Bibles of 2012

2012 saw a lot of amazing Bibles and we reviewed a few of them here at Bible Buying Guide. Here’s a quick look at the 2012 releases and links to our reviews:

We started the year with the Cambridge Concord in calf-split leather, a fine specimen of Bible craftsmanship.

This is a new cover for the original Concord. It’s much stiffer than calfskin and has a nice pebbly grain. It is a nice size and has a bold 8-point font. The red-letter is sharp and bold. The paper is very nice and opaque. The Concord has a great set of study tools with a glossary and dictionary, making the Concord a fine study and reading Bible.

Hendrickson released the AW Tozer Bible that included over 500 selections from 40 volumes of writings from 20th century writer AW Tozer.

Tozer’s writings are presented in three categories called On Scripture, Reflections, and Challenges. The AW Tozer Bible can be used as a study Bible and devotional Bible.

New Leaf Press released the Henry Morris Study Bible, a large print study Bible with the focus on young earth creationism from the writings of Henry Morris.

It includes commentary with a focus on creation and 22 appendixes that cover creation, science, the flood, the Bible, and more.

One of our most popular reviews was the Cambridge Clarion ESV.

It follows the layout design of the KJV edition, with paragraph format and references on the outside margin. It is the perfect blend of hand-size and readable. In my opinion, the Clarion series is one of the most important and best Bibles available. The Clarion is one of my favorite Bibles ever and one of the Bibles I use the most.

Holman’s Full-Color KJV Study Bible was another of our most popular reviews.

The Holman KJV Study Bible is one of the nicest study Bible’s ever produced and one of my favorites. It’s a good quality Bible with lots of tools. The commentary is more informative than most.

Revelation Books publishes a nice journaling Bible called The Writer’s Bible. We reviewed Paul’s Letters in NASB.

The Writer’s Bible provides ruled lines for writing. It has a 12 point font and a nice layout that is clean and readable. It is a great way to journal and interact with God’s Word.

Miklal Software Solutions released the KJV app for Kindle.

The KJV app is one of my favorite Bibles for Kindle and is exactly what the Kindle needed to simplify Bible reading and study by allowing the Kindle to act more like a tablet. Searching, navigation, and making notes are much easier than regular Kindle Bibles.

Crossway released the Greek English Parallel New Testament ESV for Kindle and nook.

I was wondering how Kindle would handle a parallel Bible. This format works great and even still has the ESV headings in the text.

Cambridge released a new edition of the Pitt Minion.

This edition saw many updates including paragraph format, larger text, Reader’s Companion, and updated maps. The text is still small, but it’s a modern font that I find a little easier to read. Poetry is set is verse format, giving the text a modern look. The Reader’s Companion is the same as the one found in the KJV Clarion.

Another nice Bible from Crossway was the ESV Single Column Journaling Bible.

This is my favorite layout, favorite paper, and favorite print. The font is slightly small, but the quality of the print  helps in the readability. I like the bold verse numbers and headings. The paper has a cream tone and the layout is simply gorgeous. This is one of the Bible’s I use and recommend the most.

Another nice Bible from Crossway was the ESV Global Study Bible.

The ESV Global Study Bible serves to provide great study tools at a great price with a focus of global context. This Bible has a lot of material in a small package. It includes free access to the Online Global Study Bible.

The last review of the 2012 releases was Hendrickson’s Fire Bible KJV.

The Fire Bible brings a fresh layout to Zondervan’s Full Life/Spirit Filled Life Study Bible by presenting the text in paragraph format. It’s a great study Bible with a Pentecostal focus. It contains 77 articles and lots of charts and notes.

Another 2012 release that we will review soon is the Westminster Reference Bible from Trinitarian Bible Society. I’ll place a link to it here when the review is posted. Link: TBS Westminster Reference Bible.

We reviewed many other Bibles in 2012, but these are the Bibles that were actual 2012 releases.

2012 also saw the introduction of another high quality Bible publisher – Schuyler Bibles. They have nice editions of ESV, NKJV, and KJV.

I’ve noticed a lot of trends in Bible publishing this past year. Many publishers are producing more KJV’s in paragraph format (which is better for reading, but not for preaching or teaching) and study Bibles are seeing better paper and full color throughout. I hope to see high quality become a publishing standard in 2013. I’d also like to see a focus on tools rather than commentary with a drive toward promoting personal Bible study.