I agree, and would I add the ESV study bible to the list! The problem is that reading a chapter in the bible can take a while as I reference multiple Bibles and study Bibles.
God bless you pastor. I’m glad to see the CSB study Bible up there. I’ve had it for about three years and I always thought it was really useful (also, Spanish is my primary language) so I use this Bible along side a couple Spanish study bibles. Great video!
I want to thank you very much for this video. I have not realized the wealth of information that I already in the study Bibles in my Logos library. I previously spent a lot of time wading through the commentaries. After watching this video, I have found that I can quickly find the answers to many of my questions in my Study Bibles. Thanks!
Awesome, Tom! Study Bibles and single volume commentaries provide great value for the time invested in reading them. Many of the exegetical commentaries are only needed if you are studying deeper.
The Complete Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is releasing in Fall with complete OLD and NEW Testament. This complete project was 25 years in the making! Absolute A tier. Perhaps the only S tier bible on your list, once that comes out! God bless Scott Hahn and the Holy Catholic Church.
Thank you Pastor Tanner for this video! The amount of work you put into this is just incredible and it shows! Your insights and analysis are really helpful and appreciated. You've earned a follow from me.
One of , if not the best, study bible videos I've ever watched!! Awesome information and in depth explanations. Thank you for the hard work you put into it. Defiantly earned a subscriber and I will check out your other videos.
Thank you so much for putting this video together! Very useful when considering what study Bible to use in Logos. The thorough explanation of your ranking system was excellent in the intro, as well as the visual comparison of each. 🙏🏼
Loved this video and loved the research in this video. Would love some more videos like this maybe of theology books like Systematic Theologies or Biblical Theologies.
Is the Study Bible tier list available as a downloadable chart? I don’t recall the NIV or NLT Study Bibles were included? Couple of suggestions on a video like this: A caption showing which SB you are discussing would help a viewer keep track. If you try to show us a book, please don’t wave it around.
Next time on the tier list you are supposed to put the best ones first to last if they are on the same tier. That is how it supposed to function Thank you for this list best one i seen so far!😊
What about the The New Oxford Annotated Bible? It seems odd to not mention since it's the standard in academia. It's pretty thorough for all those passages.
Thanks for this. I own this in print, but didn’t include it given that it doesn’t appear in Logos (which is merely the format I used to determine which ones to treat). Glancing at it just briefly, I feel it would get a middling grade. This is due to the sparse notes. When they appear, they are helpful, but it isn’t as comprehensive as others. Prolly C or B tier for me. Thanks for the recommendation!
Thanks for taking the time to do this! Big takeaway is that some are not bad, but uneven. Now, once we get into Logos, the question is, why not use one-volume commentaries instead of study Bibles? Study Bibles are limited usually because they are meant to be a print reference (with the exception of the Faithlife Study Bible). Once we get beyond 2 or 3 study Bibles in Logos, wouldn't the next step be a one/two-volume commentary instead? These face a similar size limitation (printed size), but are in a similar class. Popular ones would be the New Bible Commentary, Moody Bible Commentary, Bible Knowledge Commentary (2-vol), Expositor's Bible Commentary Abridged (2-vol). That might be an interesting comparison to make.
Yes, Darrell! This would be a fantastic follow-up video. Single volume commentaries are EXCELLENT to reference. The more difficult aspect is all of the research that is required. No matter, we will press forward!
Thank you, Pastor Tanner, for commenting on my post. I agree that the Faithlife Study bible is the best in Logos and the best on the market! I have almost as many study bibles as you and maybe a few more because I have other libraries in addition to Logos. I am very much pro study bibles for the preacher, teacher's library. I evaluate study bible based on use of the original languages and depth, scholarship, and accuracy of the comments. I am not in favor of single author commentaries although I own a few. They seem to be based on singular views and a lot of the content you get if you read that author's other books or hear his sermons. That said I would recommend a few that may not be at the top of my list, which by the way, on your top tier I think you did an outstanding job, still here they are: The Life Application Study Bible, The Zondervan Study Bible, The Harper Collins Study Bible and lastly the NIV Study Bible.
Boy, this was a terrific discussion. This is a video I might reference from time to time. It is classic. By the way, how would you rate the NIV Study Bible? I agreed with the great majority of your evaluations. I think I would’ve rated the DA Carson Bible A tier. But I might rate the hardback and leather versions of some of these study Bibles differently than the Logos versions. The print of the Zondervan NIV biblical theology study Bible is very small, difficult to read.
Thank you so much for the encouragement, Marc! I haven’t engaged with the NIV Study Bible, so I’m not sure on that one. Id anyone wants to place DA Carson higher than I have, I’m certainly not going to complain. ;) And you are right about the difference between print and digital access.
Thank you! And very good point. Interestingly, NET is not typed as a 'Study Bible' but instead 'Bible Notes' which is why I missed it. However, I do not own the other two that you mention. Would you recommend them?
Thanks for posting this video. I have the Scholar's (Silver) Edition and had no idea of what I had in the FaithLife Study Bible. So, it's powered by my existing library of books. Great.
Absolutely correct, and that is where a good deal of its value lies. Even without that it is still a good Study Bible, but that added power kicks it up to the next level.
@@PastorTanner I had actually brought my copy of Logos Library, about 20 years ago. I just knew that Jesus was calling me to do something. Writing? I wasn't sure but I wanted a better understanding of what I read in Scripture. Here's the fun part and I'm being facetious. I started as a nominal Catholic, came to accept Jesus as my Lord, Savior and Friend then walked right into a Holiness Pentecostal Church. Hey, I love the charismatic movement however, I desperately needed a deeper understanding and I was in the middle of an ultra-Conservative area in Phoenix. Well, I couldn't afford seminary school and I didn't sense any specific direction. Yes, I did ask my pastor and he could only suggest praying and seek God. I saw an opportunity to get a copy of the Scholar's Library and brought it. I started serving God by writing for my old web site and eventually my own blog site. In reality, I am more comfortable in front of my webcam. A lot of it is due to the way I communicate. As for Logos, my main problem is in learning how to use my electronic library with creating valuable teachings for my channel's audience. That's right. I'm not a pastor or one who teach a Bible study or class.
Thank you for putting so much effort into this video!!! much appreciated!!! Do you have any thougts on the NIV Study Bible(Fully Revised Edition)? Thank you precious brother, may God continue to use you for His glory!!!
@Pastortanner the Ignatius Study Bible is not yet finished, one can purchase each of the individual books directly from Ignatius or through another seller. I would assume that Logos has an older less complete version as most of the Old Testament is almost finished. Many Catholics have been waiting on this complete Bible for years as we have only been able to purchase a complete New Testament for now. Do you know if you can purchase The Little Rock Catholic Study Bible in Logos? It is probably on par or even better than The Catholic Study Bible. There is also the New Catholic Bible which is a response to what was perceived as lacking in the NAB and NABRE series of Bibles. I know for certain that the NCB has a commentary on Psalm 23 as I have personally compared it to other Catholic translations. There is also the Jerusalem Bible series which includes the afforementioned, the New Jerusalem Bible, & the Revised New Jerusalem Bible. These Bibles are also loaded with notes from a Catholic academic perspective. Another quasi study quasi devotional Bible from the Catholic Sphere is the Great Adventure Study Bible. It sums up the Biblical aspects of the story of Salvation into more bite sized portions for Catholics. It is intended to be used with a corresponding Bible study but the phyical Bible has extensive charts, graphs, and comments in the books that it focuses on the most intensely. If you can get your hands on a a RSV-CE or RSV-CE2 they also have minimal built in commentary usually relegated to a portion of the Bible depending on the format. There is also the Catholic Douai-Rheims which would be most comparable to either the Geneva Bible or KJV, which usually comes with commentary dabbled throughout. For any Bible to be considered Catholic it has to have notes so most translations would pass this litmus test even with just minimal translation notes like the RSV, NRSV, & ESV-CE.
Thanks for this extensive review, Austin. I indeed have most of the resources that you have outlined here, however I was not aware of the extensive progress on the Ignatius. I will make more reference of the Little Rock and others in the future. Also, a friend had me pickup the ESV-CE and I am grateful that it exists. Thanks again! -tanner
@@PastorTanneryou are very welcome. I also forgot to mention some other Bibles like the Didache Bible, it uses the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a basis for its commentary which makes it very interesting and could perhaps explain the continuity between Tradition inside and outside of the Bible but I know that the Catechism is usually considered a part of "t”radition instead of "T”radition amongst Protestants at least. The Didache Bible is available in RSV & NABRE translations. Another is the Navarre Bible, it is kind of published like the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. It is available as a complete New Testament or usually a few books available per book instead of usings booklets/magazine style publishings a la Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. The commentary is extensive but it is more haphazard. I am not for certain if this is due to the translation method of translating the notes or just the style of the person writing the commentary notes. The notes are also available in Latin so that could take away some of the ambiguity of the note translations if you are familiar with how terse Latin may be. In addition to these Saint Mary's Press also has numerous Catholic Youth/Children Bibles that I would also reccommend to any adult whether Catholic or not for several reasons. They are littered with amazing commentary and artwork throughout just like a Study Bible. There are also several charts/graphs and additional explanatory material in most of its Bible publishings.
I agree and disagree. Agree on the Fire Bible: I got a student edition of this and it was wonderful, the notes are very in depth, you learn something new everytime you read it and the references are very well put together. (For example, there are 2 articles and tons of references on wine in the OT and NT, how it was made culturally in its context, and explains deeply about the wedding at Cana.) It's one of my favorite Bibles. Heavily disagree on the Evidence Bible: I love Living Waters and have an Evidence Bible (a 10th anniversary gift from my husband!) and I have to say that I have learned more about evangelism and how to speak to people about the Lord Jesus from this Bible. Before, I would never have brought up salvation or even realized how to speak to anyone about dying, heaven or hell. I understand that from a deep theological perspective it's not what you're looking for from that angle. BUT. It is S tier when it comes to explaining how to answer questions that Christians face about their faith, how to evangelize to cults and other religions and tips on bringing up sins and forgiveness, and it lights a fire underneath you motivationally about fulfilling the Great Commission. I have quite a few of the Bibles you referenced here, and I agree with most of your choices, but the most important part of a Christians life is being a laborer in the harvest, and the Evidence Bible is full of sound teaching on how to do that and obey the Lord's commandment.
Thank you for the very thoughtful response. I have been greatly blessed by both of the Study Bibles you have shared. In fact, Living Waters Ministries was essential in my own salvation and early Christian growth. I received a print copy of the evidence bible early in my walk, and enjoyed it. In this review however, I felt it falls a bit short for the reasons I stated. However, what a time to be alive and have all of these great resources available to us to learn and grow from! :)
I’m 11 months late to this video but really enjoyed it. I’m not a Logos user but it was still very well put together. I am curious about the Andrews Study Bible as I had never heard of that one before. I’m going to subscribe because I just really enjoyed this and hope you do more like this in the future.
Yes, it is very ROBUST. It's the most complete SB that I have ever seen. I like that it has extensive introductions to both the OT and the NT. A lot of study Bibles don't have those. They just go right into the books with their introductions. We miss out on a lot if the two testaments don't have their own introductions.
I didn’t have these ones at the time. I now own the Life Application and the Orthodox, but did not know about the Quest. Thanks for the heads-up- I will check it out.
FYI, the Orthodox are waaay behind the others in their publishing of study bibles and other bible helps. I don't know what the reason is. Perhaps it's because they mainly rely on the Church Fathers for their commentaries, "study notes," etc., and for centuries they simply read those when they wanted help with the interpretation of scripture. Until very recently, it did not seem to occur to them that they could combine the two as many others have already done. In any case, they brought out the OSB (Orthodox Study Bible) back in the 1990s, I think. I have copies of the NT + Psalms, and the complete Bible. They are nice to have, but, unfortunately, they are a bit of a mess: OT is not really from the Septuagint as it was supposed to be (or promised; The Eastern Orthodox are only supposed to use the LXX for the OT) but from the NKJV. Other flaws: The Introductions to the books are much too brief; something much more robust is needed. Text in the gutter. Not nearly enough notes from the Church Fathers. Not enough pictures, photos (though it does have some beautiful pictures of paintings and iconography). No charts or graphs. Not enough helps. They need to go back to the drawing board and start all over again.
Too bad for the Ignatius, maybe when it is completed you can follow up on it. I wouldn't hold your breath though, been waiting for years for the OT to come out.
@@PastorTanner it will be a great resource for us Catholics when it is finished, Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch are great, conservative, Catholic scholars. The two other Catholic Bibles you reviewed here have a few serious doctrinal issues.
@@tabletalk33 I bite my tongue because the full Ignatius is coming out in October I believe. It isn't that there aren't Catholic Study Bibles, it's just that many of them are lacking in one way or another.
I prefer the NOAB, which in Logos is only the 3rd edition. I would've wanted the HarperCollins or SBL Study Bible but they're not available in Logos at the moment. I also like the NET Bible for its unrivaled translation/langauge notes.
thank you for an indebt review of the Study Bibles offered by Logos Bible Software ... am a new user and really appreciate to leaking and guidance for using the software in a great way.
Still adore and use my first ever Bible. The Quest Study Bible...NIV Zondervan hardcover Blue one older but I look for it on eBay for unbelievers with lots of those questions it's great! Personal opinion..
Just got a KJV Reformation Heritage Study Bible and I love it. It is helpful in living the Christian life. It also helps understanding the Shakespearean English.
Loved it and added a few to my Logos wishlist! Was happy to see Fire Bible in the list too! Uneven-ness plagues a LOT of study Bibles, so it was great to hear where some shined in specific areas. Was shocked to see so many that didn't have any offerings whatsoever for Psalm 23. Thanks for making the video brother, this was excellent stuff!
NASB is wonderful. Look into Amplified Study Bible. God actually communicated with me in the dream saying that i would be blessed by that purchase and I sure was. Absolutely wonderful and God approves...
The Ignatius study Bible is very good. I’m also surprised you didn’t mention the CPH Lutheran Study Bible by the Lutheran Missouri Synod (CPH also has the ESV Lutheran Apocrypha study notes that is a companion to the Lutheran Study Bible). The Schofield reference Bible is heretical.
@@PastorTanner You’re welcome. Unlike the Evangelical Heritage study Bible, the articles and notes are much more thorough and complete. In terms of quality, I would rank it as good as the ESV Bible and Ignatius study Bible (main problem with the Ignatius study Bible it’s not complete). The Lutheran Study bible (Lutheran apocrypha study notes) by concordia publishing house is a good conservative study bible. Both of them are available on the Logos Bible software. I haven’t heard of a lot of these study Bibles. I’ll have to check them out. Thank you.
My big issue with logos is they often charge as much for the ebook version of a resource as I would pay for the actual book. So I always end up buying the book instead. It would be pretty nice to have my 40 odd study bibles available to me right on my iPad as I lay in bed, and it would take less time than rummaging through my shelves to compare resources. I wish physical copies would either include an ebook version or ebook versions would be priced appropriately (since there is no printing, or distribution cost).
Yes, understood. I feel like one must make a decision about 'platform' early on before building the theological library. For my part, I felt that the digital functionality was worth the price of the print book itself, but I can understand how some would not feel that way.
@@PastorTanner Had I been born 15-20 years later I may have made the same choice. The accessibility of Logos is amazing and has many advantages and no worries about your library being damaged. It also makes moving much easier (books are pretty heavy). I confess though I do love a physical book in my hand. I guess my system has the advantage of working without electricity lol.
Excellent info on study Bibles. I already have ESV one of my favorite and CSB and Faithlife so off to a good start. Also looking at getting MacArthurs and Nelson. Would you suggest setting up a custom multi panel format and link to your Bible to peruse all? Kind if how you used the Thompson chain reference tool. Thanks again.
There are a few ways to do this well. You could prioritize the Study Bibles in the order of your choice and run the passage guide. If you do it this way, they would appear under your commentaries. You could also create a collection out of them and add the searching of that collection to the passage guide or even a custom guide. Finally, you can do what you said and have each of them open in a layout, and save that layout for regular reference.
@@PastorTanner thanks for the quick response 👍 and your videos are very informative. I like the layout version and could start that with my 3 or so and add more later as I get them.
@@PastorTanner Just as a follow up when I got home from work I set up my Logos with a saved layout. Double window with my 4 favorite Bibles on the left NASB, ESV, NKJV, and NIV. Then the second window with ESV, Faithlife, CSB, and MacArthir Study Bibles on the right. Then I linked them all together. I probably witll add the NIV Customs Study by Keener as well. But, the power really came to light when I went to Acts 1 and saw the plethora of info put up on the description, author, history, background of the book. This is a great way to delve pretty deep real quick. Also, a good fore runner to the Thompson Chain Reference as well.
@@nasabielas That's awesome, and a powerful layout for sure! Like you said, being able to navigate 4 translations and 4 study bibles simultaneously delves deep quickly. Very nice!
I have the Lutheran Study Bible. I like it, but it is heavily Lutheran theological leaning. Take a look at it, if you get the chance. They do have it in Logos. I have the print and the Logos edition.
@PastorTanner I shouldn't specified the niv study bible or zondervan niv study bible I can't remember I gave it away. Thank you for the video it was very informative and I learned about study bibles I've never heard of. Great job keep it up !
Logos question. I have recently (past couple years) have left the charismatic movement and consider myself generally reformed and in a bible church. I am looking at logos Gold but notice missing lots of good commentaries that like platinum has. Do you suggest I get the gold reformed package as it has a basic commentary of old reformed guys, or just buy separately the sets or ones I want?
Great question, Daniel. I think you'll get a lot of value out of my buying guides. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vjgB-aSiS3E.html Overall though, I don't feel that Reformed hits very hard at the Gold level. I much prefer it at Diamond. At Gold I really prefer Anglican, plus adding the additional resources you feel like you might be lacking. Even Anglican Gold + Reformed Starter might be a great play. Best of luck!
I'm a KJV lover now but love older stuff to collect Bibles actually literally physical ones but yeah getting overwhelmed ..like I got the Thompson Chain ....have no clue yet how it works
Hi again Pastor Tanner, not sure if you are familiar with the NIV Zondervan Study Bible (Revised Edition) and the NASB Zondervan Study Bible. Both have the same study notes with Kenneth L. Barker as the general editor. If you are familiar with this bible, how would you rank it based on the study contents?
Hi, Gary. You are the second person to bring this up. It seems that Logos may have stopped carrying the NKJV Study Bible in the format in which it was previously present. You may have to go with the Nelson intead.
@@PastorTanner HI again - the same applies to the Nelson Im afraid. I nearly bought the Nelson but there is an info box stating that this too is only the notes but that the notes can be used with any bible in the Logos collection by using the link A
@@garylambe1187 hi, Gary. Yes, this one is simply a comment letting you know that when you purchase a study Bible in Logos, you are not getting a bible ‘translation’ along with it. You need to purchase a bible translation separately. So no worries about that ‘notes only’ comment - that is simply how study bibles work in Logos!
If you like NASB. Check out Amplified Study Bible. It's based on the NASB. God actually communicated with me in the dream that i would be blessed by that purchase and it was absolutely wonderful.
I have it in Logos. Part of me wonders if the license was revoked at some point. Sometimes that happens. If the Nelson is available, it is almost identical.
@@PastorTanner Actually, I was sure I had it in LOGOS but I can not find it. I had BAGD, but when I bought BDAG, it disappeared. The NKJV Study Bible is newer than the Nelson though.
I appreciate you speaking quickly, but maybe save the extraneous introductory material until the end? Actual content doesn't start until almost 7 minutes in...
We actually discussed this, Kyle, but my editor felt that the introductory material was important for understanding the rest of the video. Ultimately we decided to include chapter breaks at the bottom of the video so that people might be able to jump directly to the content. Your feedback is helpful, because we wrestled with this and now we have another data point indicating that perhaps the intro was too lengthy.
Didn’t make it too far. Too much qualification at the beginning, too many “guys”, and please adjust your mic’s height so we’re not looking up your nose
They love being called Rabb, teacher, father: But Jesus Says Not YOU. Whom ever exalts himself will be humbled. 6 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. 8 “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 “Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 23:6-12.
Your number 1 choice (faithlife) is disappointing. I was so excited after watching your video. But i just read the commentary on Matthew 5:17. The author believes that the law is done away with. How else can I believe anything the author has to say if they couldn't even get the basic right? That's pretty sad. I would prefer something that the commentators would give multiple viewpoints and let people come to their own conclusion.
It's okay :-) I still appreciate you. I can see how much work you have put into this. But i would suggest adding matthew 5:17 to your list when you are judging the bible. It exposes the fallacy of the authors. Because of your video. I started looking into the commentary. It is wonderful. It's free on Logos app. The author is for the sabbath and the commandments of God. It's called "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the whole bible" I am sure you have already seen that. It's jam packed with "treatment" as you call it. And from what I can see so far. I didn't feel any pull from the Holy Spirit from reading that. Praise Father.
@@seanham1699 This is a classic commentary sometimes referred to as JFB or Jamieson Sausset and Brown after the authors. Good to know you see value in it, because it is often easy to ignore classic commentaries.
