The King James Version Large Print Wide Margin Bible by Hendrickson is a brand new design that contains a set of features that are not available together in any other wide margin Bible: including large print, red-letter, and section headings. This is a nice edition at an affordable price, making this a great choice for taking notes and creating your own Study Bible.
Pros
- Large print
- Section headings
- Words of Christ in red
- Light weight for its size
Cons
- Large
- No extra writing paper
Features
- KJV
- Presentation page
- 4 cover choices
- Epistle Dedicatory
- 11-point font
- 1 inch wide margins
- Double-column
- Verse-by-verse format
- Thick Bible paper
- Words of Christ in red
- Section headings
- End-of-verse references
- Special Features
- 76-page concordance
- 8 color maps
- 1632 pages
- 10.2 x 7.3 x 1.8
- ISBN: 978-1-61970-089-5
- Printed in China by R. R. Donnelly
- $27
Where to Buy
Amazon: Large Print Wide Margin Bible-KJV
Cover and Binding
This edition is in hard cover. It is section sewn and seems to be well-made. It lies flat with no trouble at all.
Paper
The paper is thick and opaque. It has a slight cream tint, making it easy to read. The paper isn’t shiny. It would be good for using pens and pencils. This is some of the best paper found in a Bible. I would like to see all Bibles use this paper. My only complaint is that there is no paper in the back for notes. It’s not a big deal, and it wouldn’t keep me from buying this Bible, but at least a few sheets would have been nice.
Layout
This is a standard double-column, verse format. It has wide margins on all four sides. References are placed within the text. The top of the page contains the book name, chapter, and verse. On the left page is the first complete verse that appears on the page. On the right page is the last verse that appears on the page. Page numbers are placed at the top of the page in the middle.
The margins are 1.25 inches on the outer margin and 1 inch on the inner margin. There is 1 inch for the top and bottom.
Text
The font is 11-point with a decent leading. It’s about a medium darkness. It is not self-pronouncing, so there are no markings within the text. It’s very readable. It is good to see a wide-margin Bible in large print. This one is able to give a large font and still have a usable margin. This does require the Bible to be larger, but fortunately it’s not very heavy. I’m used to larger Bibles, so I don’t find this to be a problem.
This is a red-letter edition. The red continues through Revelation. It’s about a medium to light shade of red.
References
References are placed after the verses. The font is smaller than the text. They’re not keyed to the text, so there’s no way to know which portion of a verse that the reference is for. This keeps the text itself very clean and easy to read. There are 3 references for Genesis 1:1. The references are enough to be helpful without taking up too much room. If the references were placed in a center-column, the text would have to be smaller. I am willing to have fewer references in order to have the larger font.
Section Headings
The section headings are one of my favorite features of this Bible. Section headings are usually included in other Bibles, but wide-margin KJV’s are often published without them. It’s good to see them here. These are printed in a bold font and there are lots of them. The font is different from the one used for the text. It is sans-serif and looks very modern.
Special Features
The special features are lists of verses. They include key promises, harmony of the Gospels, miracles of the Old Testament, parables of the Old Testament, miracles of the New Testament, parables of the New Testament, and Old Testament prophecies of the Passion.
Concordance
The concordance is also in large print. It’s a very basic concordance with 76 pages. It has 18 entries for ‘God’. It also has God as an idol as a separate entry, with 6 entries. It’s not extensive, so you’ll need a better concordance for study, but it’s not bad for use on the go.
Maps
There are 8 color maps on thick glossy paper. They look great and are easy to use. I would like to see an index to maps. That’s a feature usually reserved for premium editions.
Conclusion
This is not the same Bible as Hendrickson’s previous Large Print Wide Margin. In my opinion, this Bible is nicer due to better paper and bold section headings. The paper is opaque and has a cream tone (my favorite type of paper) and the print is large and readable. Even though this is a large Bible, it’s not a heavy Bible (the hard cover edition. I’m not sure about the others). I still found it easy to carry and use. I can’t speak to the durability, but for this price-point (~$27) it’s worth buying and replacing as needed. The price-point also makes it a great choice for those wanting to write in a Bible but don’t want to start with a premium edition. I highly recommend the Large Print Wide Margin Bible from Hendrickson for personal study, journaling, teaching, and preaching.
Where to Buy
Amazon: Large Print Wide Margin Bible-KJV
Hendrickson Publishers provided this Bible free for review. I was not required to give a positive review- only an honest review. My opinion is my own.
I had high hopes for this Bible until I saw the publisher didn’t include the translator’s notes. Scores of buyers will be passing on this Bible for that reason alone. The translator’s notes give the reader extremely valuable and enlightening notes on the Hebrew and Greek.
And the publisher needs to understand if they’re going to go with limited end-of-verse references, they need to put them at the end of the line, not right up against scripture interrupting the flow of the reader.
If the publisher cares about what their customers want, and has the business sense to want to increase their sales, they will revise this and not deny customers the translator’s notes. I also find the book titles a little too big and bold.
You have plenty of room to write your own notes.
Like Randy I love wide margin bibles. I’ve made the most progress in my studies by writing in my bible. I think of a wide margin bible as an expensive note pad. So I have a few and just added this one in leather.
The leather is shiny, smooth and somewhat flexible. I’d say it was a step up from the Thomas Nelson stuff but not as nice as the LCBP. However, I agree with Randy’s review. Paper quality and binding are first rate. It is easy to bend back one side of the bible behind the other. I do not know of another wide margin bible with such a nice large readable font except for LCBP notetaker.
I recommend this bible for anyone wanting a large print wide margin.
John
Thanks John. I’ve been wondering about the leather edition. It sounds like a good choice.
I am looking for a 10 or 11 point font bible to replace my Cambridge Presentation Reference bible. It seems that wide margin may be the way to go. Unfortunately, Cambridge’s wide margin bible font seems too small to me. (The Clarion looks good, but a representative of Cambridge informed me that they don’t recommend writing in their bibles, except for the wide margin).
The font in the Hendrickson wide margin seems to be more modern and very readable. What is the durability like of a Hendrickson leather bound bible? If I am going to invest the time in a wide margin, I don’t want something that falls apart after just a few years.
Mark
Hi Mark. I like the way you think about getting a wide margin that will last more then a few years. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen very many Hendrickson’s in genuine leather. I have one, the NKJV Minister’s Bible. It’s size and weight so is different from the large print wide margin that I’m not even sure the construction would compare. If the genuine leather is constructed the same as their imitation leather, then I can’t imagine it lasting for more than a few years. There isn’t a lot of choices for large print wide margin Bibles. I can personally recommend the Note-Takers from LCBP. It has a nice large print, the most room for a margin, and the construction is top-notch. It’s a text-only edition, so there are no references, translation notes, or headings in the text. It’s also black-letter. I do like the Hendrickson, but I think it wouldn’t last as long as you want it to. If I think of any other’s, I’ll let you know.