The KJV Notetaker’s Bible has been around for a while in several different covers by several different publishers. And, there’s a good reason for that. It’s the best note-taking Bible on the market. It has a 2.5-inch margin in the outer margin of every page. It’s a large print Bible that’s great for study and preaching. The KJV Store Notetakers was made for those who are serious note-taking and want a red-letter edition in elegant lambskin. It comes in a nice red two-piece box. It’s made in the USA.
The KJV Store 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 book is available at
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Table of Contents
Video Review
Cover and Binding
The cover is black lambskin. It has a smooth grain but it does have enough texture to stand out. It’s flexible but not too floppy to hold. It includes stitching around the perimeter. It also has a decorative line etched around the edges.
It has nothing printed on the front. The spine has HOLY BIBLE, RED LETTER, KING JAMES VERSION, NOTE TAKER’S EDITION, and The KJV Store logo printed in gold. The spine includes 5 raised ribs. The ribs don’t flex like some of the other’s I’ve seen, but it still brings the text block upward when the Bible is opened, allowing the page the lay flat. The spine looks amazing with the lambskin.
It’s edge-lined with a synthetic liner and the binding is Smyth sewn. It had no trouble staying completely open in Genesis out of the box.
It includes black and gold head/tail bands and two black ribbons. The ribbons are thin and long. They’re easy to pull to the corner of a page to open the Bible. They’re thin enough that they don’t get in the way for reading or preaching. The overall size is 9.8 x 6.8 x 1.75″. It weighs 3 lbs, 3.8 oz. It’s about the size of a study Bible. This is an excellent size for laying on the table or in your lap for reading or study, and for preaching from the pulpit.
Paper
The paper is around 33+ gsm. It’s highly opaque and it’s ivory in color. It has a little bit of glare when used under a desk lamp, but I didn’t see any glare under natural or indirect light. It’s smoother to the touch than other Notetaker’s that I’ve seen. I had no trouble turning pages. I found it to be great for preaching and teaching, and for note-taking using Pigma Microns. The edges are a shiny gold-gilt.
It has 6 blank pages in the back that are labeled for notes. This is the same paper as the Bible pages. I’d love to see more pages (maybe a full section). I wouldn’t mind if a few were ruled. This would make it even better for study, teaching, and preaching. It has 2018 pages, and almost half of that space is blank. That’s a lot of sermon space!
Typography
The text is presented in a single column verse-by-verse with a 2.5″ outer margin for notes. The text and notes are separated by a verticle line. The header includes the book name and chapter number in the outer corner. Page numbers are placed in the footer under the separating line.
This is a large-print red-letter edition with an 11 point. The black letter is dark and consistent throughout the Bible. The red letter is medium in darkness. It has some slight variation, but it isn’t that noticeable. It isn’t enough to keep me from using it. Verses are indented and are easy to find. This is not a self-pronouncing edition, so the text is clean and readable. It does include italics for supplied words.
It has around 48 characters across with 10 words per line on average. This is the perfect word-count for me. I find this to be ideal for public reading. The text never feels cramped or crowded. It’s more likely to have extra spaces than not enough, but it never looks awkward. I don’t think it has line-matching on purpose, but many of the lines on both sides of the page match up. The paper is opaque enough that it doesn’t really have enough show-through to need line-matching.
To say this is a wide-margin edition would be an understatement. It has 2.5″ margins, making it one of the best Bibles for preaching, teaching, writing your own notes and insights, studies, cross-references, chain references, study systems, adding sermon outlines, journaling, etc. This is by far my favorite layout for wide margin Bibles. I find this text to be excellent for preaching or public reading.
The inner margin is .375″, which helps bring the text out of the gutter so it doesn’t get lost in the bend. The text stays on the flat part of the page and is easier to read. It has .5″ margins for the top and bottom, which is enough room for topics, definitions, page summaries, etc.
Other Pages
It also includes presentation and family pages in the front. They’re printed on thick, non-glossy, paper. Family pages include the family record of the husband and wife, children, marriages, grandchildren, and deaths. The deaths page has black and gold highlights, while the others have blue and gold highlights.
This edition also includes the Translators to the Reader and the Epistle Dedicatory to James. I’m glad they’ve included the Translators to the Reader. It’s an important document that should be read be every KJV reader, and anyone interested in Bible translation.
Maps
In the back are 15 full-color maps (the older Cambridge maps) printed on thick non-glossy paper. It does not include an index, but they are annotated. The annotations on the maps are bold and dark, but they can be a little difficult to read against the bold colors of the maps. They include cities, routes, Scripture references, distance, mountains, territorial expansions with dates, topography, kingdoms, battle sites, locations of events, addressees of Pauline epistles, etc.
Maps include:
- The Biblical World of the Patriarchs
- Palestine: Political Regions
- The Route of the Exodus
- The Twelve Tribes of Israel
- Kingdoms of Saul, David & Solomon
- The Divided Kingdom: Israel & Judah
- The Assyrian Empire
- The Babylonian Empire
- The Greek Empire
- Old Testament Jerusalem
- New Testament Jerusalem
- The Ministry of Jesus
- The Missionary Journeys of Paul
- The Spread of Christianity
- Modern Israel
Conclusion
I’ve seen several versions of the Notetaker’s and this one is by far my favorite (although I would love to have another look at the water buffalo from CBP, this lambskin does feel softer to the touch). The margins are great for sermon outlines or any kind of note you need space for. It does not include a concordance, so you’ll need other tools for study. There aren’t a lot of choices for large print wide margin editions. Most are journaling editions, which I like a lot, but none white paper or this much writing space. So, the Notetaker’s stands alone in a category by itself.
I’ve always seen the Notetakers is one of the best deals in Bibles and one of the best designs for note-taking, and The KJV Store Notetakers is as good as they come. This is an excellent Bible for any preacher, teacher, or anyone wanting a Bible they can study in, grow old with, create their own study Bible, and leave behind as a testimony to others.
For information about marking in your Bible, see my book Easy Bible Marking Guide.
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This book is available at
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The KJV Store 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.
Great review, as always, Randy! This Bible looks very similar to my Note Taker’s Bible from LCBP, except mine is in ironed calfskin and is black-letter. Everything else looks the same. The Note Taker’s Bible really is superb in every way!
Thanks Mike!
I purchased the Note Takers Bible about a month ago and paid the extra to get thumb indexes put on the Bible. When I received the Bible I was well pleased with the Bible itself. Very good quality and workmanship. I hope to get many years of good use out of this Bible in my ministry. It would have been nice to have a small concordance in the back. But that’s minor detail. Now, for my complaint………… whoever put the thumb indexes in my Bible must have been in training or having a bad day. They are very ragged and some of the pages were even slightly torn. I must say, after paying the price I paid and receiving such a good quality Bible, I was so very disappointed in the thumb indexes. Once I contacted the seller and sent them some photos of the damage, they said they would reimburse the cost of the thumb indexing of my Bible. So, if you’re gonna order a Note Takers Bible, I’d advise to just get the Bible without the thumb index being added. It’s too nice of a Bible to allow someone to do such damage to it.