The NIV Complete Concordance: The Complete English Concordance to the New International Version

Rating:
Summary: Complete enough, and comfortable to carry around
Review: For each word that it covers, it gives all occurrences.
It doesn't cover words like "the" etc.
I hate any book which is ponderous to carry, so I like this one.

I found it very helpful because there are certain concepts
in the Bible which are "spread around" so you have to look
all over the Bible to detect them. An example is the
"crown rewards of heaven" -- there are 10 crowns mentioned
in the Bible as rewards for various things. This shows to
me what the requirements are for being happy when I get to
heaven, because I want to get all of it, not just a smidgeon.

***NOTE***: I find it wise and sometimes necessary to also
refer to the NRSV Bible on word search matters such as these.
So, this concordance is not the 100% be-all-end-all. But it's
a great start!

Rating:
Summary: Complete enough, and comfortable to carry around
Review: For each word that it covers, it gives all occurrences.
It doesn't cover words like "the" etc.
I hate any book which is ponderous to carry, so I like this one.

I found it very helpful because there are certain concepts
in the Bible which are "spread around" so you have to look
all over the Bible to detect them. An example is the
"crown rewards of heaven" -- there are 10 crowns mentioned
in the Bible as rewards for various things. This shows to
me what the requirements are for being happy when I get to
heaven, because I want to get all of it, not just a smidgeon.

***NOTE***: I find it wise and sometimes necessary to also
refer to the NRSV Bible on word search matters such as these.
So, this concordance is not the 100% be-all-end-all. But it's
a great start!

Rating:
Summary: Exhaustive where it needs to be
Review: Personally, I love this concordance. It is certainly "complete" enough for me! And exhaustive wherever it needs to be. To quote the preface: "...it lists all the references for every word indexed."

This may seem very basic and perhaps unnecessary advice, but if you do own this concordance, or use it to any great extent, make sure you read and digest the short preface.

All the words not included are listed in an appendix at p1041ff. It did strike me as odd that "sons" is included in the concordance, but not "daughters". Not that I could usually give two hoots about inclusive language or anything (provided my job doesn't depend on it). I suppose at times in the Bible "sons" may have more theological significance when it comes to such ideas as "sons of men", which is semantically intended to be an inclusive term anyway.

I disagree with the previous reviewer who implies that the NRSV is more worthy of juxtaposing with the NIV than any other versions. The NIV is excellent version in its own right and is comparable to the whole breadth of translations available today, not just the NRSV (which, in Australia at least, is used to a disproportionately high extent within the liberal/modernist sections of the church).

This is a great concordance for readers of the English Bible. However, for a real grasp on word usage within Scripture, it is also worth using exhaustive Hebrew and Greek concordances and have some knowledge of these inflected languages and how they are parsed.

Rating:
Summary: Exhaustive where it needs to be
Review: Personally, I love this concordance. It is certainly "complete" enough for me! And exhaustive wherever it needs to be. To quote the preface: "...it lists all the references for every word indexed."

This may seem very basic and perhaps unnecessary advice, but if you do own this concordance, or use it to any great extent, make sure you read and digest the short preface.

All the words not included are listed in an appendix at p1041ff. It did strike me as odd that "sons" is included in the concordance, but not "daughters". Not that I could usually give two hoots about inclusive language or anything (provided my job doesn't depend on it). I suppose at times in the Bible "sons" may have more theological significance when it comes to such ideas as "sons of men", which is semantically intended to be an inclusive term anyway.

I disagree with the previous reviewer who implies that the NRSV is more worthy of juxtaposing with the NIV than any other versions. The NIV is excellent version in its own right and is comparable to the whole breadth of translations available today, not just the NRSV (which, in Australia at least, is used to a disproportionately high extent within the liberal/modernist sections of the church).

This is a great concordance for readers of the English Bible. However, for a real grasp on word usage within Scripture, it is also worth using exhaustive Hebrew and Greek concordances and have some knowledge of these inflected languages and how they are parsed.