16 Bibles for Christmas 2018
It’s time for our Bibles for Christmas 2018. This was a good year for premium Bibles. We saw some older editions brought back, several editions made into premiums, and several Bibles resized to create larger or smaller editions. I am breaking tradition this year, though. There were too many good Bibles to choose from, so I’m not even going to try to limit it to 12. So this year I’m covering 16 Bibles for Christmas 2018.
Continuing our tradition, the Bibles in this list are those that I have reviewed this year. I reviewed some amazing Bibles this year. I’m only including Bibles that I have personally seen or those that I’m familiar enough with to recommend. The Bibles are in no particular order.
See our previous lists here:
16 Bible for Christmas Video
1. Cambridge Turquoise
The newest Cambridge Turquoise still looks like an old Bible, and I believe that will appeal to many KJV readers that prefer the older look or who grew up with a Turquoise. The large, dark typeface combined with the Indopaque paper is perfect for reading in public, making the Turquoise an excellent preacher’s Bible, and is a great choice for anyone interested in a large print red-letter KJV reference edition with translator’s footnotes and italics for supplied words.
See the Review | Purchase: EvangelicalBible.com, Amazon: black goatskin or black calf split
2. ESV Personal Size Quentel
I love reading it and studying from Personal Size Quentel. I love the overall size for carry. The 8.5 text is much easier to read than I expected. I also like the paper, print quality, and layout design. The double column design transfers well to the reduced size of the Quentel. It’s designed to be read while providing 80,000 cross-references that don’t get in the way. It doesn’t include the concordance or map index, but everything else is here, and they’ve added pages for notes.
See the Review | Purchase from EvangelicalBible
3. Personal Size Canterbury
The Personal Size Canterbury looks and feels elegant. I love the paper quality, readability, the calfskin cover, and the overall size. I’m glad that it has the glossary. Some will miss the concordance or translator’s footnotes. I recommend the Schuyler Personal Size Canterbury in calfskin to anyone looking for a compact KJV with highest quality paper and print.
See the Review | Purchase from Evangelical Bible
4. NASB Clarion
The Cambridge NASB Clarion is a joy to hold, carry, and read from. I love the size and weight. The text is about a medium in size and looks great in a single column. The layout makes it an excellent choice for reading and the references, footnotes, concordance, and maps make it a great choice for study. Even the thin paper is highly opaque and a joy to read.
See my other Clarion reviews: KJV, NKJV, ESV, NIV
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
5. Cambridge NLT Pitt Minion in Blue Calf Split Leather
The blue on this is bright and stands out more than most blue editions. The calf split is slightly rougher to the touch and has a more pebbly grain than the goatskin edition. It has the same black paste-down liner as the goatskin edition. I love the look and feel of this leather.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
6. NKJV Deluxe Reader’s Bible
This is a well-made edition with an excellent cover design that brings the inner margin upward when opened. The paper is the best of the single volume reader’s editions. Thomas Nelson has found a way to be innovative in their design with a verse number in the margin every five verses to help you find your place.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
7. ESV Archaeology Study Bible
This is my favorite study Bible that focuses on biblical archaeology. It focuses on archaeology and doesn’t try to do anything else. I especially like the notes and sidebars with all of their photos. It’s well-written and includes a ton of information.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
8. ESV Heirloom Legacy Bible
The Heirloom Legacy is an elegant Bible in every way possible. The paper looks amazing and the layout provides the best poetic setting available and creates a nice readable Bible. The chapter and verse numbers, as well as footnotes and section heading, are here so you can follow along in study, but they’re small and are easy to ignore while reading. The cover is everything you’d expect from a Jongbloed goatskin Bible.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
9. ESV Large Print Wide Margin Bible
The ESV Large Print Wide Margin Bible has amazing paper and print quality. There isn’t enough room for extensive notes, but it is great for a large text with a little bit of writing space. The lack of references, a concordance, note paper, and an inner margin make this ideal for small notes, reading, preaching, and for marking the text.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
10. Premier Collection Giant Print Reference KJV Bible
The Premier Collection KJV Giant Print Reference Bible is an amazing KJV at an amazing price. It has an elegant goatskin cover, premium paper, a dark print that’s sharp and easy to read, center-column references, and some tools for study. The red highlights are beautiful. This is an easy Bible to recommend.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
11. Premier Collection NIV Thinline Large Print Bible
Zondervan’s Premier Collection NIV Thinline Large Print Bible is a well-made elegant edition with a focus on the text that’s clean and free of distractions. It doesn’t include cross-references, a concordance, or maps (which makes it difficult to study from), but it’s an excellent choice for study when used with external tools, and this size and weight make it perfect for carry.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
12. Premier Collection NKJV Large Print Thinline Reference Bible
This NKJV is one of the best designs I’ve seen in a double-column layout. The columns are wide enough to make the poetry look great. The font is slightly small, but it is large print. It does have as many references as the single column edition, but it is enough for basic study. I love this design. It’s an amazing quality for the price.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
13. Premier Collection NIV Heritage Bible
The Premier Collection NIV Heritage Bible is the most elegant NIV that I’ve seen at this price-point. The focus is on the text. The design is minimalistic. The necessities are added to the text rather than having to make the Scriptures fit around the extras. I love the size, the layout, and the blue highlights. This Bible is easy to read for long periods of time.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
14. Premier Collection NKJV Single Column Reference Bible
The NKJV Premier Collection NKJV Single Column Reference Bible is absolutely beautiful. The layout is amazing. This is easily one of the best NKJV’s available. The quality of the materials is slightly under the quality of Bibles that are twice this price. Thomas Nelson hit the perfect balance between the quality to price ratio.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
15. Hallmark Reference Bible KJV
I’m impressed with the Hallmark Reference Bible. This is a high-quality version of their Giant Print Personal Size KJV, and it’s the only large print personal size KJV in goatskin. I especially like the Italian goatskin cover, the premium paper, and the dark and consistent print quality. The lists in the back are great for personal study and sermon prep. It’s a hand-sized Bible that’s easy to carry and is great for reading, teaching, and preaching.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
16. Large Print Westminster
The Large Print Westminster Reference Bible is an enlarged version the regular Westminster reference Bible but without the concordance. It’s excellent for study and preaching. The 200,000 cross-references and updated words in the margin make it great for study, and since it’s larger it has a little bit of extra space in the margins that are great for small notes. This Bible is easy to anyone looking for a quality cross-reference KJV in large print.
See the Review | Purchase from TBS
Bonus: Journal Sets and Software
Here are a couple more gift ideas for those who don’t need a Bible.
ESV Scripture Journal: New Testament Boxed Set
The ESV Scripture Journal set is excellent for notes, thoughts, prayers, illustrations, and reading without distractions. The individual books are easy to carry and are excellent for study. They fit perfectly into a Bible case or backpack, making it easy to grab a couple of books to take with me for reading or journaling. I recommend Crossway’s ESV Scripture Journal: New Testament Boxed Set for individual and group study.
See the Review | Purchase from Amazon
Logos 8
I like the new features of Logos 8. The Canvas is fun to use and it’s great for creating graphics. The new filters make it easy to sort and find everything. The new Notes tool makes it easier to create and find notes. The Workflows help speed up your study and you can customize the tools. I recommend Logos 8 for any serious student of God’s Word.
See the Review | Purchase from Logos and get a discount
Ending Thoughts
Well, that’s our 16 Bibles for Christmas for 2018. Most are premium Bibles, but some are very affordable. It’s great to see several editions made into premiums and several others resized for different audiences.
If you don’t see what you’re looking for you can always check Amazon’s Bible store or EvangelicalBible.com for excellent Bibles at excellent prices.
See our previous lists here:
Which is your favorite Bible on this list? What would you add? Let us know in the comments below.
