KJVER Gift and Award Holy Bible, Black Ultrasoft: (King James Version Easy Read, Red Letter)

This is a review for the Gift and Award edition of the KJVER. If you’ve ever owned a Gift and Award Bible from just about any Bible publisher, you know what to expect in terms of the construction. Small print to keep the text block under 1,000 pages, low-quality paper (but with minimal ghosting), and a thin cardboard cover made to look like faux leather. If small print and cheap material on an $8 gift Bible bothers you, save up to buy a leathertouch Super Giant Print Bible from Holman. The cover is a little different than the one shown in the picture for the sales page, but I prefer the one I received. My primary reason for buying this was that it features red letters in both the Old and New Testaments for direct quotes from God/Jesus. Present-tense instances are in red font, while past-tense instances are highlighted in red (see pics). Yes, the entire Bible is the inspired word of God, but featuring red letters in the Old Testament can be exceptionally useful when studying the books of Moses or the Prophets, as it’s often difficult to tell when a particular prophet is offering his own voice/point of view and when he is recording God speaking directly (this happens a lot in Isaiah, for example). I’ve been planning to highlight those direct instances of God’s voice when I get to a future Bible-readthrough, and I think this edition will be a great shelf resource for comparison. It also features limited footnote cross-references between the Old and New Testament for instances when passages from the Old are quoted or alluded to in the New. Most gift Bibles don’t include any footnotes, so I thought this was a nice feature. The “Easy Read” edits to the archaic KJV spelling seem fairly noninvasive - it still reads like the KJV, but I didn’t compare closely with another edition as I wasn’t purchasing for the translation. Overall I’m quite pleased with this Bible. It’s such a pleasant surprise to discover a red letter Old Testament for under $10.

I am reviewing the 2023 version (Large Print, Acorn Bonded Leather, Thumb Index). Several reviewers have a previous version which is different from mine. I think mine is the latest release version. This is NOT a review for the 'Sword' version or the 'Gift and Award' version. There are many KJV "modernized" versions out there from several publishers, but Humans seem to find it irresistible to start changing things for the worse and meddling with the KJV in such a way that doctrine, theology, soteriology or eschatology is warped by simply changing a few words here and there. I had given up on finding a modernized KJV version that I could adopt because, it seemed that every one of them had failed so miserably. They all seem to make drastic doctrinal changes in the text. I recently found the KJVER and I love it because it is simply the KJV properly modernized and not changed. This is what the NKJV should have always been. The KVJER has several differentiating features. The first thing they did was use the 1611 King James version. Many in the KJV-Only crowd would go so far as to argue that the 1796 version has done too much editing (this can be debated), so I appreciate that Whitaker house has listened to those concerns and remained with the original translation. The word "modernized" is a scary workd to KJV'ers because of how many times we got burned by publishers claiming that "nothing was changed". But the Second feature of the KJVER is how they "modernized" the 'thees & thous' (and managed to pull it off) not by replacing them all with 'you' but very cleverly replacing the thee's (singular pronouns) with 'you, your, yours & yourself' and replacing the 'ye and you' (plural pronouns) with 'you' that has a "P" (for plural) marker at the end to signify the plural pronouns. As you know, you cannot simply strip out the thee/thous and ye's. Proper english and the Textus Receptus has the formal and informal pronouns which must be taken into account, and the KJVER does it very cleverly. No other modernized KJV does this, and cannot therefore, be considered modernized KJV versions, except for this one. Third, most people agree that the KJV has a lot of antiquated words. I absolutely LOVE that the KJVER does NOT remove them, but instead underlines them and after each verse, in small letters, gives a modernized definition of what that archaic word means. If you're familiar with those small KJV companion packets people make which have "over 600 archaic words defined" that you throw into the back of your KJV - well, the KJV incorporates that philosophy directly into the text. The Fourth major feature of the KJVER, is the modernizing of archaic verbs (different from antiquated words mentioned above). For example, 'knoweth' becomes 'knows' and 'shouldest' becomes 'should' and 'holpen' becomes 'helped'. At the beginning of the Bible, there is a full list of all the verbs updated in the Bible and there must be hundreds. Here is a sample list of a few more: affecteth — affects agone — ago broughtest — brought cotes — folds kine — cows, cattle parteth — parts yesternight — last night Now, these ARE changed directly in the text and this is what makes the KJVER really shine. Because these are true "modernizations" of the existing verbs, not translations or replacements. They take the verb from 1611 and modernize it to todays version of the same exact verb. Fifth, the other major feature of the KEV is the theme string cross-reference bible study system. For example, let's say you want to study what the Bible says about "Law" or "Divorce" or "Wealth & Riches", you would go to one of the verses under that category and at the bottom of the page would be a direction to the next verse in the Bible that relates to that topic. Once you get to that verse and look to the bottom of the page, it will tell you what next verse to go to, to continue your study of that topic in the Bible. This is a fascinating way to immerse yourself in the Bible while focusing in on a specific topic. There are also some very helpful features that you won't find in any other Bible, such as: *Red lettering in the Old Testament when God speaks. *Red shading when God or Jesus is quoted by someone else speaking. Other PROS: *I love the font. At first, when I received the Bible and opened it, I initially thought the text should be bolder, but after a few hours of using the Bible I really started to like it. *The paper they use is not ultrathin and is more white than most Bibles. This is an added feature that they don't advertise, but I have a small Bible collection and this jumped out at me. *The lines are "lined up" on both sides of the page to help prevent ghosting. They did a good job with this. Many Bibles have a ghosting problem and don't take these details into account. *It is printed in India and not China. Whitaker house understands the sensitivity around this issue and I greatly appreciate that. Some minor CONS: *formatting nuance: I believe the verse numbers are too small. As I use this Bible more and more I got used to it very quickly (within a few hours), but I would certainly prefer if the verse numbers were bigger. I also think the Book and Chapter at the top corners of each page should be larger size as well and perhaps a more classy font. I don't think any KJV should have "modern"-style fonts. But, this is all nitpicking. CONCLUSION: Besides the raw KJV, going forward I will not use any other modernized KJV except for this KJVER — this is the closest I've come across to getting it perfect. I believe they've nailed it, for the most part. Surely, they could do a bit more work on the added definitions in some places, but otherwise this is a solid modernized KJV. You can use this as a permanent modernized KJV, or as a stepping-stone (training wheels) to the full raw KJV, if you wish. I plan on using this as my daily devotional and study Bible for the foreseeable future because I see no reason to keep looking for any other modernized KJV. I currently have this and my KJV from Christian Art Publishers on my desk.

I like the easy read but the other reviews that mentioned the readability of the faint type were completely correct. It’s a great idea but the type is very faint and it makes it harder to read. I guess you can get used to it. The next printing will hopefully correct the faint type issue.

King James Version Easy Read helps you if you struggle with the archaic words found in the King James Version. I love this version and have bought several to give out as gifts to those who wish to read the KJV but struggle with the archaic wording. However, the print is so faint that is very difficult for me to read. Also the numbers for versus and up at the top of the page are very small and very difficult to find which verse you're looking for . Which makes me hesitate in buying anymore to hand out to those who wish to know the Lord. I hope if they print in 2026 that they will make the print darker and easier to read in that sense. Other than that I love it.

I consider the SWORD BIBLE to be the best study bible for its features. I have been using the Sword Study bible in a version that is no longer in print. I don't know why its not in print anymore. These bibles are only printed in the fall each year and are often on sale at that time. The greatest feature that I find in these is that all of God's word is in red. Many who read the older testiment get confused as to whom is speaking in many of the books of the Prophets. Many who see the shear volume of what God has to say when it is in red are amazed at how much God has spoken to us. I use the KJV for my study as I believe this is the way that God would have intended his word to be presented to all people. The KJV is not copywrited because it was decreed by a king. God establishes kings and kingdoms. But because the KJV is in old english, many do not like it so this version has been modernized for easy reading but is true to the 1611 King James Bible edition. Also, it includes key refernces to other verses that may pertain to the one you are reading as well as interpreting key words that may have another meaning or is suggested for use for better understanding. All in all, this is an excellent resource for furthering your study or and especially for those whom might be beginning there jouney in allowing for the Holy Spirit to teach them the word of God. This was purchased as a gift bible as I get these when on sale to handout to new christians or those whom want to know more about God and his plan for all of us.

The pages are very thin and fragile. Since the pages are so thin, there is excessive bleed-through from the pages behind that make the text difficult to see and read. It is also very distracting seeing the text from the page behind. I chose this large print Bible so it would be easy to read. Definitely not the quality I expect from a $115 book. What a disappointment. I do not recommend this option at all!

Each verse is separated and has it's on line. That makes reading easier for sure. I enjoy reading this version as an addendum to the KJV. I find some of the words they choose to define a little comical. Some uncommon uses of words are not explained, while some of the words they explain are very common. The wording isn't as poetic as the KJV. It is a great second read. It will not be my primary reading source. I am glad I bought it.

Love it, perfect medium size and great quality.

Love it

Dreadful, unreadable due to extremely feint print and small font. Have tried to read and has caused eye strain and headache. I am returning and will email publisher. Huge disappointment and not fit for purpose. Should not even get one star.