NKJV Bible Journals – Review

The NKJV Bible Journals, Complete Bible Box Set 45 Volumes is a 5-box set that provides the biblical books in paperbacks with a page of text on one side and a page for journaling on the other. The paperbacks are easy to carry and use. The set was designed for personal and group study and presents the text in a large Comfort Print font. Each of the five boxes is also available separately. I’m reviewing the complete set, ISBN: 9780785236375, made in China.

Thomas Nelson provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.

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These books are available at (includes some affiliate links)

Amazon

Christianbook

Church Source

and many local Bible bookstores

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Table of Contents

1. Video Review
2. NKJV Bible Journal Set
3. Binding
4. Paper
5. Typography
6. Translator’s Footnotes
7. Lined Pages
8. Book Introductions
9. Comparing with the ESV Journaling Set
10. Ending Thoughts

Video Review

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NKJV Bible Journal Set

The complete set includes 45 volumes. They’re broken into smaller sets: The Law, The Writings, The Prophets, The Gospels and Acts, and The Epistles and Revelation. The sets make sense because they’re divided in the way that the Scriptures identify themselves.

Each set is a separate slip-case and has its own shade of gray. The gray starts light and gets darker with each set. The name of the set of books is printed in gold on the side of the case with NKJV Bible Journals printed in white. Each book includes the NKJV preface, book introduction, text, and lined pages. Their covers match the slipcase, keeping the design consistent, and making the sets easy to identify.

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Binding

The covers are paper. The colors range from light gray in the Old Testament to dark gray in the New Testament. On the front of each book is a key verse from that book. The title of the book is printed in gold and the key verse is printed in white. If the book has more than one Bible book, it only includes one key verse. The spine has the name of the book, NKJV, and Thomas Nelson printed in gold.

The text-blocks are Smyth sewn and glued into the cover. The cover includes a scored line on the front and back to make it easy to open. The thick pages do make it close easily, though. I had to hold the page open with my left hand while writing. Sometimes I placed something on the left side to help keep it open.

The books are hand-sized, making them easy to carry for use on the go. This makes them great for reading, personal study, and small group study.

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Paper

The paper seems to be around 100gsm. This is great for any type of writing tool. The pages are white in color and extremely opaque. This is some of the most opaque paper I’ve seen. The absence of show-through is incredible. I used a pencil and had no indentions on the page, and pens that were made for Bibles and had no visible show-through. It has no glare under direct light.

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Typography

The text is presented in a single-column paragraph. The header shows the page number, book name, chapter, and verse in the outer margin. The footer includes the translator’s footnotes. The text is a black-letter, 12-point, Comfort Print font with lots of space between the lines. This makes it comfortable to read and provides extra space for underlining. It’s dark and consistent throughout each book. It has around 10-12 words per line. Text isn’t printed on both sides of the page, so no line-matching is needed.

Poetic lines are divided where they make the most sense. Anything that has to wrap to the next line is indented. Even then, it places more than one word on the line to keep it from looking awkward. The result is a poetic setting that looks natural. It has a 5/8″ inner and out margin. This brings the text out of the gutter and provides some note space around the text. The inner margin is difficult to write in, though.

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Translator’s Footnotes

The NKJV translation footnotes are placed at the bottom of the page. A thin line separates the footnotes from the text. They’re keyed to the text with numbers and include the chapter and verse numbers and the key.

The footnotes shed light on the translation and provide information about manuscript variations, explanations, and alternate renderings. It identifies the manuscripts for further study. I like that the manuscripts are identified rather than just saying “the oldest mss” or “the best mss”. The NKJV has some of my favorite footnotes. I’m glad to see them included.

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Lined Pages

The pages on the right side have 24 thin lines for notes, prayers, references, thoughts, etc. I’ve used pencil and markers in these examples and there are no indentions or show-through at all.

There are also several pages in the back of each book with lines. The number of pages varies, ranging from 2 to 14 pages. These are helpful for lists, prayers, word-studies, thoughts, etc.

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Book Introductions

Book introductions take a couple of pages and include information on the author, time of writing, key verses, theme, and Christ in that specific book (which can be a large section and includes a lot of theological points). They’re well-written and include good information that can be used for study and sermon prep.

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Comparing with the ESV Journaling Set

The ESV Journaling Set is the only other multi-volume set from a major publisher designed for journaling. It comes in two boxes: one for the Old Testament and one for the New Testament. (Reviews of Old Testament and New Testament linked here.) As a result, the two sets are highly unbalanced from each other. This makes the Old Testament difficult to handle. Having smaller sets makes them easier to handle and you can carry an entire set with you without having to carry the entire Old or New Testament. With the ESV, you’d have to carry multiple volumes individually. The books are the same size as the NKJV Journal Set. The ESV font is much smaller and the paper has a deeper cream color. I like the paper in both sets, so either is fine for me, but the paper in the ESV has a little bit of show-through while the NKJV does not.

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Ending Thoughts on the NKJV Bible Journals

The NKJV Bible Journals, Complete Bible Box Set 45 Volumes is an excellent journaling set. The materials and construction are of excellent quality and I couldn’t ask for better print. The books do want to close until you’ve used them enough. I’d love to see them in hardcover (like the ESV Journaling Set in hardcover, which stays open perfectly). I like that they’re divided into smaller sets. This makes it easier to buy and easier to use. If you’re interested in journaling or interested in using individual books for personal and group study, I highly recommend the NKJV Bible Journals.

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_________________________________________________________

These books are available at (includes some affiliate links)

Amazon

Christianbook

Church Source

and many local Bible bookstores

_________________________________________________________

Thomas Nelson provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.