My Bibles (and what I want in a new one)

 After sharing with you the saga of my Bible hunt, here is my post on the Bibles I already have. First, though, I want to tell you what I wrote to the people at Thomas Nelson (via Facebook). I am sure you will enjoy the giggle. I am surprised they were so nice and patient with me.

So, yeah, I might be asking a lot of a study Bible because they apparently don't make them the way they used to.

By the way, this will mainly be a photo post.

Anyway, Here is my KJV Study Bible from Thomas Nelson that I got back in 2004 and love, love, love for all the reasons listed in those messages. The biggest thing I can say is that everything in this Bible is just so extensive and detailed.

It's tri-tabbed (I guess that's what you call it when books are tabbed by 3's).

The TOC with my top faves marked:

The "How to Use" section breaks down what all the symbols and numbers mean. This is perfect for those of us who aren't used to using the center references or finding the markings on verses for the footnotes.

This is the only Bible I own (or have seen) that gives a list of the doctrinal footnotes. And the list is extensive. In addition to what's shown here, there's another page and a half. I look through some of these in between my Bible readings. 

This How-To section is 6 pages long and goes in-depth on studying by chapter or by book and even shows a way to conduct a family Bible study. Impressive and very, very helpful.

This is a section that is much like a "comfort" verse book. I have a purse-sized Bible Promise book that this reminds me of.

Keep in mind what I said about how extensive and detailed the features are. Almost every Bible I have seen has a sort of introduction to the different books. I feel like I am getting a short capsulized lesson on history and cultures when I read the ones in this Bible.

This is the outline for Genesis

I love the Psalms and I love how this shows in detail the sections of Psalms. There are almost 2 complete pages of this.

See what I mean? Even on the page introducing the New Testament, it's pointed out which of the apostles were Greek or Jewish and what their education and occupations were. It's the details, right?

 Okay, I could go on forever about that study Bible but let me tell you about these others. The NASB is considered to be a really good translation because it stays so true to the KJV. I have read in places that the NASB is actually equal to the NKJV but just lacks the poetics. I got this Bible in 2001 from a Christian bookstore in Anchorage that was the best ever. I hate that they ended up closing maybe 3 or 4 years (?) after I got this Bible.

It's got some good maps and timelines like this. They are starting to come loose from the binding. I will be trying to fix this with some hot glue. Maybe.

This one also does a good job of providing detailed footnotes. The print is not as dark and defined as in the KJV Bible but it's not bad.

As you can see, this one came without tabs of any kind and I had to put them in. 

Now, this Amplified Bible is the one I have had the longest - since 1998. I had a small KJV back then and I remember having so much trouble reading it. One of my friends told me about the Amplified version and gifted me with this copy. I don't know what happened to that KJV unless I re-gifted it to someone else. 

I should prepare you for this next photo. It was a long time ago and apparently, I didn't know nothing bout no tabs! I vaguely remember doing this using stuff from work. It didn't age well. The Bible is in decent shape but has a LOT of wear and tear.

This last Bible was a beautiful and thoughtful gift from my niece. She is artistic and I went through a stage of thinking I had talent. This is a 1-year Bible and that is the only way you can read it. The books are not in the normal order. I am not a fan of the NIV so I never use it. Still, it was from my God-child-niece so it will always be here.

Isn't it beautiful? It's even more vibrantly colored in person.

It does have some aids inside but since I never use it, that doesn't matter to me. I  do like making notes on the sides. I have considered getting a compact Bible with places for notetaking.

This truly is a Bible for an artistic person. Almost every page in it from front cover to back is meant to be colored and drawn on.

So there you have it. And now that you see my love for that old KJV Bible, I want to tell you something kind of funny about it. When I was looking for the same on but in NKJV, I was checking the copyrights and all the details. I learned that this was formerly published as "The Liberty Annotated Study Bible." 'Liberty' as in Jerry Falwell being listed as one of the contributing editors. It was published as "The Annotated Study Bible" and as you can see, it is in a cheaper, hardback version on Amazon. I was making a great salary back when I bought my KJV but I know that I didn't pay more than $40 or $45 for it (which would now be about 100 bucks, I suppose...).

No matter what you might or might not think when you hear the Falwell name, this Bible is the one to have. If I were you, finances allowed, I would snap one up. I understand that they are no longer in print. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing the different Bibles I have and understand what I am looking for in the NKJV now. 

Peace

--Free