The Swindoll Study Bible is unlike any other study bible, with the exception of Pastor Chuck Smith's The Word for Today Bible. Both of these study bibles contain personal wisdom, practical application and insights from solid pastors who have been in the trenches of local congregations for their life-spanning ministries. Pastor Swindoll also serves as Chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary and produces the Insights for Living media ministry. I did not include the MacArthur Study Bible or the Life Application Study Bible in this comparison because Pastor John MacArthur's study bible is closer to a traditional study bible, in that it is strong on biblical facts and explanations and short on application. The Life Application Study Bible is a beautiful balance of application notes, features and facts. Both of theses study bible are highly recommended, as is the Quest Study Bible, which does a great job of answering biblical questions in a very accessible and uncluttered format.

FEATURES: You will not find a multitude of study notes in this bible; however, most pages have several study notes for pertinent passages which are strong on biblical wisdom and practical application. Applying biblical wisdom has been the cornerstone of Pastor Swindoll's ministry. In addition, you will find thorough book introductions, many Application Articles, People Profiles, a Holy Land Tour (which highlights particular geographic sites with biblical significance), Prayer Moments (brief prayers selected from Pastor Swindoll's years in ministry), a robust Dictionary Concordance and an incredibly helpful Topical Index to Features. I am particularly fond of the Topical Index. Why would anyone purchase a study bible without an index which helps you access the wealth of knowledge contained between the covers? Unfortunately, many study bibles lack a topical / subject index.

SIZE / FONT: You will not need a pack mule to carry this study bible around; it is relatively compact for a study bible which contains such a wealth of information. The font size is comfortable for a study bible; I'd guess about a 9 point font. Study notes are close to a 7 point font. The many translators' notes are very small unfortunately (5 to 6 point is my estimate). Pages are relatively thin allowing for some print bleed through.

LAYOUT: The layout is a double column format with study notes in blue highlighting at the bottom of the page. Prayer Moments, Holy Land Tours, People Profiles and Application Articles are scattered throughout the text at appropriate places. The Swindoll Study Bible (SSB) has a visually pleasing and uncluttered format with blue highlights. The leather-like cover is of a good quality, but not great. The grayscale photographs and maps located through the bible leave something to be desired in terms of visual quality, but they are certainly helpful. The SSB has a sewn binding, so it will be more durable than one which has glued pages.

TRANSLATION: The Swindoll Study Bible utilizes the New Living Translation, which is the most accurate and easy to read of the dynamic equivalent translations. The NLT includes many, many translation notes which give literal translations or alternate translations. The NLT is more theologically conservative than the 2011 NIV. I used to be wary of all dynamic equivalent translations, but have found the NLT to very accurate and an excellent communicator of the meaning of the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The NLT seeks to communicate the intent of the original language and utilizes gender modification to reach that goal. But, unlike the 2011 NIV, most of those gender modifications are footnoted, so the reader is aware of the masculine word(s) in the underlying text. I still prefer a more literal translation, which has not been gender modified, for study (NASB, NKJV, ESV) and a faithful mediating translation, such as the CSB, for everyday use, but would not hesitate to recommend the NLT to anyone.

CONCLUSION: This is a gem of a study bible for new believers or mature followers of Christ. Pastor Swindoll has produced a rich gift for the body of Christ. I have long considered the Quest Study Bible to be the most accessible and visually pleasing (uncluttered format) study bible available, but the Swindoll Study Bible equals it on both counts and stands above it for imparting biblical wisdom and insight for daily living. Thank you Pastor Chuck and Tyndale House Publishers!

Disclaimer: I purchased my Swindoll Study Bible from Christian Book Distributors (christianbook.com) and have no affiliation with Insight for Living Ministries or Tyndale House Publishers.

Highly recommend this Bible, love Chuck Swindoll's notes and being available in the NLT version. Easy read...will become your go to Bible. It's worth having even if you have multiple Bibles, versions as I do. Highly, highly recommend. Great gift Bible also...for anyone....great for a new believer in Christ.

I respect Dr Swindoll and his bible is informative, however, for me, the print color makes it challenging for me to read. I wish it was in a darker print color. so, for those who have trouble reading, this may not be the best choice. Once again, if you have some vision issues, this color print may not be the best. thus I gave it the rating I did.

Good Bible for Sundays but i miss the extensive study notes found in my other Study Bibles. Wish it had more commentary. Size is good to carry and font is very readable. Like the color on the pages but wish the photos were in color too .

This bible was not what I expected. I thought it would be a little more academic. I don't know. Dr. Swindoll is a great scholar of the bible and man of God. I need to take more time to review this bible.