Book Review :: NIV Essentials Study Bible

The NIV Essentials Study Bible is a fantastic study Bible comprised of portions of six different popular study resources: The Essential Bible Companion, the NIV Study Bible, the NIV Archaeological Study Bible, the NIV Quest Study Bible, the NIV Student Bible, and The Great Rescue, NIV. The jacket is the colorful cover shown here, and underneath is a more subtle hardcover - gray/black speckled with the words "HOLY BIBLE" on the front. The interior is laid out with black text and various blue accents (headings, chapters numbers, timelines, etc.) - it is very easy on the eyes. The words of Jesus are in black text, the same as the rest of the Bible text.

Each book begins with an introduction that generally includes: background information about the book, key concepts, key verses, key teachings, key terms, people to know, timelines, and maps. Throughout each chapter/book there are study resources interspersed. Each section from a particular resource is marked to show which resource it originally came from (for example, portions from the NIV Archaeological Study Bible are marked with |ASB|). The exception to this is that the bottom-of-the-page study notes are not marked - they are all from the NIV Study Bible. Each of the resources are well placed and give the reader something additional to think about.

If I was going to suggest a Bible purely for reading Scripture, I would not suggest this version simply because there are so many resources that it can sometimes spread the Scripture out over many pages, when it might be able to be read more easily without the distraction of the extra resources. However, I think this is a fantastic all-in-one study Bible and would definitely suggest it for anyone who wants to dig deeper. It has a lot to offer without being overwhelming. I think this is a great choice for a study tool for any family.
FTC Declaration: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy through BookSneeze®. This does not change the fact that I will give my honest opinion in my reviews.