NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition Review: An Honest Look

In today’s world, Christians have an abundance of resources when it comes to studying the Bible. One of those key resources is a study Bible. Given that the NIV is one of the best selling translations on the market, the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition is worth an honest look to see if it’s right for you.

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Pros	Cons
-Accurate and Readable Translation -Color Maps, Charts, Illustrations -Informative, Helpful Notes	-Bulky -Construction Quality and Binding -Poor Digital Version

Key Takeaways: The NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition is an excellent Bible with detailed notes that provide readers with a look at the historical, cultural, and literary context of the Bible. However, its big size and questionable binding can make it a challenge to carry. That said, this Bible is worth the money.

Who Should Buy It: The NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition is great for beginners in Bible study, new and old Christians alike. It is ideal as a first study Bible for anyone wanting to grow in knowledge and understanding of God and His word.

Feature Overview

The NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition hosts a number of great features including,

• 21,000+ Study Notes
• 125+ Articles
• 400 Full Color Maps, Illustrations, Charts
• Cross References
• Concordance
• Ribbon Markers
• Topical Index
• Notes Index

These features are typical of what you would find in a Study Bible, but what stands out with them in regards to the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition, is the color. All the color and illustrations make reading and studying the Bible enjoyable.

One unique thing that I want to point out in the NIV Study Bible is the use of icons in the study notes. There are three icons the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition uses they are,

• A Trowel
• A Seedling
• A Character Symbol

Each of these icons help guide readers to archeological, practical, and biographical information easily in the study notes.

Product Details

The following chart provides the product details for the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition from the Publisher’s website.

Details:	From Website
Translation:	New International Version (NIV)
Format:	LeatherSoft
Weight:	3.5+ lbs
Size:	6.5 x 9.5
Pages:	2,512
Font:	9 pt.
Page Layout:	Two-column

Study Notes

The NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition boasts an incredible 21,000+ study notes from a committee of top evangelical Bible scholars. This makes the study notes of the NIV Study Bible an invaluable tool for BIble study. These notes will,

• explain important words or concepts
• interpret difficult verses
• draw parallels between specific people and events
• describe historical and cultural context
• Demonstrates how one passage sheds light on another

Personally, I found the NIV Study notes to be informative, accurate, and clear. They provided a balance giving just the right amount of information without being to much. For example, when the Pharisses told John the Baptist that they have Abraham as their father, the study note reads,

“We have Abraham as our father. See Jn 8:39. Salvation does not come as a birthright (even for the Jews) but through faith in Christ.. children for Abraham. The true people of God are not limited to the physical descendants of Abraham, as Matthew highlights elsewhere (1:3,5,6; 8:5–13; 15:21–28; 28:19–20; cf. Ro 9:6–8 and notes).”

NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition

You can see from this example, just how clear and informative the study notes are. They also provide ample cross-references to support their notes.

Another thing to note regarding the study notes is that the new committee of top biblical scholars and NIV translators have poured over every single note, article, chart, and essay to refine and update this Study Bible. That’s why its called the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition.

They spent years revising and updating every single note not only to add historical, cultural, and thematic insights not in the previous edition, but also to ensure clarity of thought.

Font and Page Quality

One of the most important things, other than the study notes, of a study Bible is the font size and quality of the pages. Below you will see a chart where I calculated the font size of the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edtition and compared it to the publisher’s website.

	Advertised	Calculated
Biblical Text	9 pt.	8.5 pt.
Study Notes	Not mentioned	6.7 pt.

As you can see from this chart the calculated font size is close to what is advertised on the publisher’s website. The font size of the study notes are smaller than that of the Biblical text.

The discrepancy for the font size could be either a slight printing issue or a miscalculation on my part. Overall though, the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition is easy to read.

Page Quality

The pages of the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition are thin and you can see through them. This is typical of Bibles and Study Bibles alike. That said, the bleed through is minimal and the text on the other side of the page is not distracting when reading the Bible.

The texture of the pages are such that they are easy to grab and flip through.

Overall, the page quality is comparable to other Study Bibles. The NIV Comfort Print Typeface and page quality make the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition quite enjoyable to read.

Articles

The NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition boasts an amazing 125+ articles, including over 100 new articles not found in the previous version. That said, they are typically 1/2 page or less in length.

The quality of the articles in the NIV Study Bible is superb. They are beautifully written, clear, and concise. The authors are able to take complex ideas and explain them in highly understandable ways. They do an amazing job providing additional information.

In my opinion, other than the use of colors throughout the pages, it is these articles that make the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition stand out. They pack more in their short length then some do in multiple pages.

Book Introductions

Like everything else in the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition the book introductions have been completely revised. They, too, are insightful.

Book Introductions typically cover basic information about the book such as: author, date of writing, theological themes, message, and a timeline. These introductions are beautifully laid out with the timeline in a chart, and a Quick Look box that makes Bible study easier.

This quick look box provides basic information and summarizes the 2 page introduction. It answers the Bible study questions like: Who, what, when, where, and why of a particular book.

What I also like about the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Editon are the Section Introductions. Each section of the Bible (The Five Books of Moses, for example) has a separate introduction.

These section introductions will have a couple of paragraphs introducing the books of the section and list what page numbers the books are on. Plus the full page background pictures make them stunning to look at.

Handling and Portability

All the amazing features and colors aside, a Study Bible is only good if it can stand up to wear and tear and daily use.

 Because the NIV Study Bible and the NASB Study Bible have the same publisher, the page quality of the two study Bible will be similar.

That means that with continual use you can notice slight wrinkles in the pages of the NIV Study Bible. That’s to be expected. And honestly, despite the wrinkles, the page doesn’t appear to weaken.

That said, the quality of the binding could be better. If you were to look at a lot of reviews online, many will mention the poor quality of the binding. This is especially the case with the Hardcover Edition.

Typically, I would choose to go with a hardcover edition for a study Bible, but after reading numerous reviews, I would prefer a Leathersoft edition.

Portability

The NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition is one thick Bible. It’s a good 2 and a quarter inches thick. Now, this is getting to be normal in Study Bibles these days. But it still has the bulkiness that makes it a challenge to want to carry around.

Not only is it bulky, its heavy. While the personal edition weighs 3.5 lbs. That’s how much most regular sized Study Bibles way. If you were to look at a regular size NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition it could weigh as much as 4.3. lbs. That’s a lot to carry around.

Overall, the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition is a great Study Bible that will see a lot of use, but it’s not ideal for everyone. So, be sure and check out this article where I compare the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition to other Study Bibles.