The Schuyler Stridon is a verse-by-verse single-column layout Bible with references in the footer and wide outer margins that are great for small notes. It’s been available in the NASB and ESV, and it’s now available in the NKJV. There are several colors and covers to choose from. I’m reviewing the Marbled Sapphire calfskin with a regular yapp. It was typeset by 2K/Denmark and made in the Netherlands by Jongbloed.

Specs

  • NKJV
  • Calfskin leather
  • Leather liner
  • Sewn binding
  • 3 3/8″ ribbons
  • 6.75 x 9.75 x 1.5″ overall size
  • 2 lbs, 14.2 oz
  • 28gsm French paper
  • Blue art gilt
  • Single-Column layout
  • 10-point typeface
  • Line matching text
  • 7/8-1″ wide outer margin
  • 70k references
  • Full set of footnotes
  • References and footnotes in the footer
  • Concordance
  • 14 lined pages for notes
  • 12 maps
  • Map Index
  • Printed in the Netherlands by Jongbloed
  • Current price – this cover is $235

Schuyler provided a discount for this Bible in exchange for an honest review. 

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This Bible is available at Evangelicalbible.com

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Table of Contents

  1. Cover and Binding
  2. Paper
  3. Typography
  4. References and Footnotes
  5. Concordance
  6. Maps
  7. Video Review
  8. Conclusion

Cover and Binding

The Marbled Sapphire calfskin is thick and feels elegant. The marbled blue has lots of black that highlights the blue. It has a natural grain with rough patches that match the texture. It’s a joy to see and touch. It has perimeter stitching. The Jerusalem cross was debossed on the front. The spine includes six raised hubs and text printed in gold. This is a regular yapp edition, but it has enough overhang to conform to the hand when holding it. This is my favorite yapp. The leather is flexible, but it’s stiff enough to hold open easily in one hand.

The liner is navy edge-lined calfskin leather with a gold gilt line around the inside perimeter. The block is sewn and it stays open perfectly in Genesis 1. It has three extra-long, 3/8″ wide angle-cut double-sided satin ribbons in a dark blue. The head/tail bands are also navy. The overall size is 6.75 x 9.75 x 1.5″, and it weighs 2 lbs, 14.2 oz. This size is excellent for carrying, reading, and preaching.

I’ve included photos comparing it with the NASB Stridon in green goatskin:

Paper

The paper is 28gsm French paper. This is the same paper found in most of the premium Bibles printed by Royal Jongbloed. It’s only slightly less opaque than 36gsm, but it’s a lot thinner, making the Bible easier to carry. It’s ivory in color and has no glare under direct light. The paper is smooth, but I find it easy to separate to turn pages. This is an excellent paper for reading. The page edges are art-gilt with blue under gold.

In the front are presentation and family pages printed on thick non-glossy paper. They include marriages, births, and deaths. These thick pages give the Bible some extra structure.

In the back are 14 lined pages for notes. This is the same as the regular Bible paper.

Typography

 

The NKJV Stridon has a single-column, verse-by-verse setting with poetry set to stanzas, letters indented, and small lists presented in a list format. The header shows the reference in the outer margin and the page number in the inner margin. The footer places the references and footnotes in two columns, keeping them separate. Section headings are in all caps. Paragraphs are marked with a bold verse number. The highlights are in a dark and bold red print that stands out. Books start on the page where the previous book ended.

The typeface is 10-point, red-letter. The black and red are dark and consistent throughout. It has enough space between the lines to be easy to read. It is line-matched, which prints the text in the same location on both sides of the page. This improves readability. It does have some show-through, but it’s mostly only noticeable where nothing is printed on one side of the page. The line-matching for the section headings is off very slightly on some pages, but this doesn’t affect readability.

It has around 14 words per line. This is great for poetic settings, and it’s still good for prose because of the extra space in the inner margin. This brings the text out onto the flat part of the page, so it’s easy to keep my place when reading. Verse numbers are large. Footnote and reference keys are small and easy to ignore when reading.

It has somewhere between 7/8-1″ wide outer margin and a 5/8-inch inner margin. This is ideal for small notes, references, etc. This is ideal if you want some writing space but don’t want to carry a large Bible. It’s also ideal if you don’t want to write in it. It doesn’t feel like carrying around a wide-margin Bible with empty space for no reason.

References and Footnotes

It includes over 70,000 cross-references. They match the NKJV Quentel and are excellent for study and sermon prep. They’re placed in the footer with references on the inside and footnotes on the outside, separated by a red line. The primary chapter and verse numbers are in red. There is enough white space between them to locate them easily. I find this design easy to use.

Here are some examples to help you compare:

  • Genesis 1:1 – Ps 102:25; Is 40:21; Jn 1:1-3; Heb 1:10; Gen 2:4; Ps 8:3; 89:11; 90:2; Is 44:24; Acts 17:24; Rom 1:20; Heb 1:2; 11:3; Rev 4:11
  • Deuteronomy 6:4 – Deut 4:35; Mark 12:29; John 17:3; 1 Cor 8:4, 6
  • Isaiah 9:6 – Isa 7:14; Luke 2:11; John 1:45; Luke 2:7; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9; Matt 28:18; 1 Cor 15:25; Rev 12:5; Judg 13:18; Titus 2:13; Eph 2:14
  • Matthew 17:20 – Mat 21:21, Mk 11:23, Lk 17:6, 1 Cor 12:9
  • Mark 11:23 – Matt 17:20; 21:21; Luke 17:6
  • Mark 12:29 – Deut 6:4, 5; Is 44:8; 45:22; 46:9; 1 Cor 8:6
  • John 1:1 – Gen 1:1; Col 1:17; 1 John 1:1; John 1:14; Rev 19:13; John 17:5; 1 John 1:2; 5:20
  • John 2:19 – Mat 26:61, 27:40, Mk 14:58, 15:29, Lk 24:46, Acts 6:14, 10:40, 1 Cor 15:4
  • Acts 2:38 – Luke 24:47
  • 1 John 1:1 – John 1:1; 1 John 2:13, 14; Luke 1:2; John 1:14; 2 Pet 1:16; Luke 24:39; John 2:27; John 1:1, 4, 14

This is the full set of  NKJV footnotes, which provide detailed information about manuscript variances from the Nestle-Aland/United Bible Societies, Majority Text, Septuagint, Targum, Vulgate, and Syriac. They include the literal renderings from Hebrew and Greek. The NKJV translation footnotes are some of my favorites.

Concordance

The concordance is 54 pages with three columns per page. Entries and references are in red. The font is small but it does have enough white space to make it easy to use as long as you don’t need a large print. It does not include names, but it has a lot of entries, making it good for study and sermon prep. This is the same concordance found in the NKJV Quentel.

Here are a few examples with the number of entries for each one to help you compare:

  • Christ – 13
  • Christian – 1
  • Christians – 1
  • Christs – 1
  • Faith – 40
  • Faithful – 20
  • Faithfulness – 5
  • Faithless – 2
  • God – 38
  • Goddess – 2
  • Godhead – 2
  • Godliness – 4
  • Godly – 3
  • Gods – 5
  • Praise – 25
  • Praised – 4
  • Praises – 2
  • Praiseworthy – 1
  • Praising – 3
  • Pray – 14
  • Prayed – 2
  • Prayer – 16
  • Prayers – 5

Maps

It includes the 12 Schuyler maps printed on thick non-glossy paper. They’re elegant and colorful. These are some of my favorite maps. They’re annotated well and include borders, cities, distance, topography, Scripture references, places of worship, capitals, water, roads, canals, seaports, ancient inscription sites, events of Jesus’ life, Apostles’ ministries, places of writings, etc. Two maps span two pages with no space between them, making them difficult to read in the gutter.

It also includes a 3-page index to maps with a short key to abbreviations. This makes the maps much easier to use. I’m glad to see the index included.

Here’s the list of maps (and one chart):

  1. World of the Patriarchs
  2. Israel’s Twelve Tribe Allotments
  3. Route of the Exodus
  4. Kingdom of Saul, David and Solomon
  5. Divided Kingdom
    1. Kings and Prophets of Israel and Judah (Chart)
  6. Assyrian and Babylonian Empires
  7. Persian and Greek Empires
  8. Ministry of Jesus
  9. Jerusalem and the Passion of the Christ
  10. Apostles’ Early Ministry
  11. Missionary Journeys of Paul
  12. Roman Empire and Early Christianity

Video Review

Conclusion

The NKJV edition of the Schuyler Stridon is an excellent v-b-v Bible. The size is great for carrying, reading, and preaching. The wide margins are enough for small notes, but not large enough to get in the way. The tools are great for sermon prep and personal study. If you’re interested in a premium v-b-v NKJV, the Schuyler Stridon is an excellent choice. If you want something a little different, I highly recommend the blue Marbled Sapphire.

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This Bible is available at Evangelicalbible.com

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Schuyler provided a discount for 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.