The LSB Inside Column Reference Bible from Steadfast Bibles was designed for in-depth Bible study. Its design also makes it a great choice for ministry. It’s available in several covers. In this Bible review, I’m looking at the LSB ICR in black imitation leather. This is ISBN 9781636641874. It was printed in Korea.
Three Sixteen Publishing 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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This Bible is available at
Amazon (affiliate)
Christianbook (affiliate)
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Table of Contents
- Video Review
- Binding
- Paper
- Typography and Layout
- References and Footnotes
- Tables
- Concordance
- Bible Atlas
- Comparisons
- Conclusion
Video Review
Binding
The cover is black imitation leather. It has a grain that looks like calfskin. It’s thin but works well even for the large size of this Bible. Nothing is printed on the front. It has perimeter stitching. The spine is rounded and has the logo and text printed in gold.
The liner is paste-down vinyl. The block is sewn and the first signature has overcast stitching. This was unexpected for imitation leather. In the front and back are several thick end sheets to help give it structure. All of these features help strengthen the block and make it a great choice to use and replace the cover when it tears up later.
It has two 1/4″ extra-long ribbons: black for the OT and gold for the NT. The overall size is 6 3/4″ x 9 1/2″ x 1 3/4″ and it weighs 3 lbs, 3.8 oz.
Paper
The paper is 40gsm Bible paper. It looks and feels like premium paper. It’s smooth to the touch and highly opaque. The color is white with a slight cream tint that’s barely noticeable in the gutter where the pages meet. There is no glare under direct light. This paper is easy to grab and turn and I find it great for reading. The page edges are gold.
Typography and Layout
The layout is a single-column, verse-by-verse setting with poetry set to stanzas. The header shows the book name and chapter number in the outer margin and the page number in the inner margin, both printed in dark red. Cross-references and translation footnotes are printed in the inner margin with the references above the footnotes. They’re separated by chapter, making them easy to find. Book names and chapter numbers are also printed in red. All the references and footnotes are in black, but the pilot numbers are in bold. Section headings are large and are in bold italics. Placing the references in the inner column brings the text out onto the flat part of the page. It was typeset by 2K/Denmark.
The typeface is 10-point, black-letter. The black text and the red highlights are dark and consistent throughout. This edition has a little more spacing in the text than many Bibles, making it even easier to use. It has between 12-14 words per line. This is great for poetic settings, which are indented to give even more space between the text and the verse numbers. The text was printed with line matching, so the lines on both sides of the page are printed in the same location on both sides to improve readability and reduce show-through, which isn’t had at all. The verse numbers are black and they’re placed in the outer margins a little further away from the text than normal. Paragraphs are marked with a bold verse number.
Supplied words are in italics, Old Testament quotes are in all caps, lists look like lists, and letters are indented. It follows the Lockman style guidelines for the NASB reference and footnote keys, so they start over with a and 1 for each verse. Books in the OT start on the same page the previous book ended, while books in the NT start on a new page. Each verse that continues the sentence from the previous verse starts with a lowercase letter, which improves readability.
References and Footnotes
The LSB ICR contains the 95,000 cross-references from Lockman, meaning that it matches the cross-references found in the NASB. It also includes 14,000 footnotes. These are specific to the LSB. The cross-references and footnotes are placed in the inner margin. References are printed at the top of the page and footnotes are printed at the bottom. Those for different chapters are separated by a line. They’re excellent for deep study.
Here are a few example references to help you compare:
- Genesis 1:1 – Ps 102:25; Is 40:21; Jn 1:1, 2; Heb 1:10; Ps 89:11; 90:2; Ac 17:24; Rom 1:20; Heb 11:3; Job 38:4; Is 42:5; 45:18; Rev 4:11
- Deuteronomy 6:4 – Mt 22:37; Mk 12:29, 30; Lk 10:27; Dt 4:35, 39; Jn 10:30; 1 Cor 8:4; Eph 4:6
- Isaiah 9:6 – Is 7:14; 11:1, 2; 53:2; Lk 2:11; Jn 3:16; Mt 28:18; 1 Cor 15:25; Is 22:22; Is 28:29; Dt 10:17; Neh 9:32; Is 10:21; Is 63:16; 64:8; Is 26:3, 1254:10; 66:12
- Matthew 28:19 – Mk 16:15; Mt 13:52; Ac 1:8; 14:21; Mt 25:32; Lk 24:47; Ac 2:38; 8:16; Rom 6:3; 1 Cor 1:13, 15; Gal 3:27
- Mark 12:29 – Dt 6:4
- John 1:1 – Gen 1:1; Col 1:17; 1 Jn 1:1; Jn 1:14; Rev 19:13; Jn 17:5; 1 Jn 1:2; Ph 2:6
- John 3:16 – Rom 5:8; Eph 2:4; 2 Thes 2:16; 1 Jn 4:10; Rev 1:5; Rom 8:32; 1 Jn 4:9; Jn 1:18; 3:18; 1 Jn 4:9; Jn 3:36; 6:40; 11:25
- Acts 2:38 – Mk 1:15; Lk 24:47; Ac 3:19; 5:31; 20:21; Mk 16:16; Ac 8:12, 16; 22:16
- Romans 10:9 – Mt 10:32; Lk 12:8; Rom 14:9; 1 Cor 12:3; Phil 2:11; Ac 16:31; Rom 4:24; Ac 2:24
- 1 John 1:1 – Jn 1:1; 1 Jn 2:13, 14; Ac 4:20; 1 Jn 1:3; Jn 19:35; 2 Pet 1:16; 1 Jn 1:2; Jn 1:14; 1 Jn 4:14; Lk 24:39; Jn 20:27; Jn 1:1, 14
Tables
In the back are a couple of tables. The first is Monetary Units and the second is Weights and Measures. Both are simple and provide the name with a short description.
Concordance
The concordance is 91 pages with 3 columns per page. It’s similar to the one from Lockman and is specific to the LSB. It includes names, explanatory notes, synonyms, and related words. This is an excellent concordance for study.
Here are a few example entries with their number of references to help you compare:
- Christ Messiah, Anointed One – 17
- Christian associated with Christ – 3
- Faith – believe, trust – 33
- Faithful – trustworthy, truth, dependable – 17
- Faithfulness trustworthiness, truthfulness– 6
- Faithless unbelieving – 4
- God Deity, Trinity – 37
- God false deity, figure– 7
- Goddess female deity – 3
- Godless without God, pagan, worldly – 7
- Godliness holiness – 5
- Godly piously, of God– 5
- Praise (n) acclimation, honor – 7
- Praise (v) extol, glorify – 19
- Pray ask, worship – 19
- Prayer speaking to God – 15
- YAHWEH – personal covenant name of God
- Yahweh – 6
- Lord Yahweh (Adonia Yahweh) – 6
- Yahweh God (Yahweh Elohim) – 5
- Yah (shortened form of Yahweh) – 9
- Yah–Yahweh – 2
Bible Atlas
The maps are those from The Lockman Foundation. There are 9 maps printed on 8 semi-glossy pages. They’re colorful and have lots of information and annotations, which is extremely helpful since it doesn’t include an index to maps. The large land areas have a sandy texture while all of the other colors are solid. The maps include cities, empires, distances, routes, battle sites, mountains, settlements, seas, journeys, etc.
- The Biblical World of the Patriarchs
- The Exodus Route and Conquest of Canaan
- The Twelve Tribes of Israel
- The Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
- The Herodian Kingdom in the Time of Christ
- a- Old Testament Jerusalem, b- New Testament Jerusalem
- The Ministry of Jesus
- The Missionary Journeys of Paul
Comparisons
Here’s how the Steadfast LSB ICR compares to several similar single-column reference editions.
Schuyler Stridon
The Schuyler Stridon is a single-column, v-b-v 2020 NASB with a poetic setting. It places the footnotes and cross-references in the footer. They’re separated to make them easy to find. It’s made in the Netherlands by Royal Jongbloed and includes their exclusive 28gsm Indopaque paper. It has a wide outer margin for notes. All the highlights are in red and it’s a black letter edition. The footprint is the same size, but the Stridon is a lot thinner.
Zondervan NASB Side Column Reference
Zondervan’s NASB Side Column Reference in the Premier Collection is a 1995 NASB with a single-column, v-b-v layout with a poetic setting, and it includes a wide outer margin. The fonts are slightly smaller and more compact. It has fewer words per line, and the text is denser. The Zondervan has 36gsm paper and it has a thicker text block. The references and footnotes are in the margin between the text and the wide outer margin. The footnotes are the condensed set. All the highlights are in red and it’s black letter. The overall size is about the same. It’s made in China.
Conclusion
The LSB ICR looks and feels elegant. The paper and print quality seem to be premium quality even in the imitation leather edition. Even this edition includes overcast stitching. I found it to be a joy to use and read. If you’re interested in a vbv LSB, the inside Column Reference is worth a look. The imitation leather is a great choice if you just want to try it out. This text block easily exceeds its price.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at
Amazon (affiliate)
Christianbook (affiliate)
_________________________________________________________
Three Sixteen Publishing 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.