The NIV Basic Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition is a simple study Bible that was designed for all-around usage. This edition has fewer tools than the larger study Bible, but it has enough to make it valuable on the go. It’s small, making it easy to carry around for personal and group study. It’s inexpensive, making it ideal for use without worrying about what happens to it. This Bible is available in softcover, ISBN: 9780310461043, printed in China.
Zondervan 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 (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
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Table of Contents
- Materials
- Typography
- References and Footnotes
- Book Introductions
- Study Material
- Concordance
- Maps
- NIV Study Bible Comparison
- Conclusion
Materials
This is a softcover edition. It’s glued in sections and does not include a ribbon marker. The back of the cover shows the specs. The overall size is 5.3 x 8.5 x 1.26″ and it weighs 1 lb, 14.5 oz.
The paper seems to be the same that Zondervan uses in all their study Bibles, would make it somewhere in the 30’s in gsm. It’s white in color and it’s highly opaque. The texture is smooth, but it’s rough enough to make it easy to grab and turn the pages. There is no glare under direct light. This is good paper for reading and highlighting.
Typography
The 2011 NIV text is presented in double-column, paragraph format with poetry set to stanzas, lists set as lists, and personal letters indented. The header shows the page number in the outer margin and the reference next to it. Translation footnotes are under the last verse on the page, the commentary is at the bottom of the page, and the cross-references are placed in a box under the last comment. Section headings are in a bold black font that’s larger than the text.
The font is 8-point. Unlike most NIVs from Zondervan, this one is not Comfort Print. This is a red-letter edition. The red and black fonts are dark and consistent throughout the Bible. It wasn’t printed with line matching (due to NIV requirements), but the show-through is minimal. It has 8-10 words per line. Some of the poetic settings do have one word on a line and multiple breaks for a poetic line.
References and Footnotes
The translation footnotes are placed under the last verse on the page. They’re keyed to the text with letters. This can be confusing in the text since the references are also keyed with letters. The footnotes also include the verse number, making them easier to find. They include insights on renderings, parallel passages, where quotes are from, explanations of words, locations, people, names, information about the original languages, manuscript variations, etc.
It has 53,000 cross-references, which is great for most Bible study needs, especially for a small study Bible. Here are a few example references to help you compare:
- Genesis 1:1 – Jn 1:1-2; Job 38:4; Ps 90:2; Isa 42:5; 44:24; 45:12, 18; Ac 17:24; Heb 11:3; Rev 4:11
- Deuteronomy 6:4 – Mk 12:29; 1 Cor 8:4
- Isaiah 9:6 – Isa 53:2; Lk 2:11; Jn 3:16; Mt 28:18; Isa 28:29; Isa 10:21; 11:2; Isa 26:3, 12; 66:12
- Matthew 28:19 – Mk 16:15, 16; Lk 24:47; Ac 1:8, 14:21; 2:38; 8:16; Ro 6:3, 4
- Mark 12:29 – x
- John 1:1 – Rev 19:13; Jn 17:5; 1 Jn 1:2; Php 2:6
- John 3:16 – Ro 5:8; Eph 2:4; 1 Jn 4:9, 10; ver 36; Jn 6:29, 40; 11:25, 26
- Acts 2:38 – 8:12, 16, 36, 38; 22:16; Lk 24:47; Ac 3:19
- Rom 10:9 – Mt 10:32; Lk 12:8; Ac 2:24
- 1 John 1:1 – Jn 1:2; Jn 1:14; 2 Pe 1:16; Jn 20:27
Book Introductions
The book introductions are short, but they’re helpful. They include a couple of paragraphs with information about the author, time, key verses, and theme. They provide Scripture references where needed and include dates if possible.
Study Material
Commentary – this is placed at the bottom of the pages and includes the portion of text the notes correspond to. The commentary is concise and provides insights into the text and popular theological views. Unlike the larger NIV Study Bible, it does not include maps, charts, and other features.
Table of Weights and Measures – this is a one-page table with weights, length, and capacity with dry measures and liquid measures. They show the biblical unit, American equivalent, and metric equivalent. the footnotes also include this information, but it’s nice to see it in a table that’s easy to use.
Theological Notes Index by Location – this is a short index with theological concepts from the commentary. It works as a topical index and provides a list of Scripture references where the topic is discussed. The topics are listed in biblical order.
Theological Notes Index by Title– this is another short index with theological concepts from the commentary. It also works as a topical index and provides a list of Scripture references where the topic is discussed. The topics for this index are listed in alphabetical order.
Concordance
In the back is a 78-page NIV concordance with 2474 word entries and over 10,000 Scripture references. It includes names with biographical information. This is about a medium size concordance. The number of entries and biographical information make it excellent for Bible study and sermon prep.
Here are some sample entries with their number of references.
- Christ (Christ’s, Christian, Messiah) – 69
- Christian (Christ) – 1
- Christ’s (Christ) – 3
- Faith (Faithful, Faithfully, Faithfulness, Faithless) – 65
- Faithful (Faith) – 31
- Faithfully (Faith) – 3
- Faithfulness (Faith) – 15
- Faithless (Faith) – 3
- God (God’s, Godliness, Godly, Gods) – 4 columns
- God-breathed (Breathed) – 1
- Godliness (God) – 4
- Godly (God) – 4
- God’s (God) – 28
- Gods (God) – 2
- Jesus – 5 major topics with multiple sub-topics and many Scripture passages and reference within each one
- Life
- Miracles
- Major Teaching
- Parables
- Disciples
- Praise (Praised, Praises, Praising) – 32
- Praised (Praise) – 5
- Praises (Praise) – 4
- Praising (Praise) – 2
- Pray (Prayed, Prayer, Prayers, Praying) – 17
- Prayed (Pray) – 3
- Prayer (Pray) – 13
- Prayers (Pray) – 4
- Praying (Pray) – 4
NIV Study Bible Comparison
The NIV Study Bible has more of everything and includes charts, maps, photos, and articles. It’s also a larger Bible. Both work together as a great combo, so you’d have one for deeper study at home and one for basic study on the go.
Conclusion
The NIV Basic Study Bible is an interesting study Bible. It fills that area where you might not need all of the information in the Bible you carry around and use. The tools are simpler than the larger edition, but this makes it better for carrying and studying on the go. The MSRP is $19,99, making it an excellent choice to carry and use anywhere.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_________________________________________________________
Zondervan 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.
Randy, Thanks for informing us of this edition of the NIVSB!