Let's discuss study bibles (and other KJV Bibles)

[Jordan Kurecki 668]

So I am somewhat of a Bible collector and fanatic, I love all the different cover materials and leathers, all the different formats such as font sizes, wide margin, study materials, etc and I have amassed a wealth of knowledge relating to Bibles from all different publishers and styles. So let's talk about Bibles! 

I have had many study bibles over the years and I wanted to discuss some of them, what is your favorite? what do you like to use and why? 

Right now I am using a thumb indexed Holman wide margin minister's Bible that I had rebound in a saddle tan goatskin (I had all of the "minister helps" removed :) , it has 11 point font and it is really an awesome size because the paper is really thin. I would post pictures if anyone is interested in seeing it. 

I love writing and taking notes in my bibles! 

I have been looking at using one of Nelson's King James Study Bible, which use to be called the Liberty Annotated study bible, they just published a full color edition in really nice cowhide, I skimmed and looked at one of the older editions and I was actually impressed with the study notes that it had and actually found them helpful. From what I can tell the notes are from a pre trib, dispensational, conservative, fundamentalist perspective. 

One other bible I use to own was a KJV Key Word Study Bible, it had a lot of the words in the text coded to strong's numbering system, and the back of it contained an expanded Hebrew and Greek dictionary that matched Strongs Numbering system, the NT also had a lot of coding in the text indicating Greek grammatical structures. The bible also has some comments in it from a dispensational viewpoint, but some of the notes are critical of the KJV translation. I would however recommend this bible to people for serious study.

I owned a Thompson Chain, and I have mixed feelings about it, I like how much it helps with topical study, but I found myself constantly wanting to stray away from whatever passage I was reading at the time and I felt like it was almost distracting to me. I also would recommend the Thompson to people for serious study.

I have never been all that impressed with the Scofield bible, I just never was impressed with the study notes, I did remember liking that it has some markings for the year on the top of each page in the margins. Of course the Scofield bible teaches the Gap theory and other things. Plus I hate the font style of the Scofield bible, way to bold and awkward an old fashioned looking for my tastes. Personally I would not recommend the Scofield bible because I think there are better bibles out there.

I use to own a Rock of Ages Bible published by the Rock of Ages prison ministry, but again I was not very impressed with the study notes, so I probably would not recommend it for the same reason as the Scofield.

I use to own a Defined King James Bible as well, this bible has all of the uncommon, archaic, and rare english words defined in footnotes at the bottom of the text, I did not use this bible much when I had it, even though in my early years I really probably should have. This is a great bible if you have problems understanding a lot of the words in the KJV, I don't use it because I tend to do more looking at Hebrew and Greek lexicons and stuff like that, but this is a great bible for your average church member and is a GREAT gift for new believers, and for younger folks also. 

I have also had a Ryrie Study bible, but I was seriously not impressed with the study notes, they were accurate and made sense, but they just felt so basic that for me they seemed useless in a sense. so I would not recommend the Ryrie study bible.

I have not owned the following bibles, but have looked into them

the Common Man's reference bible, I highly do not recommend this bible, this bible uses some really fault and bad logic to defend the KJV, and the notes have a horrible spirit about them coming across as very critical, I think it is very likely that this bible was put together by a Ruckmanite.

KJV Holman Study Bible, Holman is a Southern Baptist publishing house, this bible is decent from what I have seen of it, but I don't think they take a very strong position on certain doctrines, they prefer to lay out the different thoughts and ideas about controversial topics. The notes probably are decent and evangelical. 

KJV Henry Morris Study bible, This bible has tons of creationist notes in it, I have not looked into this bible a lot, but it would probably be good for someone who is wanting to build their confidence and trust in the bible or if you are interested in apologetics.

Matthew Henry Study Bible, Matthew Henry was a Presbyterian minister famous for his commentary on the bible, someone took a bunch of quotes from him and added them to to the bible to create this study bible, Matthew Henry's commentaries are superb and have a distinct devotional feel to them, he really had a way of drawing out spiritual principles from the bible and he was very spiritually minded. I use to not like him because he was Presbyterian but I have grown to love him the more I consult his commentaries.

A.W. Tozer Study bible, Tozer was a minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and like Matthew Henry someone took a bunch of quotes by him and put them into a bible, he was also very devotional in his writings. I don't remember much of the content of this study bible but I owned it for a short time.

So.. what study bibles have you had/owned? What Bible do you use and why? (Not talking about translation) 

What do you recommend and why? Let's talk about Bibles  

Also if you have any questions about a particular bible with particular features ask me, if one exists I will know about it and I love passing my knowledge on to others  

 

 

 

[Brother D 0]

Even though I have some study Bibles, including the KJV Henry Morris Study Bible and the Matthew Henry Study Bible, I'm not a big fan of "study" Bibles.   I prefer to a simple KJV Bible and to get on line to look things up to study the Bible.

[Jordan Kurecki 668]

I actually have been using the King James Study bible in full color from Nelson; previously it was called the Liberty Annotated Study Bible. I really love it and of all the Study bibles I have used I have found it most helpful. The center column margins have a lot of alternative translations of words/definitions of words/literal translations/etc and I have found them extremely helpful, the notes are also pretty fundamental and helpful, not that I agree with everything they say..but the KJV study bible from Nelson is a whole lot better than say a Scofield or Ryrie in my opinion. I know some people don’t like study bibles and that’s ok, just realize it’s not a whole different than hearing your Pastor teach on a specific verse, I understand that the word of God is the final authority, but let’s face it, we don’t understand bible culture as well as others and we can benefit greatly from men of God who have gone before us and spend years studying, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

[Pilgrim2 0]

I have been reading this Bible (KJ Study Bible) on my Kindle. It works quite well for my morning reading. The notes are there if I want them (as popups). The doctrinal notes are sound and not intrusive. I have a preference for reading electronic Bibles as I can adjust the font size. I do like Bible marking and use wide margin plain Bibles for that. We are blessed to live in a time with so many options -- KJV that is.  I may go for a Holman wide margin. I have not actually seen one of these, but the description sounds like something I would use.

[TX.I.F.B. 0]

I have many different study bibles that I've used over the years.  My two favorites are the A.W. Tozer (KJV) bible because I love the way he put things, and my daily and church bible... my Ryrie (KJV) bible.  I do have a Reese (KJV) chronological study bible that is alright.  I also use a Scofield (KJV) study bible from time to time.  But I have to admit...my go to study tool is a program you can download to your pc called E-Sword.  It has so many different tools inside the program (for free) such as concordances, dictionaries, commentaries, etc, etc. 

[swathdiver 1,759]

I stick with just the Words of the Lord between the leather.  Commentaries and such are helpful and appreciated but I do not want to begin confusing the Word of God with the words of man between the pages of my bible.  This happened to me as a babe in Christ with my first bible.

[Jordan Kurecki 668]

Just stumbled upon this, it looks very interesting:

 

https://www.christianbook.com/kjv-apologetics-black-leathertouch-imitation-leather/9781535934749/pd/934749?en=google&event=SHOP&kw=preorder-40-60|934749&p=1179710&dv=m&gclid=CjwKCAjwtIXbBRBhEiwAWV-5nnA3vMkenTeOmKR-eBi-59y1kZRB70hhB-SyQLbWq3VP5cHB6alTRhoCZNwQAvD_BwE

https://www.christianbook.com/kjv-spurgeon-bible-leather-black-brown/9781586409739/pd/409739?event=ESRCG

 

Holman will be releasing a Charles Spurgeon Study Bible. 

[*Light* 338]

I still use my KJV Bible that I've received over 20 years ago and it's still in almost mint condition. The amazing pliability and durability of it is beyond any other bible that I've seen and felt.

[Jordan Kurecki 668]

7 hours ago, (Omega) said:

I still use my KJV Bible that I've received over 20 years ago and it's still in almost mint condition. The amazing pliability and durability of it is beyond any other bible that I've seen and felt.

You haven’t had that rebound? Im astonished a cover could look like that after 20 years...

 

or do you not actually read read your Bible

Edited October 20, 2018 by Jordan Kurecki

[*Light* 338]

Lol, Jordan! I am astounded myself to tell you the truth. I have read that Bible countless times and for some reason it remains in the same condition. I guess I'm just extremely gentle when handling the word of God (literally and figuratively).

[Jordan Kurecki 668]

14 hours ago, (Omega) said:

Lol, Jordan! I am astounded myself to tell you the truth. I have read that Bible countless times and for some reason it remains in the same condition. I guess I'm just extremely gentle when handling the word of God (literally and figuratively).

Do you not take it anywhere? I could see a bible like that lasting if it’s only used at home. I will use one bible for everything from preaching, teaching, door to door, church, at home studying, etc. so my bible accumulates wear. 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Jordan Kurecki

[*Light* 338]

9 hours ago, Jordan Kurecki said:

Do you not take it anywhere? I could see a bible like that lasting if it’s only used at home. I will use one bible for everything from preaching, teaching, door to door, church, at home studying, etc. so my bible accumulates wear. 

I have several KJV bibles and do not always take that particular bible to church. There are two bibles that I would often use for in-depth study, and the bible displayed in my post is normally used in group bible studies. As I said before . . . I am just an extremely gentle person when it comes to handling things . . . maybe it's an obsession that I have in keeping things perserved as best as possible. You can come into my home now, and return a month later, and it will seem almost indentical as it were last month. That's just me! In addition to that: this bible is by far the most durable bible I have seen and handled yet. 

God Bless!

[DaChaser 17]

On 5/17/2018 at 5:13 PM, Jordan Kurecki said:

So I am somewhat of a Bible collector and fanatic, I love all the different cover materials and leathers, all the different formats such as font sizes, wide margin, study materials, etc and I have amassed a wealth of knowledge relating to Bibles from all different publishers and styles. So let's talk about Bibles! 

I have had many study bibles over the years and I wanted to discuss some of them, what is your favorite? what do you like to use and why? 

Right now I am using a thumb indexed Holman wide margin minister's Bible that I had rebound in a saddle tan goatskin (I had all of the "minister helps" removed , it has 11 point font and it is really an awesome size because the paper is really thin. I would post pictures if anyone is interested in seeing it. 

I love writing and taking notes in my bibles! 

I have been looking at using one of Nelson's King James Study Bible, which use to be called the Liberty Annotated study bible, they just published a full color edition in really nice cowhide, I skimmed and looked at one of the older editions and I was actually impressed with the study notes that it had and actually found them helpful. From what I can tell the notes are from a pre trib, dispensational, conservative, fundamentalist perspective. 

One other bible I use to own was a KJV Key Word Study Bible, it had a lot of the words in the text coded to strong's numbering system, and the back of it contained an expanded Hebrew and Greek dictionary that matched Strongs Numbering system, the NT also had a lot of coding in the text indicating Greek grammatical structures. The bible also has some comments in it from a dispensational viewpoint, but some of the notes are critical of the KJV translation. I would however recommend this bible to people for serious study.

I owned a Thompson Chain, and I have mixed feelings about it, I like how much it helps with topical study, but I found myself constantly wanting to stray away from whatever passage I was reading at the time and I felt like it was almost distracting to me. I also would recommend the Thompson to people for serious study.

I have never been all that impressed with the Scofield bible, I just never was impressed with the study notes, I did remember liking that it has some markings for the year on the top of each page in the margins. Of course the Scofield bible teaches the Gap theory and other things. Plus I hate the font style of the Scofield bible, way to bold and awkward an old fashioned looking for my tastes. Personally I would not recommend the Scofield bible because I think there are better bibles out there.

I use to own a Rock of Ages Bible published by the Rock of Ages prison ministry, but again I was not very impressed with the study notes, so I probably would not recommend it for the same reason as the Scofield.

I use to own a Defined King James Bible as well, this bible has all of the uncommon, archaic, and rare english words defined in footnotes at the bottom of the text, I did not use this bible much when I had it, even though in my early years I really probably should have. This is a great bible if you have problems understanding a lot of the words in the KJV, I don't use it because I tend to do more looking at Hebrew and Greek lexicons and stuff like that, but this is a great bible for your average church member and is a GREAT gift for new believers, and for younger folks also. 

I have also had a Ryrie Study bible, but I was seriously not impressed with the study notes, they were accurate and made sense, but they just felt so basic that for me they seemed useless in a sense. so I would not recommend the Ryrie study bible.

I have not owned the following bibles, but have looked into them

the Common Man's reference bible, I highly do not recommend this bible, this bible uses some really fault and bad logic to defend the KJV, and the notes have a horrible spirit about them coming across as very critical, I think it is very likely that this bible was put together by a Ruckmanite.

KJV Holman Study Bible, Holman is a Southern Baptist publishing house, this bible is decent from what I have seen of it, but I don't think they take a very strong position on certain doctrines, they prefer to lay out the different thoughts and ideas about controversial topics. The notes probably are decent and evangelical. 

KJV Henry Morris Study bible, This bible has tons of creationist notes in it, I have not looked into this bible a lot, but it would probably be good for someone who is wanting to build their confidence and trust in the bible or if you are interested in apologetics.

Matthew Henry Study Bible, Matthew Henry was a Presbyterian minister famous for his commentary on the bible, someone took a bunch of quotes from him and added them to to the bible to create this study bible, Matthew Henry's commentaries are superb and have a distinct devotional feel to them, he really had a way of drawing out spiritual principles from the bible and he was very spiritually minded. I use to not like him because he was Presbyterian but I have grown to love him the more I consult his commentaries.

A.W. Tozer Study bible, Tozer was a minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and like Matthew Henry someone took a bunch of quotes by him and put them into a bible, he was also very devotional in his writings. I don't remember much of the content of this study bible but I owned it for a short time.

So.. what study bibles have you had/owned? What Bible do you use and why? (Not talking about translation) 

What do you recommend and why? Let's talk about Bibles  

Also if you have any questions about a particular bible with particular features ask me, if one exists I will know about it and I love passing my knowledge on to others  

 

 

 

Church Publishers out of lansing Mi does excellent work if you prefer the Kjv!

[DaChaser 17]

6 minutes ago, DaChaser said:

Church Publishers out of lansing Mi does excellent work if you prefer the Kjv!

 

[PastorMatt 1,094]

25 minutes ago, DaChaser said:

Church Publishers out of lansing Mi does excellent work if you prefer the Kjv!

It's not a preference, it's a conviction. 

[DaChaser 17]

3 hours ago, PastorMatt said:

It's not a preference, it's a conviction. 

many other Christians would say the same about their personal favorite translation!

[Ukulelemike 3,804]

My preference, and my wife's, (another odd thing we found in common when we met), was the New Open Bible in, of course, KJV. It had an amazing amount of great study items, just chock full of good information. The notes were so-so, and I learned quickly not to take too much stock in them, though some were alright. But things like weights and measures, history, a section on bible-related archaeology, an into to each book on the time, author and themes of each book, as well as what was happening historically at the time of writing, all very interesting and informative. 

Weirdly, it just stopped being printed. You can get the Open Bible, but to find a New Open Bible, which had a lot more in it, it's either going to be used, and very expensive, or new and VERY expensive. Occasionally I find one, but it's rare. Mine got worn out, and honestly I can't afford to have it rebound, so it is in the shelf, lest I lose pages, and I use a simple Church-printed, wide-margin Bible with only text. 

[PastorMatt 1,094]

2 hours ago, DaChaser said:

many other Christians would say the same about their personal favorite translation!

Maybe it's regional. I have yet to meet anyone that uses the NIV, ESV, NWT and other versions as a conviction. The words used are "I prefer to use this translation".

[DaChaser 17]

1 hour ago, PastorMatt said:

Maybe it's regional. I have yet to meet anyone that uses the NIV, ESV, NWT and other versions as a conviction. The words used are "I prefer to use this translation".

There are Nas conviction, as I am one of them!

[SureWord 201]

I presently own or have owned Thompson Chain, Scofield, Companion, Common Man's, Ruckman's, New Defenders, Reese Chronological, and was able to borrow for extended periods of time Ryrie, John R. Rice, Rainbow and Open Bible. I never owned a Rock of Ages but I did borrow a New Pilgrim's which I've been told is the same study bible. There's a few others I'd like to check out but my favorite is the Common Man's not so much for the notes but because the bible is loaded with references. I would like to pick up a Dake's Annotated. I know it's charismatic but from what I've briefly seen thumbing through it has some good stuff in it. Also, the Subject Bible looks interesting.

Edited September 10, 2020 by SureWord

[Jordan Kurecki 668]

This is an old thread, but I would like to add to it. 

I now have switched to a Ryrie Study Bible.

I love the layout. The Ryrie has it's cross references in the outer margins rather than a center column and let me tell you it is very nice on the eyes and is very aesthetically pleasing. It also has wider margins and plenty of room for taking notes (Which Mr. Ryrie in the introduction encourages you to do.)

Ryrie's notes are not super in depth but they are often very helpful. I ignore him when he comments about textual issues and criticizes the KJV's readings such as the longer ending of Mark 16 and the comma in 1 John 5:7. 

There are well written outlines for each book and the points and subpoints of the outline are found throughout the text which makes it easier to see and remember the progressions of each book, they also are well alliterated and could be helpful in preaching and teaching outlines. 

Ryrie was evangelical, fundamental, and dispensational in his theology and his study bible has an excellent systematic theology outline. I suspect that the outline is the same outline Ryrie uses in his full length systematic theology, it is really helpful and has some really great thoughts and I am certain I will make use of it in future teaching and preaching. And Ryrie happens to view the requirements for salvation similar to myself (He rejects Lordship Salvation)

Some have aversions to study bible's but I truly am thankful for this gem that I have found and wish I had gotten one sooner. I highly recommend the Ryrie Study Bible for anyone wanting to study the word of God. 

Edited January 16 by Jordan Kurecki

[1Timothy115 897]

O.K. Here are pics of my older one, Cambridge wide margin, I bought it in Va. Bch. while attending Tabernacle Baptist Church in Va. Bch., Va. in about 1983. I bought my most recent from Local Church Bible Publishers located in Lansing, MI and the inside is a page by page copy of my Cambridge, exception being the inclusion of the translators preface and the dedicatory of the 1611. Otherwise even the page numbers for the books of the Bible are the same and also has wide margin. I prefer a wide margin for notes. I also prefer not to have study or notes of others, just the KJV. I've seen others lean too heavily on the study notes. 

[Jordan Kurecki 668]

2 hours ago, 1Timothy115 said:

O.K. Here are pics of my older one, Cambridge wide margin, I bought it in Va. Bch. while attending Tabernacle Baptist Church in Va. Bch., Va. in about 1983. I bought my most recent from Local Church Bible Publishers located in Lansing, MI and the inside is a page by page copy of my Cambridge, exception being the inclusion of the translators preface and the dedicatory of the 1611. Otherwise even the page numbers for the books of the Bible are the same and also has wide margin. I prefer a wide margin for notes. I also prefer not to have study or notes of others, just the KJV. I've seen others lean too heavily on the study notes. 

I also am a fan of wide margins bibles. I write extensively in my Bible with exegetical and theological notations. 

Edited January 20 by Jordan Kurecki

[1Timothy115 897]

3 minutes ago, Jordan Kurecki said:

I also am a fan of wide margins bibles. I wrote extensively in my Bible with exegetical and theological notations. 

I've written extensively in mine too. Sometimes the things the Holy Spirit revealed to me. I woulld like to get my old cambridge rebound some day.