The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible: King James Version, Black, Bonded Leather

I was a little leery of purchasing this Bible, given all the negative reviews about the printing quality. However, the Thompson Chain Reference Bible is one that I have wanted for several years. I first got one about 10 years ago, and due to the very light red text and inconsistent printing, it was returned. I have finally repurchased, and as I still notice these issues, I think it is just the way that it is with this publisher.As for the quality of the printing, there are definite issues that are noticeable. I have attached a picture showing how the darkness of the print can vary between pages. It is not that extreme, but noticeable and possibly distracting. The red font is also a light shade of red which is not that easy on the eyes, compared to my older Bible where the red was a darker color. Another issue I noticed with the red font is that some of it is actually slightly out of alignment with the regular font. The more issues like this that I find, the more it seems to distract me from reading, as I start scanning the pages for problems. I have not found anything so bad it makes the text illegible, just a bit distracting.On the positive side, this is the perfect Bible if you are like me and looking for a Bible that goes beyond the basic text, but includes aids to help you get more out of the Bible (and you don't want commentary, which might be wrong or biased). You can really study with this Bible and get more out of it. And even though it has a tremendous amount of study aids, the actual body of text is COMPLETELY free from any notes or annotations, leaving you free to just read the text if that is all you want. The beginning of each book usually has a short notation of the author and often things like the main theme, key thoughts, and key verse/text of the book; there is also a subheading under each chapter division that gives a quick list of the topics in that chapter. And of course, it has a unique and comprehensive chain reference system that makes it easy to study further along basically ANY topic encountered while you read. Another reviewer mentioned this, but if you look it up on Youtube, you can find a video that makes it much more clear how it works.The back of this Bible also has an enormous amount of other study helps. You could spend a lifetime using this Bible and still not glean everything out of it. It includes:-- Text cyclopedia. Here, all the topics from the chain reference system are found, and the full list of cross-references is given. Also groupings of topics that are very similar so you can study along a similar topic.-- Bible readings (groupings of topics and verses for devotions or speaking)-- Outlines of each book of the Bible. Includes a brief history of the different Bible versions, outline of the Bible as a whole, historical outline that relates Biblical times to secular history, and outline of every book. Some books also have illustrations to further help in understanding the overall idea of the book. Great if you are like me and need to see the bigger picture in order to understand the details.-- Character studies. Includes some charts and graphics. Also includes differences in how Christ is portrayed between the gospels, and list of prophecies of Christ and their fulfillment.-- Harmony of the gospels and illustrated studies. Includes maps with annotations actually explaining where things happened (great if you don't like flipping back and forth between the map and text, trying to understand what happened where). Also several more illustrations of various topics. Good if you are a visual learner who needs charts or pictures to understand things.-- Archaeological supplement with pictures--Glossary of archaeic words in the KJV with modern meanings--Concordance--Color maps with index-- and more (list of memory verses from each book, guides to Bible study and marking, Hebrew calendar explanation, etc)Because this is such a unique and helpful Bible that so many people could benefit from, I do wish the publisher took a bit more pride in their product to simply make the printing uniform and easy to read. All the hard work behind the content is there -- I just don't understand why the printing cannot be made uniform. Because a Bible is not an everyday purchase, I think most people including myself would be willing to pay extra to ensure quality. I would probably be willing to pay double for this Bible if the quality were stellar. Despite the printing issues that bring this Bible down from being the best it could be, I still love this Bible because I think it is one of the few that provides the tools to not just read, but really study deeply.

If you use the King James Bible as your primary or only translation for study, then this is a fantastic resource (it does come in other translations as well). Do bear in mind that this is not a study Bible in the in the sense of which most people are familiar. There is no commentary on the text, rather it is a very well executed reference system that allows the reader to follow a particular topic through from Genesis to Revelation, and has a topical index and study aids in the back. This Bible is not intended to help you interpret scripture, it assumes that all exegetical efforts will be your own; rather, it provides a great deal of historical and background information in the study aids, and allows you to see connections made throughout. I typically use the NASB for study, but I grew up on the King James and I love it. This Bible is easily my nicest looking one, and sometimes I do get in a mood to read the KJV.The bonded leather is obviously exactly that; however, though I have not had it long, it ford seem to hold up well. It is printed on a very high-quality paper, and the format is very nicely done. It is a two-column text with side column references. It just looks very good, and for its intended purpose, it is the best system I have come across.

This bible was a purchase for my roommate in the hospital. I had never been in a double room except when my husband and I were together which was a first for this hospital. She asked if I had a spare bible. Without her knowledge I did an extensive search not only for a price but for the contents, how the author of the different versions of the holy bible. She is extremely impressed with this bible as well as it was a gift from me. I love it and might purchase one for me. I have a Catholic bible but this one is cross referenced and has study helps plus maps. What a resource! I highly recommend it.

Good quality. Paper is fine as expected in a bible.Some diagrams in the study material and I like the chain-linking. Solid Bible to have in the library. I wouldn't carry it around as it's a bit large and heavy for me but it fits in my small backpack. Seems to have a good reputation among those who study the Bible.

The best investment I have made buying this Thompson-chain Bible. Lovely.

good bible for individual/family study. I recommend it to all bible loving students to get one. both lay and pastors love it

Excellent book

Excellent Bible