Bible Review: NKJV Study Bible for Kids

Over the years, I’ve sifted through several children’s Bibles. The challenge, particularly as a parent, is in trying to find a rendering of the Bible that will help equip your children as they grow. Unfortunately, many children’s Bibles are too childish or in a translation that I felt was unfaithful to the original text. The NKJV Study Bible for kids includes so many elements I always wanted for my own children when they were younger. If you’ve been looking for a good version for your kids, grandkids, or even as a gift for your Bible class students, this is definitely one to consider!

Pros

Aside from being in one of my three preferred translations for myself and for children–NKJV, ESV, NASB–this Bible contains some great features.

Well-Designed & Colorful

This Bible has a fun vibe without being overly childish. The cover is a simple, soothing blue with a fun geometric pattern and silver edging on the pages. The interior pages are printed in full color, providing an excellent contrast for emerging readers who are still learning to navigate their Bibles.

Simple Introductions to each book

Each book of the Bible has a page (like the one pictured below) with a succinct summary of the book. I like the consistent layout of Read it/Get it/Live It/Find it. I often wish my own Bible listed the approximate dates of when certain books were written within the historical record.

In-Text Maps

I grew up with Bibles which had full color maps… in the back of the Bible. I definitely prefer these in-text maps that help you see “where” things are occurring. While there aren’t as many maps as I personally would like, their placement and content is extremely helpful. There are 13 such maps throughout the text according to the index, which include maps like “Solomon’s Economic Influence,” “The Prophets of Israel,” “Jesus’ Ministry Beyond Galilee,” and more.

Dictionary-Concordance

The Dictionary-Concordance is a quality feature in this Bible. Each term includes pronunciation, definition, and one or more scripture references. Some of the words (such as “abhor” follow a standard concordance model by abbreviating the word in the reference sentence (i.e., “A. what is evil Rom. 12.9”) It’s a gentle introduction to a more advanced concordance and/or Bible dictionary. If you are working on training your children how to use reference books (and reference tools), this is a fantastic starting point.

Large, Colorful Chapter Numbers

One of the challenges I have discovered in teaching younger children–particularly if they have not been taught much about the Bible–is they often get tripped up by book/chapter/verse references. Whether you are training your own children at home or working with children in Bible class, once you’ve helped them learn how to easily locate the books of the Bible, you can have them practice finding the “green number” for the chapter. It would be helpful if the verse numbers were a bit more distinctive.

“In focus” Sections & Cross-References

Whether you are new Christian or a young Bible student, there are many words in the Bible which are not used in our everyday speech. Words like “sanctification,” “righteousness,” and “abomination” are not readily recognized. There are also certain ancient customs, names, and practices which are unfamiliar to us. Consequently, the “in-focus” sections which these designers have included are outstanding study aids (see image above). In addition, I do appreciate that they included the cross references and variations in translations in the footnotes.

Timeline

Yet another helpful contextual piece are the timelines inserted into the beginning of each book. They include a few Biblical events as well as major world events and/or empires.

Cons

There are so many things to love about this Bible, but there are a few things to watch out for:

Some Pages stick together

As I was sifting through this particular Bible, I noticed that I had trouble separating the introductory pages of each book in the Bible. This could be due (in part) to the heavy amount of ink on those pages combined with the thin Bible paper. If you have children who are still learning to be gentle with their books, I recommend slightly bending the book block just a little to separate the pages and then going Bible book by Bible book to separate the introductory pages ahead of time.

A lot of commentary

This is a mixed bag, and I debated whether to put this in a “Pro” or “Con” Category. On the one hand, these sections provide some helpful insight for a young Bible student by asking questions and providing some background information they may not have been familiar with. On the other hand, because it is human commentary included below/near the text of scripture, children may or may not recognize the difference in authority and accuracy.

Parents will need to be very clear with their children on distinguishing that one is scripture, given by the Holy Spirit, while the other is commentary and may contain errors. My own parents were emphatic on this point when I was growing up, and it has given me a healthy level of skepticism which has enabled me to assess what I read. I encourage you to train your children to consider whether what they read aligns with the truth of the scripture.

This Bible contains 4 different types of articles sprinkled throughout: Action, Epic Ideas, Spotlight, and Starring Roles. Action deals with how to apply the passage to your life; Epic Ideas expand on the passage; Spotlight highlights a passage and makes application; Starring Roles is a focus on a particular person mentioned in the passage. I think many of the ones I read were quite helpful and encouraging, but as with anything, it’s worth reviewing in advance. The people who assembled this particular version very helpfully included a list of all these articles (with page numbers) in the back of the Bible for you to easily locate and read.

Some Information Is Not Presented Well

On the introductory pages, I noticed that the writer of the Bible book was often listed. However, in some cases (likely where this has been disputed) the people who assembled this did not present the point clearly. Here are some examples:

• In the Intro to Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
  • Who Wrote It: “Most people think Moses wrote it.”
• In the Intro to Judges:
  • Who Wrote It: “Most people think Samuel wrote it.”
• In the Intro to Nehemiah:
  • Who Wrote It: “Probably Nehemiah wrote it.”
• In the Intro to Hebrews:
  • Who Wrote It: “No one knows for sure”

In the case of the first three examples I’ve mentioned, this phrasing lends itself to a fallacy know as the “appeal to the people” fallacy. This fallacy asserts that since most people think something is true or a certain way, it must be true. Although your children may or may not notice this problem, I’m a firm believer in establishing good language principles from the outset. (For instance, I avoid using the term “Bible Stories” because it sounds like a fairy tale rather than a historical narrative. When my children were little, I would tell them we were going to read a Biblical Account. I know… it doesn’t sound super exciting, but I wanted to establish a distinction between fact and fiction.)

A better way to phrase the first three would be, “Traditionally, scholars conclude that ________ wrote it based on ______________ . In the case of Hebrews, it would be better to say, “There is a lot of debate around who wrote Hebrews. Some scholars have concluded that it could be Paul, Apollos, Clement, Barnabas, or Priscilla.”

Again, you may think it’s no big deal. Here’s the thing: you cannot possibly know at what point children begin to pick up on the nuances of language. It is imperative to be deliberate in your choice of words from the beginning.

Overall

This Bible is a quality choice for anyone trying to find a good bible version for kids. The New King James Version is always a reliable version, understandable even for young children. Because of the superb study aids, this Bible, along with some consistent home instruction, will help your growing Bible student to establish reliable study habits.

This newly-released Bible is now available for purchase at Amazon.com and Christian Book and Thomas Nelson Bibles.

Disclaimer: The opinions in this review are my own. I received a copy of this Bible free of charge for review purposes.