What is the best Study Bible to purchase?

Did it promote the gap theory?

 

I was a Scofield man for years, until I studied his dispensational doctrine and his life -what a mess.

If you're KJV person - go with the New Open Study Bible or the Thompson Chain or the Companion

If NKJV, hands down the MacArthur Study Bible is best

I like the English Standard Version - it is an excellent formal equivalancy translation (like the KJV, NKJV) and it's much easier to read. So my choice for study Bibles is the

ESV Reformed Study Bible
look here:
http://www.theopedia.com/English_Standard_Version

 

The MacArthur Study Bible would get my vote also looking forward to the Orthodox Study Bible with the LXX base OT.

 

I am not a calvinist, but I do enjoy the Macarthur study Bible (on everything not pertaining to TULIP)

 

I like the Nelson NKJV study Bible. Great scholarship and a balanced approach. I think it may go into a little more detail on a verse-by-verse comparison than the Macarthur NKJV study Bible. I also like that fact that it is more than one man's view on the subject. Although I find little I disagree with JMac on...It also tends to tell you what some alternate interpretations are on certain subjects, even if it disagrees with the alternate view.

Todd

 

My favorite is the Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible. The Life Application Study Bible would be my second choice.

PA

 

I went from the NIV to KJV to a parallel of the two, then to a KJV with the Strongs # on every word, but I’ve been checking into the Companion for a study Bible and pretty sure it’s next. Someday I would like to find a KJV Bible with one side of the page blank so I could have room to make more notes.

 

Did a quick comparison of the NIV and MacArthur study Bible at a Christian book store.

Dislikes on the Mac.

Single translator, possibly biased, no checks and balances.

Jesus' words not in red print.

No Concordance.

Translation taken from the KJV.

Strong point - Notes for NT superior to NIV


Positive points for the NIV:

New translation by over a hundred scholars.

More accurate translation, especially for the OT.

Better maps and charts and OT notes.

Concordance and words of Jesus in red.

 

I have found the Baptist Study Bible on offer at £9.99. Do I buy it?

 

I would say yes, the editors are both trustworthy men. At that price (less than $20) you can't go wrong.

 

"More accurate translation, especially for the OT."

Please provide proof of this. Or, is this just your opinion?

 

Thanks Roger. It is being posted to me. The shop only charges 99p on orders of £9.99 or less, so it is quite a bargain.

 

I have a list of NT errors in the KJV and the corrections from the NIV. I just compared the KJV with the NKJV and find most of these errors have been corrected but several errors still remain:

2 Cor. 11:2
Both have a bride engaged ("espoused") to a husband. Should be "promised you to one husband" NIV. This error is the cause of Christians believing the Church is the bride of Christ.

Gal. 2:7
Both have two gospels, one for the Jews and the other for Gentiles.

Eph. 2:10
Both say our works were ordained by God that we "should" walk in them which leaves no garantee they will be completed. If God has ordained good works, they will be fulfilled according to God's will and not left to man's obligation to successfully complete them.

 

I compared several OT Scriptures and find the new version is improved over the old, yet the new version is not up to the level of the NIV, which is easier to understand and has been tweeked for greater accuracy.

Here's and example of the awkwardness of the NKJV:

Isa. 3:10 NKJV
Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

NIV
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.

KJV
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Do you see the improvment of the new version over the KJV. "Righteous" and "they" are plural, "him" is singular.

BTW the "righteous" who enjoy the fruit of their deeds is the Church.

 

I have the KJV study Bible and also the Henry Morris Defender's Bible.

both have been good for me.

Chavah

 

The MacArthur Study Bible is my favorite- it is conservative, dispensational, and appreciates the sovereignty of God.

Despite what some nay sayers say about MacArthur, he is an excellent expositor of the Scriptures and his notes refelect this. I highly recommend his study Bible, which will soon be coming our in a NASB edition.

 

This is so irrelevant to the OP, why try to flare this discussion off topic?

 

I agree with av1611jim's intent here. I have a number of study bibles and each of them have merit.

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• New Oxford Annotated (NRSV)
  An old ASV reference edition (ASV)
  The Key Study Bible (King James Study Ed)
  Hebrew Greek Study Bible (both KJV and NASB)
  Ryrie (NASB)
  MacArthur Study Bible (NKJV)
  Disciple's Study Bible (NIV)
  International Inductive Study Bible (NASB)
  Scofield (KJV)
  Thompson Chain Reference (KJV)
  New Geneva (ESV)</font>

I started using some of these when I was a very young Christian and thought that they were helping me when what I was really doing was parroting the writers' notes. I'm sure I thought I sounded real wise when I would do this. The problem was that I wasn't studying the text itself.

What "rescued" me from this approach was being introduced to the inductive method of Bible study where commentaries and study bible notes are used last as a comparative study.

 

My preference for a study Bible is the King James Study Bible and the 1976 version of the Open Bible, KJV, because I like the notes in the 1976 Open Bible-plus this Bible has more pages for personal notes in the back than the newer versions of the Open Bible. Nothing wrong with Study Bibles as long as you understand that the notes are NOT inspired.

 

this maybe a bit beyond the topic, but in my personal bible study, i'd rather use a non-study bible, plus 4 commentaries that i believe are best (Barnes, Clark, Gill and Henry).

then i would also have topical readings on christian theology, such as those freely distributed Rev. Robert B. Thieme, Jr.'s teahcings by the Berachah Church.