Thomas Nelson KJV with Apocrypha

The newly released KJV Center Column Reference with Apocrypha in Black Genuine Leather (also available in Leathersoft) is a welcome addition to the updated Comfort Print and Thomas Nelson family of bibles. It looks very similar to the Classic Reference Bible, however this one has a smaller font at 9.5 (likely to accommodate the Apocrypha) and the book introductions are a little more robust and on their own page. It also lacks the red accents.

While this is a great reference bible, some may be disappointed when they discover the Apocrypha does not have the references included. While it is slightly disappointing, it is also pretty understandable. Thomas Nelson serves a largely Protestant audience, so a referencing system isn’t likely going to be as valued, or as much of a priority. It’s also possible they would have to invent the referencing system since to my knowledge, including the Apocrypha in the KJV is not something Thomas Nelson has recently done outside of the reprint of the 1611. Let’s just be thankful it is available! (It also includes 3 Maccabees, something I found very surprising.)

Of course this is a red letter edition, but it is very well done. This is a commitment that Thomas Nelson has. Those who do not like red letters can hope for a Premier Collection edition without them, but even many of those are still red letter. It’s just something folks are going to have to accept. It seems the overwhelming majority of bible consumers prefer it.

It has several nice little extras to include: About the Bible, About the Apocrypha, Between the Testaments, The History of the Red Letter Bible, and much more! It also has 8 lined note pages at the end before the maps. The leather (which is a cowhide) is lovely, but it is much too uniform to be natural grain, so I’m guessing it’s stamped. The spine is well done with 5 hubs encased in gilding. The liner is a vinyl paste down, meaning it is likely to hold up much better than paper.

It is printed in South Korea. Generally their paper is 30gsm. It does ghost just slightly more than some of the previous paper, and it has an airiness to it, but overall it’s lovely (however it is prone to creasing near the ribbons). The line matching does its job well. It is also overcast stitched which is a very nice reinforcement measure.

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Note: Thomas Nelson provided this bible in exchange for my honest opinion.

[coltnipps]

I’m an Orthodox Christian. I just ordered this after watching your review. I grew up reading the KJV as a Baptist but I now love the fuller canon of scripture. The Wisdom of Solomon is my favorite book to read.

[louisrharmony]

Very pleased with this bible. I’m in love with this textblock. I don’t own many KJV so I’m not sure how normal this is, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the DSS being referenced in the footnotes like in Deuteronomy and Isaiah.

3 Maccabees still perplexes me. I know that Thomas Nelson released a NKJV bundled with KJV apocrypha in the mid 2000s, with Christ’s words in blue. I’m guessing that may be where the 3 Maccabees text first appeared but still have no idea who would’ve translated it. My only guess is it’s an in house translation.

[ArchangelsBookClub]

Hey; I bought this KJV; and I love it. I wouldn’t have purchased it or even known about it without your channel. Good job. It’s good to have the whole Orthodox Canon of scripture, Three books of Maccabees. :D The only thing it lacks is the 151st Psalm.

[stevechristie]

Thomas Nelson released a 3 Maccabees in 2008 under the Orthodox Study Bible along with Psalm 151

[caomhan]

I know I'm late on this, but I got this as a after Christmas present for myself, and I'm very happy I did. I'm actually very impressed indeed with this volume. Almost everything about it is "nearly premium". It's on the nicer end of genuine leather. The leather is actually thick and flexible and feels nice. It's not heavy, despite being a larger footprint. I'm guessing that has something to do with the paper. It's lovely to hold. Speaking of the paper, there's very little ghosting. The print is nice. It's easy to read despite the 9.5 font, thanks to the space between the lines. The whole thing is just stunning. I would say that they need to do this in a premier collection, but then you would have the premium 36 GSM paper and it wouldn't be so easy to hold and carry. But this is a high quality offering that is lovely to read from.

I am aware that there are some mistakes in the apocrypha. I'm going to correct them with a pen, but otherwise I'm very very pleased with this. I think I have found my Bible for 2024.

[stevechristie]

The Cambridge KJV with Apocrypha has center column references to Old and New Testament and you find some Apocrypha references in the 1611 KJV by Oxford’s edition to both Old and New Testaments also. From the Gospels to the letters of Paul to almost every Old Testament book.

[christophercox]

Hi Tim, you might be interested to know that the Anglicans did have one single edition of the KJV with Apocrypha that was published before this. The Anglican Parishes Association had a version of their Prayer Book that was bound together with a KJV and Apocrypha. It was the only one for decades, and isn’t cheap because of inflation. Mine was a gift!

[MAMoreno]

Orthodox Christians often use the KJV, so I get the advantage in having an edition with 3 Maccabees, but if there's no indication that this book has been added to the translation four centuries after the fact, its presence is misleading. And perhaps that space should have gone to the translators' preface instead...

[nickersonw]

I’ve been looking forward to this review! I wish there were references in the Apocrypha or no references at all. But besides that, I’m thinking of getting one of the leathersoft editions (possibly even the hardback) and then if a Premiere Collection version releases later, I’d likely get that as well!

[mikehoward]

Thanks Tim. Maybe they will add it to the Premiere Collection if it does well.

[sandracoombs]

Very nice spine. Looks wonderful. I’m afraid I can’t get into the KJV but beautiful Bible. But here’s a question Pastor Tim. How do they do the Apocrypha in KJV language? Do the apocryphal books also have Thee and Thou language? Many thanks. 🙏😊 Re 3 Maccabees - I’ve got the Orthodox Study Bible and it’s got 3 Maccabees. It uses the text of the St Athanasius Academy Septuagint for the Old Testament including the Apocrypha. Copyright 2008 by St Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology. Hope this helps. 🙏😊

[Sirach]

I hope they do more with this. Like colors titles and references.

[markmarley]

It's great to have another option of the KJV with the Apocrypha. Cross references in the Apocrypha would be nice but it understandable that Nelson may not want to incur the expense of creating them. However, I hope the reconsider this in future editions. The layout looks sharp, but I wish they would save the red ink for accents and headings rather than the Words of Christ.

[AmericanShia]

Excellent video. None of my KJV bibles with Apocrypha have 3 Maccabees. That's in the Eastern Orthodox canon.

I might have considered getting a leather soft edition. However, since I have and Anglican KJV with Apocrypha that has center column references for the Apocrypha, there is no reason for me to lift this up.

But, your review was excellent!

[mehmeh]

The 1611 King James had GREAT cross-references in the Apocryphal books AND references back to them in the New Testament. They could have easily included them in this edition.

[eclipsesonic]

When I first found out about the inclusion of 3 Maccabees, I was surprised, as the KJV from 1611 and 1769 never had it. It would have been nice if they included 4 Maccabees and Psalm 151 as well, but it's no big deal, as they're not inspired scripture. I'm having it for my Birthday in a couple of weeks, so I'm looking forward to it! Thanks for the review.

[jacobnuesca]

Does anyone have advice for which Kj Bible I should get? I want to get super giant font size, modern letters style, modern spelling and punctation, apocrypha, but everything else in regards to meaning and word choice etc I would like it to be as close as possible to the 1611. Thank you for any advice you might give me!

[stevescoolstuff]

Why didn’t they include 4 Maccabee’s ?

[waterfluid]

Where can I get a waterproof KJV Bible with the Apocrypha included?

[JonnyRaz]

I am pretty sure the New Apostolic Church KJV and NKJV both had 3 Maccabees. Maybe it was done in conjunction with or by the New Apostolic Church for those editions.