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  NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible (Zondervan) Stock photo This big guy has been with me for close to 20 years now.  I had the NKJV New Geneva Study Bible and saw this revision in the NIV, which was my church's primary translation at the time. It’s pretty basic as far as physical features go. Hardcover is glued. Print is kinda small. But brother does the content make up for the form. Today I’m reviewing the gem that is the NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible . Zondervan released this volume in the early 2000’s as a revision of the original NKJV New Geneva / Reformation Study Bible (which itself has since been revised and is available in the ESV and NKJV). Zondervan used its flagship NIV translation (1984 edition), which was a standard among many Reformed churches at the time. Back cover description:  The NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible provides a theological conservative, balanced system of notes and articles that trace the Reformed Chr...

Dugan KJV Giant Print Bible As I write this it’s Father’s Day. And my dad’s (until recently) primary Bible is an out of print gem (for the most part) that is surprisingly still holding up well after 30 years.   Dugan was a Bible publisher active in the 80s and 90s, often available at the local Christian bookstore and even at Sam’s.  They shut down and their Bibles are out of print, but it’s not too difficult to get ahold of one on eBay or AbeBooks. This is a giant print KJV with attractive text and surprisingly sturdy binding for what you get. It’s w 30 years and - even if you have an well worn copy, it’s probably a great candidate for a rebind. These were published from the mid 1980’s to the mid 1990’s. Price - You’ll pay $20 or so on eBay for the imitation leather (which is a glorified paperback). There are hardcover and “genuine bonded leather” editions that will cost more. Size & Font - 9” x 6” x 2” - it’s big and is on the north end of a decent church Bi...

Oxford New Garnet KJV Bible I checked this out from the library. I’m very impressed and sad this one isn’t readily available anymore. Many compact Bibles either have really tiny print (as can be expected) or narrow,  stretched “large print.” It’s rare to find a compact with readable print and when you read this one you think “yep, name checks out.”  This definitely fits that bill to a T. Best as I can tell this was published in the 1940s or 1950s. Price - You’ll pay $10 or more on eBay for this little volume, if in good shape perhaps much more. Size & Font - 7.25” by 5.25” - its footprint is small but the print is extremely readable. Ghosting is practically non existent on this good old high quality paper. The print is not bold or dark but eminently readable and is quite attractive.  Text is 9.5-10 point and is very easy on the eyes (looks bigger). This is a black letter volume, which I prefer.  There are almost 1400 pages and the volume is about 1 3/4 inches thi...

King James Version Large Print Pew Bible (Thomas Nelson) I had the chance to check this volume out from the public library. Pew Bibles used to be hardcover yet somewhat cheap. This one is hardcover, and is inexpensive but cheap it ain’t!  The size is excellent; it is easy to carry and store. It’s not too thick, too small, or too big. The print is wonderful! Nelson has really hit it out of the park with their Comfort Print fonts, and their KJV offering is perhaps the best of the lot. It is bold and easy to see but - unlike some older large or giant print Bibles, it is not stretched in any way. Did I mention it is Large Print? As in 12 point Large Print? My aging eyes don’t need reading glasses to read this one; indeed, I could read this with glasses at all! I’m not a big red letter fan (“I like Bibles where all God’s words are black  letter”) but this one is fairly dark, brownish red which is much better. Iv would think this has less a chance to fade with time. Not on...

NKJV Comfort Print Reference Bible, Personal Size Giant Print I picked this up because I’ve been doing a read-through of the NKJV, which is already one of my favorite translations. I researched different options and decided to go with this one due to its low price, sturdy build, and larger print size.  This is so much more Bible than the price or size would seem to indicate. (I will not make any critiques of the NKJV translation itself; you can see my Bible translation guide elsewhere on this blog.) Price - I found mine at Hobby Lobby for $12.  Retail price is around $20-$25. Size & Font - 5.5” by 8.5”, but it’s extremely readable, minimal ghosting, dark print (even the red letter which I’m not too fond of on principle).  The letters aren’t elongated and it lives up to the name of “comfort print.”  (Text is 11.5 point and is very easy on the eyes). The red letter (which I’m not fond of) is dark, so hopefully it won’t fade too bad over time.  There...

The Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version (Text Edition) Oxford University Press Time for another review of a Bible that has blessed me.  This is the NRSV text Bible published by Oxford University Press. If you don't want a Bible with a bunch of bells, whistles, or extemporaneous material this is a great choice.  It is the perfect medium size for carrying, first of all.  Not too heavy, but not so small either. The font is the wonderful Oxford font found in the 2nd edition of the New Oxford Annotated Bible reviewed earlier.  The text itself is 9-point so still very essay to see, but reads big.   The ghosting is minimal in the older printings and it is really a joy to read. There are two editions -  Protestant canon w/ standard 66 books Edition with Old Testament apocryphal books, including books used by the Roman Catholic and Greek & Russian Orthodox churches There are no in-text subject headings (only at the top of the page), no book introductions, n...