The Premier Collection NASB 95 Preacher's Bible from Zondervan

Sometimes you need to spend some time apart to truly appreciate something. I saw this Bible a long time ago and I don’t think I truly gave it the love it deserved. I’m talking about the Premier Collection NASB 95 Preacher’s Bible from Zondervan.

Maybe it’s the arrival of the NASB 2020, maybe it’s just the fact I haven’t reviewed a NASB 95 in awhile, or maybe it’s something totally different, but this Bible is nice! If I”m honest, I think I overlooked it. At the time I saw it, I was a die hard single column onlyist. My love for the double column has certainly grown. This is just a really nice Bible!

It all starts in the packaging. I think Zondervan’s black and silver boxes scream premium. They’re beautiful to look at. when you open it and have the black cardstock sealed with the silver sticker, that’s the icing on the cake! I love the Premier Collection packaging and I think packaging truly matters.

The leather on this Bible is so nice. It feels great and has a nice grain. I’d think this Bible costs a lot more than it does. The slimline design is so sleek and feels great in your hand. This Bible is meant to travel! I also love the spine hubs with the gold writing. It’s not anything revolutionary design wise, but it’s classy. This Bible feels classy!

There are red under gold page edges, but what really blows me away are the bookmarks. That a Bible this size has three bookmarks is awesome. I also think going with two black and a red is an interesting design choice. It’s very different, but I like different. There are black head and tail bands. Of course, the Bible is edge lined and Smyth-sewn for durability.

Inside is a black calf liner that is as smooth as butter! There’s also a gold perimeter gilt line. I love the gilt line inside. To me, it sets apart a premium Bible from a non-premium. There are certainly premiums that don’t have it, but I always wish they did.

The paper in this Bible is a 36 gsm European Bible paper according to Zondervan.. If I’m honest, I don’t think it feels or looks like a 36 gsm. It feels much more like a 28 gsm. Ghosting is not bad and line matching always helps minimize any show through. The paper feels nice and is easy to turn.

The type is the Zondervan NASB Comfort Print, which I really like. It claims to be a 10 point type, but I think it may read a little smaller than that. I’d love for it to be a bit bigger, but that would compromise the slim package. The layout is a double column verse-by-verse. I love the red accents for the chapter numbers, verse numbers, subtitles, and page headings. They really make it easy to navigate the layout.

The other thing I love in this Preacher’s Bible is that there are no maps. I’m not a fan of maps and wish every Bible would remove them. But being a preacher’s Bible, they truly are unnecessary and I’m glad Zondervan made the bold choice. There are several charts at the end though and in my opinion, they could have left those out as well. Give us the text and let’s make this as slim as possible. They left out a concordance so I’m unsure why the charts were included.

All in all, I’m really glad I revisited this Bible. It’s so well done and would make a very nice NASB for anyone, but I do think preachers will especially love it. Zondervan really knocked this one out of the park.

You can pick up your copy of the Premier Collection NASB 95 Preacher’s Bible on Amazon. (affiliate)

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this Bible from Zondervan in exchange for a fair and honest review.