Illustrated Study Bible -NLT (Review)

I enjoy reading my Bible but there are many times where I end up reaching for an additional text, such as a Bible Dictionary or Atlas to see if I can find additional information or time lines in regards to what I am reading. This can be a bit daunting and frustrating when losing my place in my reading as I switch from one book to another.  It's also a bit inconvenient when I'm trying to juggle two or three books on my lap when sitting either on the couch or in bed.  I've often wondered why it is this type of information cannot be put inside the Bible to have all at one place with the corresponding information right there along with the text.

Tyndale House Publishing must have read my mind because that is exactly what they have done with the Illustrated Study Bible.  Published in the New Living Translation, this study Bible is over 2500 pages with full colored photographs, easy to interpret timelines and detailed profiles of important people.  To say a Bible is breathtaking would normally sound a bit of a reach but is definitely the case with this particular version.  The images are vibrant and eye catching, the timelines are easy to understand and Biblical concepts are explained in boxes that accompany the text.  Gone are the days of thin onion skin pages of text - this truly takes the Living Word and gives it a whole new life.

This Bible is much much more than just pretty pictures.  Within the pages of this one book are several tools that make studying the Bible a simpler process.  The front of this version contains an Introduction explaining how the Bible was written, suggestions as to how to study the Bible, and a timeline of Biblical history that illustrated where each book falls in history.   Both the Old and New Testament are given lengthy introductions describing canon, worldviews of the time, and other important information useful for understanding the time period.  Each individual book has an introduction which explains at what time period the particular book was written, who wrote it, what the main focus is and also key scriptures that are of importance, each accompanied once again with stunning color visuals.



Following the Book of Revelations, pages are dedicated to Hebrew and Greek words studies (much like a dictionary), index to use as a quick reference to finding themes found in the Bible (Anger, Code of Hammurabi, and the Assyrian Invasion for example) as well as another index for looking up key notes such as people or particular words found throughout  (ie: Caesar Augustus, blessings, blood atonement).  This Bible version then ends with a pretty convenient Dictionary/Concordance combination that while is not a substitute for Strong's Concordance for those who need such an exhaustive reference, it it perfectly acceptable for the average Biblical study.

I found this to be a wonderful Bible and it has quickly become my new favorite Bible.  To find out more or to purchase this wonderful resource, please visit the Open My Eyes website.