Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good; well ahead of the competition.
Review: The NISB succeeds where other study bibles fail (see my review of the New Oxford Annotated Bible, 3rd ed.), because the editors have wisely chosen to limit its focus. The introduction states that the chief objective is "to make biblical and theological scholarship readily available to those engaged in preaching and teaching in the ecumenical church." That's a much narrower focus than most study bibles, which attempt to balance the needs of a wide spectrum of readers. The broad emphasis of the NISB tends to be more theological and exegetical, than explanatory or expository. As a result, it's a useful resource for its target audience - but probably less useful for more general readers or students. As a pastor, I find it sufficient for my needs, and it has become my study bible of choice. The overall thrust is deliberately ecumenical, and reflects current critical and theological scholarship. Some readers will doubtless label it "liberal" - oooo, the bogeyman! There's a glut of study bibles out there, and thoughtful readers will want more than one (I use the NIV Study Bible for a conservative perspective, and for its outstanding reference features - the best I've seen anywhere). Anyone with the capacity for rational thought will find commentary in the NISB with which they'll disagree; if that's threatening to you, then buy something else. For example, this card-carrying liberal believes that Jesus is indeed the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through him. The commentary at John 14:6, however, provides me with little useful guidance for the "other-faiths" question. But - it makes me think. That's the main strength of the NISB: it provokes thought, and it asks and encourages good questions. Anyone looking for authoritative answers won't find them here. [begin rant] The world would be an infinitely better place if leaders, authors and publishers would encourage and expect people to ASK QUESTIONS and THINK FOR THEMSELVES [end rant]. Like many other things in this world, a good study bible is an excellent servant, but a poor master. Particularly interesting are the many "excursuses" scattered throughout. These notes pursue a single theme - Holy War (in Joshua), or Household Codes (Ephesians). They vary in length from a few sentences to more than a page, and often address questions I haven't thought to ask - which is precisely why they're helpful. My major complaint: the Apocrypha, 400 pages, more than one-sixth of the whole book. I don't use it, I don't want it, and I don't like turning to where Luke should be and finding Third Maccabees. They should publish the Apocrypha in a separate volume, and make this a thinner, less expensive book - or perhaps devote a fraction of that space to in-text maps, or even a center-column cross-reference apparatus. Minor, curmudgeonly complaints: 1) Every single book introduction ends with an identical two-line statement, that the study notes are based on the outline in the introduction. This is a perfectly valid editorial policy, but a) So what? and, b) Stating it once in the general introduction, rather than 84 separate times, would shorten an already too-large book by two or three pages and would, over the course of a long press life, save a few trees from being chopped down. At least the twelve huge volumes of the NIB are printed on recycled paper. 2) Suggestion for the copy editor: use spellcheck before you copy-and-paste. "Baased" should be "based" (pp. 1802, 1849, 1906...). Like, duh! 3) The print quality, at least in the leather edition, is uneven - a few pages are printed too lightly. Abingdon is, of course, branding the New Interpreter's label on a variety of products. I'm impressed with those I've seen - the flagship NIB is superb, and the new Pastor's Bible Study looks promising. Kudos to Abingdon - may they keep up the good work. If they call me, I'll tell them exactly what I want in the second edition!
Rating: 
Summary: A DISAPPOINTMENT
Review: The notes for the various books in this Bible are by 62 different scholars, ranging from conservative to skeptical. At John 14.6 ("No one comes to the Father except through me.") we learn that this text "celebrates how Jesus reveals God for those in this particular faith community and is not a statement about the relative worth of the world's religions." A note on the parable of judgment in Matthew 25 informs us that this parable is at odds with the acknowledgment of God's inclusive mercy in Matthew 5. Some of the books are well-served by their annotators.
Old Testament passages quoted in the New are seldom noted in the Old Testament and sometimes overlooked in the New.
This would be a good Bible for someone who is interested only in literary and historical aspects of the Bible. I regret I bought it.
Rating: 
Summary: The study Bible I'll use most
Review: There's a great deal to love about this new study Bible:
* A huge amount of scholarly study notes, not the same old "life application" junk you find in many Bibles
* New maps created just for this Bible
* A glossary of unusual terms
* Tremendous introductions to each book, along with a great section of information about biblical interpretation The one and only complaint is that they did not include any concordance, but often these aren't well done anyway. I'll survive! I have many other study Bibles - Harper Collins, New Oxford Annotated, NIV Study Bible, etc., and I'm a great fan of this one (and of the larger New Interpreters Bible series.)
Rating:
Summary: WOrth Every Penny AND A QUESTION
Review: This is a wonderful study Bible. In theological college we used the OAB in the RSV. When the NRSV was published I bought a NAOB and loved it, even convincing 2 lay people in my Bible Study to buy one. This is a great bible and has much more info than the NAOB with very helpful notes. What I want to know is how useful the CD ROM version is and is it versatile like Quick Verse with the critical scholarship of the NISB . If so I will buy that too? Too bad Amazon does not give a review of the CD Rom 's capabilities
Rating:
Summary: Thought I had the best but now found something better.
Review: This new version of scripture and ensuing notes have me very interested, again, to read over the bible. I really appreciated the inclusion of the Apocryphal/Deut...portion because it included the orthodox books also. I do realize that the conservatives will argue it was too liberal and the liberals will say it did not go far enough but for the bulk of us who sit in the middle I'm sure I can say it is well done. Yes, a few type holes exist etc., but nothing is perfect.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to use, can't install on hard drive
Review: While the New Interpreter's Study Bible in hardcover is actually a pretty good study Bible, this CD-ROM version is a pain to use. The interface is clunky, there is little documentation included with the software, and you can't install the whole program on your computer's hard drive - so every time you want to use it, you'll need to hunt up the CD and put it physically in your CD drive. With only the New Revised Standard and King James versions to compare, you might as well face the fact that this is a one-version, very limited Bible study software. Having the dictionary included is not much of an incentive. If you want to do serious Bible study using your computer this is far too limited in scope, and if all you want is one version of the Bible it is actually much faster and easier to use a printed copy. Overpriced, too, for the amount of content you actually get. Try BibleWorks for the really ultimate Bible study software, which is more expensive and also takes some learning to use, but once you've learned to use it you have a truly powerful tool with dozens of Bible versions in English, the original languages, and many foreign languages, as well as multiple reference works integrated in the program. Don't buy this one.
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