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NIV Study Bible Fully Revised Edition

Randy A Brown

The NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition is an update of one of the most popular study Bibles on the market. Every note, article, and chart has been updated or expanded. It also has new notes and hundreds of full-color graphics and photos throughout. This revised edition also has the exclusive NIV Comfort Print typeface designed by 2K/Denmark. It’s available with several covers. I’m reviewing the hardcover edition, ISBN: 9780310448945, made 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)

Amazon

Christianbook

and many local Bible bookstores

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Table of Contents

  1. Video Review
  2. Materials
  3. Typography
  4. References and Footnotes
  5. Book Introductions
  6. Study Material
  7. Concordance
  8. Maps
  9. Conclusion

Video Review

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Materials

This is a hardcover edition. It includes a dust jacket. It’s sewn and does not include a ribbon marker. It does seem to be made well. The overall size is 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 2 1/4″ and it weighs 4lbs, 3.5oz.

The paper is the same that Zondervan uses in all their study Bibles. It seems to be in the mid 30’s in gsm. It’s white in color and it’s highly opaque. The rough texture makes it easy to grab the pages to turn them. It has no glare under direct light. This is good paper for reading and highlighting.

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Typography

The text is presented in double-column, paragraph format with poetry set to stanzas, lists set as lists, and letters indented. Each of the major sections has different highlight colors for the heading text, section headings, the line separating the text from the commentary, book introductions, etc. The header shows the name of the section in the inner margin and the page number, book name, chapter, and verse in the outer margin. References are placed in the center column, translation footnotes are under the last verse, and commentary is at the bottom of the page. Photos, maps, and charts appear within the text.

The font is 9 point Comfort Print designed for the NIV by 2K/Denmark. This is a red-letter text. Both the red and black are dark and consistent throughout. The red is a dark shade (rust, maybe?) that’s easy to read. It’s dark without being overly bold. This is some of the best red I’ve seen in a Bible.

It has around 7 words per line. This does cause some of the poetic settings to have one word on a line and multiple breaks for a poetic line. It’s printed with line-matching for both the text and the commentary. The text is easy to read, even with photos on the other side of the page.

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References and Footnotes

Footnotes are placed under the last verse on the page. They’re keyed to the text with numbers and include the verse number in bold to help you find them easily. 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 a lot of cross-references. These are the same references found in the Premier Collection editions. It has enough for serious study and sermon prep. Here are some example references to help you compare:

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Book Introductions

It includes introductions for the 6 major sections and for each of the books. Each provides background information.

Section introductions – these are short and include a couple of paragraphs about the types of books the section contains and provides the book names with their page numbers.

Book introductions – these take a couple of pages and include information about the title, author, date of writing, theological theme and message, timeline, literary features, and a detailed outline.

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Study Material

Commentary – there are 21,000 study notes at the bottom of the pages. They include icons so specific information is easy to find. It includes insights into the text, people, culture, theology, word studies, false teachings in history, etc. They include a lot of Scripture references.

Articles – it has over 130 topical articles placed throughout the text. Most take a quarter to a half page. They include cultural information, theology, archaeology, and lots more. The table of contents in the front has the book name, article title, and page number for each article.

Maps, charts, diagrams, and illustrations – it has 90 maps and almost 70 charts placed on the pages with the text to help clarify the content on the page. They include full-color graphics and photos. The table of contents provides the book name, title, and page number for each one, placed under their content-type.

Table of Weights and Measures – this is a one-page table with weights, length, dry measures, and liquid measures. They show the biblical unit, American equivalent, and metric equivalent.

Index to Notes – this is a 36-page index with words of concepts from the commentary, charts, articles, and book introductions. It works as a topical index and includes names, places, theology, etc., and provides a list of Scripture references where the topic is discussed. Some include sub-topics.

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Concordance

This is one of the best concordances in any study Bible. The concordance is 147 pages with 3 columns per page. It has 4795 entries with around 36,000 references. It includes proper names with 339 biographical entries. 1312 entries include every appearance of a word. These are marked with an asterisk. It includes background information and references to prominent texts and variations of words in parenthesis. This an excellent concordance for sermon prep and personal study.

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Maps

It includes 14 full-color maps Zondervan maps printed on 16 pages of regular Bible paper. It also includes an index to maps. The maps include topography, elevation, distance, routes, borders, possible locations of lost places, battles, cities, cities of refuge, empires with dates, locations of events of prophets, locations for the events of Jesus’ ministry, and locations for the events of the apostles and missionaries.

Maps include:

  1. World of the Patriarchs
  2. Holy Land and Sinai
  3. Exodus and Conquest of Canaan
  4. Land of the Twelve Tribes
  5. Kingdom of David and Solomon
  6. Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
  7. Prophets in Israel and Judah
  8. Assyrian and Babylonian Empires
  9. Holy Land in the Time of Jesus
  10. Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus
  11. Jesus’ Ministry
  12. Apostle’s Early Travels
  13. Paul’s Missionary Journeys
  14. Roman Empire

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Conclusion

The NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition is a nice update. The paper and print quality are exceptional and the red-letter is some of the best I’ve seen. The full-color photos and illustrations stand out from front to back. The commentary has a lot of theology, cultural information, and personal application. I especially like the focus on archaeological artifacts and cultural backgrounds. The updated material makes this the best version of the NIV Study Bible that I’ve seen. Any fan of the NIV Study Bible will love this edition.

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_________________________________________________________

This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)

Amazon

Christianbook

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.

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