Hardcover

I already own a number of other Bibles in book form including an NIV study Bible and software with almost every English Bible translation available. This is my favorite Bible so far. The life application study notes are very good, maps, concordance, character studies etc are all very good. The text is big enough, the book itself is a little bulky but not too heavy, as can be expected for a complete Bible with all the study notes and other sections. I prefer hard cover Bibles as I think they are more durable, especially for the heavy use I make of them. Quality of the book is good, no issues with the binding, and I expect to be using this for many years, both in church as well as every day in personal Bible study.Update about a year later:Some time ago, I noticed somebody else had written a review and commented on the quality of the binding, complaining that it was not very good for heavy use. Having used the Bible VERY heavily over the last 12 months, I wanted to come back and disagree. Each year I read right through a Bible. My choice of translation for 2005 was this one. I read and cross referenced many chapters, every day. In addition, I carried the Bible to work and back home again. On most days, I used it more to choose some verses to use to send on to some friends via email, and looked through the life app study notes to add some comments for their benefit. At least once every week, ad often twice, it was subjected to some rather heavy handed treatment and inspection as I took it in and out of a prison in ministry. The binding held up well. Of course, it is showing signs of wear, but my use was probably substantially higher than most other people would have in a few years.

Life Application Study Bible, NASB. I debated a long time before deciding on this particular Bible in the New American Standard version. I have to say it is by FAR my favorite Bible. Over the years I have bought several ones such as study bibles, compact bibles, different versions such as the NLT, the NIV, the KJV and the NASB, but at this time I am using this Bible just about exclusively. First, let me say that if you want some wonderful applications for our lives in today's world from the scriptures, this IS the Bible you should get. The applications deal with principles, not personal opinions and in many instances give you a cross reference as well. In the back of the Bible is a good concordance plus a topical index which you can use for study. I initially bought the hardback, gave it away for a gift and bought the leather Bible. Absolutely love it and use it all the time. I can't say enough about this particular Bible. The only reservation I have had is the extremely small print in the notes, but I probably need to get my glasses checked again!

Since beginning to read the Bible seriously on a regular basis about 1 1/2 yrs. ago, I've studied the KJV, NKJV, NASB, ESV, AMP, NIV, NLT, & The Message. I was raised on the KJV, & still love it for certain classic passages. But for everyday reading, I find it often difficult. The NASB is simply the best compromise between the language + cadence of the KJV and readability + ease of understanding, IMHO.I've also tried 4 different study Bibles, & the Life Application is the best I've found so far. It sometimes gets a little too 'preachy' on the side of application for me (e.g. think about how you could use this in your life...), but not usually. Its strength is to quickly provide both a current perspective + historical context, w/o too many distracting cross references.Finally, I have a personal preference for thumb-indexing, which is not always available but is for this Bible!

Highly recommend this translation and application

This is my favorite version of the Bible. The life application has helped me grow in understanding. It looks like a highlighter exploded in mine. And it's falling apart. So I got a replacement. It's also the best to give as a gift to a new Christian!!

I've been looking for a good Study bible for a long time. Cracking this open I'm already really excited about reading the bible through again with all the supplemental notes, timelines, etc. All of it really does help me put biblical history in historical context with everything else that was going on in the world at the time. The maps are great with the current names of the places faded so you can really grasp geographically where past events were taking place. As a visual learner those really help. Also this translation does a good job of explaining in the notes how things were translated the way they were due to the nature of the original languages the scripture was written in.

Looks nice I like it already but it didn’t have Christ's letter in red for those who care about that other then that it’s the best.