Holy Bible Nelson Reference Edition

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Edition of the New King James Version
Review: If you are of the bi-focal age and looking for an easy to read format of the NKJV, without commentary and notes, this is the one you want. The format is the classic two-column format, rather than the book-style format, and the print is large enough to read without eye strain, yet not too large to be gaudy. The Center-Column Reference helps you locate passages with similar ideas or the exact ideas.

Rating:
Summary: NKJV easy to read
Review: Nelson does a good job with Bibles, and the NKJV is easy to understand. It is also useful as a reference tool to be used with the KJV.
The Bible is God's word. He has revealed His plan for His creation in it, and those who care about what is going to happen in the long run will be glad to read the Bible.

Rating:
Summary: NKJV easy to read
Review: Nelson does a good job with Bibles, and the NKJV is easy to understand. It is also useful as a reference tool to be used with the KJV.
The Bible is God's word. He has revealed His plan for His creation in it, and those who care about what is going to happen in the long run will be glad to read the Bible.

Rating:
Summary: Another Shlocky Item from Thomas Nelson
Review: Up until approximately ten years ago, Nelson Bibles were quality, and I am referring to their Leather-bound editions. They were Smyth-sewn/whipstitched, and would last for years. Unfortunately,except for their "Signature Series" Bibles, which are priced at $99 and more, Nelson Bibles, in my opinion, are the most inferior on todays market. They are all glue-bound, and have a limited life-expectancy. This is a prime example of it. The New King James translation is an excellent translation. Unfortunately, it is Nelson's house translation, and they charge unreal royalties to any other publishing house who wishes to use it.
If you wish to have a decently made, quality NKJV, seek out the offerings from Broadman/Holman. They will last.

Rating:
Summary: A very readable, accurate, and reliable Bible version
Review: When I first became a Christian I was reading the NIV, but upon comparing it to the word-for-word translation in an interlinear I realized that it was not that accurate. The reason for this is the NIV follows a "dynamic equivalence" (thought for thought) translation principle. So I changed to using the NASB, which follows a "formal equivalence" (word-for-word) principle. And the NASB did match up much better to the interlinear.

But then I began to investigate the issue of Greek text type. And my research convinced me that the Critical Text that the NIV and NASB are based on was less reliable than the Textus Receptus that the KJV and NKJV utilize. So I switched to the NKJV as my primary Bible, and have been using it as such for over a decade now.

Now I know there are many KJV-onlyists who consider the NKJV to be a "perversion" of the KJV. But I have taken the time to research their arguments and have found them to be faulty. I present my counter-arguments to the KJV-onlyists' arguments against the NKJV in much detail in the section on "KJV-onlyism" in my book Differences Between Bible Versions.

In my book I quote from numerous KJV-onlyist sources. I look at their arguments against the NKJV in general along with evaluating in detail their complaints on specific verses. And I conclude that yes, there are times the NKJV is not translated as accurately as it could be, but the same could be said for the KJV. And overall, both versions are very reliable.

But the big difference between these two versions is the KJV's use of Elizabethan English can make it very difficult to understand while the NKJV utilizes modern-day English and thus is relatively easy to read. And frankly I see no reason why I should struggle unnecessary with the KJV's archaic English when the NKJV is just as accurate while so much more readable.

To conclude, the NKJV is a very readable and accurate Bible version. One can read it with confidence that they are utilizing a reliable version of the Bible. If the reader wants even more confidence in this regard, then see my Bible versions book. Along with looking at the KJV and NKJV, my book also reviews over 30 other versions of the Bible.