Holman NKJV Study Bible – Review
Holman’s full-color study Bible series now includes the New King James Version. The Holman NKJV Study Bible includes the same colorful photos, maps, and charts as the HCSB and KJV editions. It is designed with visuals and ease of use in mind.
Pros
- Colorful
- Filled with information
Cons
- Large
- Heavy
Features
- NKJV
- Full color throughout
- Presentation page
- Family history
- Paragraph format
- Poetry in verse format
- 9-point font
- Red letter
- Section headings
- Center column references
- Translation notes
- Commentary
- Book introductions
- In text maps, charts, and photos
- 1 and 3 year reading plans
- 8 pages of maps
- Ribbon marker
- 9.5 x 7x 2.2
- 2262 pages
- ISBN: 9781433605093
- $35-49.95
- Made in USA
Buy from Amazon: Holman KJV Study Bible
Cover and Binding
The edition I’m reviewing is hard cover. It comes with a removable jacket. The cover looks the same as the jacket. The color scheme is purple. This includes the paper liner. The binding is glued in sections and sewn.
Paper and Print
The paper is thick and opaque. The print is around a 9-point font that is consistently bold throughout the text. It’s a modern font that is very readable. This is a red-letter edition. It’s about a medium shade of red and is also consistent throughout.
Layout
The text is presented in two-column format with center-column references. The text is presented in paragraph format with poetry set to verse format. Old Testament quotes in the New Testament are presented in italic text to be easily recognizable. Poetic OT quotes are set to verse. Commentary appears in standard study Bible style under the text. On most pages the commentary takes about half the page. translation notes are placed between the text and the commentary. There is enough space in the margins to write references or draw symbols.
References and Translation Notes
The references are not the standard NKJV references from Nelson. They’re also different from the HCSB Study Bible. There are plenty of references. For example, Genesis 1:1 has 18 references. Translation notes do include the NKJV NU and M text variants.
Book Introductions
Book introductions range from four to five pages on average. Each book is different but most includes a nice pretty picture with a summary of the purpose of the book, author info, background, purpose, major events, contribution to the Bible, structure, a timeline, and an outline.
Commentary
The study notes are adapted from the HCSB Study Bible. The commentary contains the work of over 100 scholars from diverse denominations and backgrounds. Commentary includes Hebrew and Greek definitions. Like all study Bibles with commentary, I caution readers to do their own study rather than relying solely on the commentary in their study Bibles.
Articles
There are 21 full-length articles throughout the Bible. They include many topics such as salvation and the canon of Scripture. Examples include The Bible and Civil Rights, Jesus and the Atonement in the Old Testament, Salvation in the Old Testament, and The Historical Reliability of the New Testament. There is a list in the front called Essay Contributors that gives all the article titles and page numbers. Like commentary I urge readers to do their own study. These articles are helpful for study and teaching.
Concordance
The concordance is 63 pages and has three columns per page. There are more entries than I expected with so few pages. There are 38 entries for God. I found the concordance easy to read and use.
Reading Plans
There are 2 reading plans – a 1 year and a 3 year plan. The 1 year plan includes daily readings from Psalms, the Old Testament, and the New Testament. There is a separate check box for each reading. There are also readings for Easter and Christmas. The 3 year plan only has one check box for the week and includes readings from the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Maps
There are 8 pages of beautifully drawn maps. Normally I would want more, but there are so many maps throughout the text that 8 is plenty in the back. I would like to have an index to maps.
Ribbon
There is one ribbon with the hard cover edition. It’s purple, following the same color scheme as the cover and liner. This is probably the longest ribbon I’ve seen in a Bible.
Conclusion
The Holman NKJV Study Bible is colorful and contains lots of useful notes and articles. It has really nice design and features. It is easily one of the best study Bibles available and my favorite study Bible in NKJV. Due to its size I wouldn’t recommend it for a carry Bible, but it would be a great choice as a study Bible for home or group study, and for teaching or sermon prep.
Buy from Amazon: Holman KJV Study Bible
Holman provided this Bible free for review. I was not required to give a positive review- only an honest review.
I read the hardback for an hour in Barnes & Noble and had a hard time adjusting to the color of Jesus’ words. It’s closer to bright pink than red. Besides that I loved it. Curious what the leather touch I’d like. Is it better feeling than the gen leather Holman uses?
Hi Shawn. Sorry it’s taken so long to respond. I don’t have a Holman genuine leather Bible and I was hoping to go to a bookstore and see one so I could answer your question. I still haven’t had a chance to go. I remember that I liked the imitation leather but I don’t remember much about it. I’ll try to go this weekend and have a better answer for you.
I finally saw Holman’s genuine leather yesterday. It was stiff and had the same paper liner as the other editions. I actually liked the feel of the imitation leather better.
Do you know if there is a difference between this and the edition Nelson is coming out with next month? The NKJV Study Bible, Full Color edition? ISBN 9780529114389.
Thanks,
Hi Billy. They are different. The Nelson is an update to their current NKJV Study Bible: http://www.christianbook.com/nkjv-study-bible-second-edition-hardcover/9781418548674/pd/548674?event=ESRCQ
I’m interested in seeing what they’ve added. It looks like it might be a good one.
I’ve got the current one and I like it. Just happened across the Holman while searching for it after I saw a magazine ad.
Thanks.
Will this be available in large print?
Hi Ross. It will be available in large print in February 2015:
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=607509&event=AAI
I prefer a real leather bound addition, is there one?
Hi Tony. They do have it in genuine leather: http://amzn.to/2idprgO
Pls sir i really need one of the study bible seriously but cant find some ,how can i get some and need much details about it, i want the NKJv am in Ghana.