The NASB Scripture Study Notebooks are individual books of the 1995 NASB Bible in paperback with a page of text on one side and a page for journaling on the other. The paperbacks are easy to carry and use, but they’re larger than other journal editions, so they have more space than any other journal editions available. They’re designed for personal and group study, recording sermon notes, and writing prayers as you meditate on God’s Word. They even recommend that you give it to a friend and study together. As we’ll see, they do have enough room for multiple notes. The first batch has a few books of the New Testament. The complete New Testament will be available in February 2021. I’m reviewing the first batch, which includes Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus & Philoman, and James. They’re made in China.
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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These books are available at Three Sixteen Publishing
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Table of Contents
- Video Review
- Binding
- Paper
- Typography
- Lined Pages
- Comparing with the ESV Journaling Set
- Ending Thoughts
Video Review
Binding
These are paperback editions. The covers are thick black paper with creases to make them easier to open. The front includes the name of the book (or books for smaller books), New American Standard Bible, Scripture Study Notebook, and the Steadfast logo. The spine has the book name and Steadfast Bibles. Those written by Paul are stamped with a metallic green ink while James is stamped in a metallic blue. I find the blue a little difficult to see in dark lighting, but the green stands out well.
The blocks are Smyth sewn and glued into the cover. The books are large enough that they stay open with ease. The books are 6.5 x 9.5 x .125″, making them easy to carry for use on the go. This makes them great for reading, personal study, and small group study.
Paper
I’m not sure how thick the paper is, but it seems to be around 100gsm. It’s white in color with a matte finish and it’s ultra-opaque. It doesn’t have glare even under direct light. This is excellent paper for reading and making notes.
Typography
The text is presented in a single-column verse-by-verse format. The header shows the book name, chapter, and verses in the outer margin and a heading in the inner margin. The footer shows the page number in the outer corner. Old Testament quotes are in all-caps. The first verse number for the first verse of each paragraph is bold. Supplied words are in italics.
The text is 10-point. It does look a touch smaller than that to me, but they have a lot of space between the lines and even more space between the verses which is great for underlining. It’s dark and consistent throughout each book. It has around 12-14 words per line. There is 1/4″ space between verses and 1/8″ between lines of the same verse. There is so much space between the lines that I don’t lose my place. The text isn’t bold, but it is dark enough. It’s consistent and comfortable to read. Text isn’t printed on both sides of the page, so it doesn’t need line-matching. The paper is so opaque that I can’t tell if it’s line-matched or not.
Most pages have one paragraph of text. This means each page has a different number of verses, which ranges from 2 to 12 verses per page. There are a few pages with two paragraphs. There isn’t a lot of poetry, but it is indented and divided in smart places. It looks natural and reads smoothly. The text is centered on the page. It has 1.25″ margins on all sides for notes. Pages with fewer verses have even more for the top and bottom.
Lined Pages
The marker isn’t noticeable on the other side of the page.
The page on the right side has 41 lightly ruled lines for notes. This paper is perfect for notes, highlighting, and underlining with any kind of pen, highlighter, or pencil you want to use. Show-through isn’t visible at all. The pages are great for notes, thoughts, prayers, references, drawings, etc. Each book has a couple of pages in the front and around 6 in the back, which is great to create lists, indexes, topics, word studies, etc. I’m using archival markers for notes. It has no show-through or intentions on the page.
Comparisons
Here’s how the NASB Study Notebooks compare to the CSB Scripture Notebook, NKJV Bible Journal, and ESV Journaling Sets. The construction quality and materials are about the same. I’ll highlight the main differences.
CSB Scripture Notebook
The CSB Scripture Notebooks are smaller in size, but they have a larger font. The text is in a single column paragraph layout. The ruled lines are the same. The paper is creamier. The page thickness seems to be about the same. The paper cover is blue and it has a rougher feel.
NKJV Bible Journal
The NKJV Journal Set is the smaller size. It also has a larger font in a single-column paragraph layout. It has smaller margins. The lines are larger. The paper almost the same. It includes book introductions. The paper cover is a shade of gray, depending on the book.
ESV Journaling Set
The ESV Journaling Set comes in two individual sets: the Old Testament and New Testament. The books are much smaller than the NASB Study Notebooks. The ESV font is larger and the paper has a creamier color. The text is in a single-column paragraph layout and has slightly smaller margins.
Ending Thoughts on the NASB Scripture Study Notebooks
The NASB Scripture Study Notebooks were made with notes in mind and have more writing space than any of the Bible journaling notebooks that I’ve seen. I like that it has one paragraph per page, but sometimes the number of verses per page sometimes seems random. Most have one paragraph with 3-5 verses, but some have 3 paragraphs with 12 verses. This makes the pages look imbalanced. I do see what they’re trying to do with placing context together and I like this approach. Of course, it’s very usable on every page due to the wide margins and large pages for notes. They’re made well, the fonts are clean (although they could be small or light for older eyes), and the paper is excellent for writing. They’re ideal for extensive notes, for going through a sermon series, having multiple people add notes for group study, sermon outlines, and lots more. If you’re interested in individual journal editions, I highly recommend the NASB Scripture Study Notebooks.
_________________________________________________________
These books are available at Three Sixteen Publishing
_________________________________________________________
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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