You might call it our anchor or flagship study Bible. Over ten years in the making, The Nelson Study Bible is the most comprehensive and approachable study Bible available.

More features offer a greater breadth of scholarship and application. A warm conversational tone welcomes readers, engages them, and invites them to return.

The Nelson Study Bible presents an unparalleled way to study the Scriptures. Thousands of exegetical annotations offer a devotional yet scholarly look at the text verse by verse.

Features include 15,000 expository study notes, 100 in-depth articles, 350 WordFocus word studies keyed to Strong's Concordance, extensive book introductions, 78 maps, time lines, a cross-reference system, subject index, concordance, and the words of Christ in red.

Hundreds of thousands of readers and students of God's Word have discovered The Nelson Study Bible to be the most comprehensive study Bible available. The warm conversational tone, coupled with serious scholarship and application, has made this best-seller a favorite among pastors, teachers, and readers.

In it you will find thousands of exegetical annotations for a devotional yet scholarly look at the text verse by verse. New features like in-text QuickView charts, a prophetic reference system, and 32 pages of FullView Bible summaries in color allow you to take your study as deep as you want to go. Word studies, maps, special articles, timelines, and book intros, as well as cross-references, a concordance, and a subject index help you find the information you need to understand the reading and apply it to your life.

• 15,000 Nelson's expository study notes
• 100 InDepth articles
• 350 WordFocus word studies keyed to Strong's Concordance
• Immediate Information
• 8 FullView Bible Summary sections in color
• 80 QuickView Charts
• 78 maps, including nine in color
• Prophetic reference system
• Timelines
• Practical Application

• Notes are more inviting
• Notes are of immediate use
• Page design makes the text easier to read
• QuickView means direct and easy application
• Comprehensive Scholarship
• Extensive book introductions
• NKJV original language translators' notes
• Nelson's cross-reference system in study notes
• Subject Index
• 195-page Concordance including phrases, people, and places

Ingram
This study Bible from Nelson supplements the New King James Version with 15,000 expository study notes, 100 In Depth articles, 350 Word Focus word studies, maps, charts, timelines, concordance, and other helps.

Hundreds of thousands of readers and students of God's Word have discovered The Nelson Study Bible to be the most comprehensive study Bible available. The warm conversational tone, coupled with serious scholarship and application, has made this bestseller a favorite among pastors, teachers, and readers. In it you will find thousands of exegetical annotations for a devotional yet scholarly look at the text verse by verse. New features like in-text QuickView charts, a prophetic reference system, and 32 pages of FullView Bible summaries in color allow you to take your study as deep as you want to go. Word studies, maps, special articles, timelines, and book intros, as well as cross-references, a concordance, and a subject index help you find the information you need to understand the reading and apply it to your life.

Rev. Jonathan Nettles
I was using an NRSV Life Application Bible, which I was pleased with, but wanted something with more depth to the comments. I looked over several study Bibles (Ryrie, New Oxford, NIV Study...), and felt the Nelson was the best by far. Cross refs. are relevant, and the on page comments are the best I've seem - they go into great depth and deal with the heart of the matter. The 200 page concordance is also a plus, as are other features. I wasn't sure about the NKJV (only choice), but took a closer look and am very pleased.

Ritesh Laud from Houston, TX USA
I'm not a Christian but decided to purchase a bible to get this classic work under my belt. I wanted a study version though so I could get through the tougher parts without being baffled at the language or meanings. I purchased the Nelson version after reading many positive reviews and feel I made a great choice! Understandably, you need to be careful with study bibles in case you begin to adopt the editors' slant on things, but from what I can tell the Nelson team has done a fine job of retaining the integrity of the NKJV translation in their commentaries.

I'm still on the Old Testament (2 Kings right now) and I've throughly enjoyed most every single chapter so far. Thanks to the well-written and not-too-long commentaries on many verses it's easy to comprehend the significance of the passages and understand some of the ancient practices prevalent at the time.

Great maps in-text and at the back, helpful tables of dates and events, thorough cross-referencing, definitions of especially meaningful words in the Hebrew context, as well as in-text discussions of major concepts make this a definitive study bible for any NKJV reader and also as a reference work.

Jonathon A. Hamby from Hewitt, Tx USA
The Nelson Study Bible (NKJV) is a masterful conglomeration resulting from years of scholarly and Christ centered craftsmanship. This translation is very clear and throughout its tenor maintains a strong stabilty as the words flow together with eloquence. Certainly, the editors and contributers of this translation achieved what was necessary for producing such an excellent Bible.

The foreward proves itself very welcoming by concisely exerting the main features as a helpful tool in studying the Word of God. The preface explains the history of the NKJV, the precision and accurracy of the translation, the devotional style for the reader, and the general format for the Old and New Tesaments as a whole.

Some aspects that will be beneficial and enjoyable while reading this Bible are the in-depth prolouges that describe who the author was, when it was wrote, and for what purpose the author served in writting the book. On top of all of this are finely arranged outlines and timelines to further your aquiantance with the general themes of that particular time in antiquity. There are 350 words held equivocal in this translation, so the scholars provived a section for these terms and called it 'word focus.' The words are discussed with regard to the context in which they are used, and their meanings and biblical usage are explained wonderfully. Also the scholarly commentary, the vast array of maps, pictures, charts, graphs, and cross-references add all the more radiance to this edition. To cap it off, there lies in the back a subject index to the annotations and special features provided in this Bible. Following that I found the Concordance and colorful maps in the back to further add prestige to the Nelson Study Bible.

So for the overall quality of this Bible I would highly recommend this work to anyone who wishes to grasp ahold of a great study bible. For the evangelist, pastor, and lay person alike, the Nelson Study Bible will be a tool to refine yourself as a Christian, and to bring those who are less familiar with the faith to reconciliation with God.

Peter Alexander from Los Angeles, Ca. USA
The Nelson Study Bible NKJV is a Bible School in a briefcase. First, throughout the text are key definitions of Hebrew and Greek words set off in a separate box. These definitions, cued to the Strong's numbering, are easy to read, accessible, and meaningful. Study notes are lucid, especially with their historical background. Of particular use to praise/worship leaders and songwriters, is the addition of the thematic outline of many of the Psalms in the study notes. All of the Psalms are song lyrics (not poems). The word Psalms is from the Greek psalmoi (and the Hebrew mizmer) which means to pluck. Hence, Psalms is an arranging term from the Temple indicating that these songs are to be performed with plucked stringed instruments. For Christian songwriters, these study notes can be an invaluable guide to not only better understanding the individual lyric, but equally in creating your own new ones.

The text has a very balanced view of the Holy Spirit which few should find fault with. NT study notes are equally lucid especially in explaining certain cultural issues, alternate translation possibilities, and clarifying difficulties from the NKJV translation of the Pauline epistles.

Center column references are very practical and useful. There is a brief subject index for those liking the Thompson Chain Reference approach, and an excellent concordance spanning about 200 pages. There is a comprehensive outline for each Bible book, nearly as deep as G. Campbell Morgan's Analyzed Bible.

The graphic layout is quite good and easy to read. Of all study Bibles of all translations, I rank this #1, followed by the NIV Study Bible, and the Spirit Filled Life Bible (NKJV - Jack Hayford Editor), and Dake (KJV only). Thompson's has a totally separate study approach and therefore isn't quite comparable to the others.

Key word for this study Bible: balanced.

A readership note: The NKJV is about a 12th grade reading level. By comparison, newsmagazines are written with a 7th grade reading vocabulary. Readers looking for an easier reading translation would do well to consider getting the New Living Translation to complement the Nelson Study Bible NKJV.

I've selected the Nelson's as the study Bible of choice for Alexander University students taking our online Christian songwriting classes.