like Study Bibles, not all commentaries are created equal. Some model good Bible study methods, and some specialize in speculation or historical esoterica. While you should turn to your Bible first, commentaries can be a great blessing if used with care. If you know of a friend diving into a particular book of the Bible for study in the new year, consider blessing them with a top-notch commentary. Peter has compiled a list of recommended commentaries here.
  • Time — Think of someone at church or in your neighborhood who is overburdened. A young mother with three kids under five, a mid-fifties man caring for his dementia-stricken mother, a single mom with two teenage sons. They are stretched so thin with responsibility and exhaustion, just the idea of Bible study is overwhelming. Think of ways to free them up so they can spend extended time with the Bible—babysitting, playing cards with the elderly mother, mowing grass, running errands, providing a meal. Let them know your intention with the gift, and point them to some online resources to help them study the Bible for themselves. (Helping in this way should probably come in the context of meeting your friend’s other physical needs.)

Disclaimer: The Amazon links above are affiliate links, so if you make a purchase after clicking through, you’ll be giving a small percentage of your purchase to Knowable Word—a great gift! This will allow us to keep posting and help ordinary people learn to study the Bible. It’s a circle of giving!

Study Bible Buying Guide

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I’ve recently reviewed many study Bibles, and I’ve now also evaluated and compared each one according to how it helps or hinders OIA Bible study (observe, interpret, apply).  I’ve given each Bible a score based on the blessings and curses of study Bibles I’ve written about before. Because some study Bibles get much more hype than others, I find it helpful to know which study Bibles will actually help people to study the Bible.

If you’re ready to see my evaluation:

Check it Out

I still recommend Tim Challies’s infographic if you’re interested in just the facts and stats for some of these study Bibles. My buying guide provides more detailed evaluation of OIA principles (and of ways the study Bibles help or hinder OIA study).

I’ve also added this buying guide to the resources page so you don’t have to navigate back to this blog post to find the buying guide in the future.

Infographic Comparing Study Bibles

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I’ve reviewed a number of study Bibles this year, and I was planning to write a post comparing and contrasting them so you’d have the basic info all in one place. But Tim Challies beat me to it, and his infographic is much prettier than mine would have been.

Challies compares the following 7 study Bibles (links go to my reviews):

I’ve also reviewed the following volumes:

In the next few weeks, I’d like to create a chart evaluating each study Bible in light of the overall blessings and curses of study Bibles. But the Challies infographic gives you most of the basic information (translations available, number of pages and articles, etc.) at a glance.

Check it out!

Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible: There’s an Elephant in Here

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I confess: I have never read the entire King James Version of the Bible. I grew up in the 1980s, and I vaguely remember some dispute in my church when the New International Version replaced the KJV in the pews. But Bibles in my possession have always been either “New” or “Standard,” or both.

I confess further: I have at times been numbered among those who find KJV language to be quaint, outdated, “not modern English,” and an easy target for ridicule. Thou shalt not claim the KJV as good enough for Jesus or Paul. And everybody who is anybody knows there is no art in heaven. We pray to our Father who is in heaven. Hallowed be his name.

Reformation Heritage KJV Study BibleYet the Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible intrigued me, and the publisher graciously gave me a free copy to review. And I must say: This Bible almost persuaded me to use the KJV for my 2016 speed read.* This study Bible is something special.

What it Does

Like other study Bibles, the Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible (RHKJV) presents the full text of Scripture with study notes at the bottom of the page. But the RHKJV notes do a few things that make it unlike other study Bibles:

  1. One-sentence summaries for each chapter.
  2. Plain-language definitions for archaic terms. (Granted, most other translations don’t use as many archaic terms, but it would still be nice if they “translated” Christianese jargon into ordinary language.)
  3. Application!

Allow me to expand on this third point. Every chapter of the Bible has study notes ending with “Thoughts for Personal/Family Worship,” which suggest potential applications of the chapter. These applications don’t always flow from the chapter’s main point, but they’re still usually very good. They’re not so specific as to become dated, and they’re not so general as to be useless to real people. I couldn’t believe the amount of space dedicated to such thoughtful application, but it fits with the editors’ vision to offer “a study Bible to feed your soul…a study Bible to instruct your mind…a study Bible to discover your roots.”

The RHKJV has short book introductions that get to the point quickly. Three cheers!

In addition, the RHKJV has three sets of articles.

  1. Theological topics (57 one-page articles). These articles are inserted at relevant points in the biblical text, such that you can read about Satan after Job 1-2 or about adoption after Romans 8.
  2. How to live as a Christian (36 one-page articles). At the end of the volume, these articles direct Christians on topics such as the fear of God, how to pray, and fleeing worldliness.
  3. Church history (20 one-page articles and 9 creeds & confessions). There is one article for each century of church history, along with ecumenical creeds (such as Apostles’ and Nicene) and Reformed confessions (such as Belgic and Westminster). When I hit the articles about church history, I could not put this volume down.

There is a little more standard fare at the end: yearly reading plan, table of weights & measures, concordance, and maps.

What it Doesn’t Do

Unfortunately, this Bible does not please the eye. It has so many words that it may discourage some before they give it much of a chance.

  • There are no maps except for those on the last 14 pages.
  • There are no charts or tables to make information more digestible.
  • The typesetting of the KJV text retains some ancient conventions that might turn off many readers. The font has an ancient feel and is not easy to read. Every verse is printed as its own paragraph, and paragraph symbols (¶) show up along the way.
  • The notes and articles use a sans serif font, which is more suitable to digital reading than print.

Also, this Bible doesn’t offer a range of perspectives on hot topics. The editors tended to choose one perspective and run with it. If you’re into 6-day creationism, a young earth, a global flood, reading the Song of Solomon as an allegory of Christ and the church, amillennialism, and a presbyterian and reformed flavor of Protestantism, you’ll be at home here. It’s not so in-your-face as to be uncharitable, though, so if you have different perspectives on any of these issues, you’ll still gain much from this Bible as it feeds your soul and instructs your mind.

Conclusion

I’m happy to recommend the Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible to you. Of course, the KJV is something of an elephant in this Bible. But if you remember to use your study Bible as a reference and not as a Bible, the translation is no big deal. Of course, if you already love the KJV, this purchase should be a no-brainer.

————

Disclaimer: My son, if thou wilt receive my words and click my Amazon links with thine own right hand, thou shalt supply an odour of a sweet smell when a commission from thy purchases provideth this blog with new tablets of stone upon which to engrave its writings. Blessed be ye of the Lord. But I say unto all which clicketh not: Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice?

*I had so much fun with my ESV Reader’s Bible last year that I must do it again. But the KJV might be just the thing for 2017.

Some Bible Outlines are More Helpful Than Others

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mkorsakov (2014), Creative Commons

mkorsakov (2014), Creative Commons

Bible outlines help us simplify and organize the author’s message. That’s why expository sermons outline passages and study Bibles outline books. I can’t remember the last time I read an introduction to a book of the Bible that didn’t propose an outline for the book.

But some outlines are less helpful than others.

Take, for example, this outline of Job 4-14 from the NIV Zondervan Study Bible:

  1. First Exchange: Eliphaz (4:1-5:27)
  2. Job’s Response to Eliphaz (6:1-7:21)
  3. Second Exchange: Bildad (8:1-22)
  4. Job’s Response to Bildad (9:1-10:22)
  5. Third Exchange: Zophar (11:1-20)
  6. Job’s Response to Zophar (12:1-14:22)

This outline succeeds at observing Job’s structure, but it does little to help us understand Job’s message. Many outlines stop short of significant usefulness when they state all the “what” but little of the “why.” In other words, they outline content but not meaning. They outline observation but not interpretation. They give us summaries but not main points.

What’s usually more helpful is to outline the logic of the passage. Figure out how the main points of each section flow into and out of one another, constructing a theme or message that the author wants to communicate to his readers. When an outline packages the building blocks of the book’s argument, readers are more likely to benefit from it quickly.

For example, consider this outline of Job 4-14 from The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible:

  1. Eliphaz: You Strengthened Others but Now Are Fainting (4:1-5:27)
  2. Job: You Do Not Know the Weight of My Grief (6:1-7:21)
  3. Bildad: All Agree that God is Just (8:1-22)
  4. Job: But How Can Man Be Just Before God? (9:1-10:22)
  5. Zophar: Does Your Talk Justify You? (11:1-20)
  6. Job: I Know that I Shall Be Justified (12:1-14:22)

I might argue that the last statement should be broadened to better capture the main point of Job’s entire speech in chapters 12-14—I would state it as “My Dangerously Unpredictable God is More Trustworthy Than My Clearly Logical Friends”—but that would be a minor quibble. The point is that the editors of The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible give us more than the order of speeches; they attempt to state concisely the message of each speech. In doing so, they help us get farther down the road in our study of the book. And for this I applaud them.

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