I'm not a Baptist or a fundamentalist. I'm a lifelong Lutheran, and I don't see any need to waste ink insisting on the literal truth of the Creation story or the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. But, putting aside my doctrinal prejudices, I find this edition so useful that I wouldn't be without it.

Aside from the small core of Baptist dogma and fundamentalist apologetics, the real mission of the commentary is to help you understand the Christian Bible on its own terms. In that it succeeds much better than "liberal" study Bibles, some of which seem mostly interested in endless and useless speculation on text sources. Whatever your position in the Christian spectrum, from far right to far left, you'll find all the help you need to understand the text itself--historical background, outlines, comparisons with other illuminating passages in Scripture, and genuinely helpful translation notes.

If you love the King James Version, this is the edition that best helps you read it with complete understanding. Its great strength is that it gives you the tools you need for drawing your own conclusions. If you happen to disagree with the editors' ideas of doctrine, you can still thank them for illuminating the text so thoroughly that you have a good basis for disagreeing with them.

In short, you probably can't find a better King James study Bible than this. My only reservations have to do with its fundamentalist bias, and I find that bias easy to forgive for the sake of the many virtues of this edition.

172 of 189 found the following review helpful:

Exceptional value!  Jun 02, 2001

1. GENERAL EVALUATION: The intent purpose of a Study Bible is to give the reader assistance in understanding the scriptures through cross references, comments and exegesis carefully compiled by a board of theology scholars. There are many Study Bibles available, as you likely discovered [....] Each version and publisher differs to varying degrees. I own and use four Study Bibles. All my Study Bibles are very helpful.

The Holy Bible King James Version the King James Study Bible from Thomas Nelson Publishers is an outstanding value. [....]

2. FORMAT: The binding is genuine leather with gold color stamped letters. The page are also gold edged. The paper is high quality Bible paper and thin but not so thin that the printing on the reverse pages is distracting. This Bible is quite thick. The flexible leather covers are very helpful in holding the pages open for easy reading. A stiff cover might make the inside printing somewhat hard to see. The type font is large and very easy on the eyes.

The page format is the standard two column Bible arrangement with a third column between the main texts. The center column is a wealth of information. In the middle column, references to related scriptures are given. Also if an original Greek or Hebrew word has more than one meaning, that meaning is printed in the center column. There is more information in the center column that is too lengthy to describe in this review but a complete, clear explanation is given in the front section of this Bible. Suffice it say that the center column alone can indeed greatly expand the meaning of the texts.

Icons are used to clarify to what a note or comment refers. Doctrinal Footnotes Icons are used for systematic Biblical teachings. Personality Footnotes Icons give descriptions and information on persons in the Bible. Archeological Footnotes Icons refer you to information about places in the Bible and recent discoveries. These footnotes and icons are of significant help to the reader.

The Holy Bible King James Version the King James Study Bible differs from many Study Bibles in the format the notes are presented. The notes are, as with most Study Bibles, on the lower part of the scriptures pages. However, in many Study Bibles, you will see: See notes on Mt 4.16 as example. Turning to that reference can cause one to lose the train of thought. This is not so in The Holy Bible King James Version the King James Study Bible. In well over 90% of footnotes, all the information pertaining to the text is on that page – complete.

The expositors did an exceptional job of a running account of clarifying each verse! There are many references to the original meaning of Greek in the NT and Hebrew words and thoughts in the OT. This, alone, should help the reader gain a better understanding of the Bible.

Maps are included on the pages to which they relate.

3. CONCLUSIONS: Nelson’s comment, “The most comprehensive KJV Study Bible ever printed” is indeed accurate. The study notes and comments are, to say the least, profuse and in depth.

A word, if you will, on the debate over the King James Version. Some folks claim the King James Version is not an accurate translation. This is simply not true. This version is, in reality, quite precise. The basis of this opposition may well be in the language used in the 1600s when the King James Version Bible was translated. The word archaic language pops up in most debates. Archaic is not the proper word. POETIC is! The wording in the King James Version is lilting, flowing like a Mozart symphony. Archaic, no. Beautiful, yes. If you are one who thinks the King James Version is archaic, try reading the lines as you would a poem. Allow the words to sing the message.

- 4 – CONCLUSION: No mater what translation a person selects and/or prefers, they all tell the same time proven, enduring message.

To augment understanding of the Bible, I would suggest reading whatever version you prefer with a copy of The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. This book has Greek and Hebrew dictionaries. You do not have to know Greek or Hebrew to use the dictionaries. The words you want defined are looked up in the concordance in English and referenced by numbers in the Greek or Hebrew dictionaries. While the words are in Greek or Hebrew, they are also transliterated into English. [...], this book is a real bargain.

I have no reservations in giving this exceptionally well-done Bible five stars.

I hope my comments are of some value to you.

62 of 68 found the following review helpful:

A Great Tool for Serious Bible Study  Aug 21, 2001

I have recommended The King James Study Bible (Nelson) to family, friends, and members of my church: and this Bible has won even the Thompson Chain Reference group over! I appreciate the notes in the center column which explain the subtle differences in translations of words used within the text; I find it especially helpful to read the reference verses in the center column of each page, which point the reader to other, related verses; I LOVE the "keys" (doctrinal footnotes) on the bottom of the pages which give in-depth, fresh insights into the Scripture; and the special sections dealing with biographies of Bible characters and Bible archaeology are wonderful.

31 of 32 found the following review helpful:

The best evangelical/conservative study bible on the market  Sep 20, 2004
By Michael W. LeVan
The Nelson KJV Study Bible is truly, in my opinion, the best evangelical/conservative study bible on the market today, and that's saying a lot because there are some good ones out there, like the Life Application Study Bible, the NIV study Bible, Scofields, Thompson, MacArthur, Nelson's NKJV Study Bible, and so on. But having used all these editions, and also enjoying them, I have found the KJV Study Bible to be the most direct and to the point. While other editions are often too much or too little, this one seems to find a good balance. The book introductions are complete, the outlines are extensive, the study notes are consistently adequate - that is, they are well thought out and cover entire passages rather than picking at a verse here and there, which I can't stand about most study bibles. Many individual verses are given separate treatment, however, in addition to the overall passage being explained. For example, each psalm is covered in its entirety rather than a verse here and there, while certain verses are also explained within the context of the psalm or overall Biblical themes. This is the pattern throughout. In addition, doctrinally difficult verses throughout the Bible are not avoided (like the Life Application Study Bible and some others), and there is an in-text study system of doctrines to accompany the notes (evangelical conservative, of course). This edition also has center column references that are extensive and contain difficult KJV word translations; plus you get listings of the miracles, parables, prophecies, the teachings of Christ, and yes, a decent concordance! I should add that the paper/ink quality is now very good in the new shipments that are arriving.

As for complaints about this edition, I only have three: First is that there is no self-pronouncing text or at least a reference in the back to proper names. After all, isn't a "study" Bible for the purpose of learning, and isn't pronunciation of all those Biblical names one of the things we must learn? Figure that one out. Secondly, the in-text maps are much to be desired. I don't know why Nelson didn't use their classic in-text maps that they use in every one of their other editions. And thirdly, it would be really nice if Nelson would include the historic epistle to King James in the front of the edition, like Zondervan has started doing. Other than these three complaints, this is still my favorite evangelical/conservative study bible. I would advise any Bible-loving, Bible-believing Christian and follower of Jesus Christ to get one and spend time with it, and you will soon appreciate its no-nonsense direct approach.

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