All of the books we recommend are conservative and evangelical unless otherwise noted. Inclusion on this list does not mean we completely endorse the contents but we include them to provide a wide range of views.

Essential Reference Books¹

These are the translations and reference books that we think should be in every Bible students library.

• English Standard Version  - the most accurate 'literal' translation²
  
• New International Version  - the best 'dynamic equivalence' translation (1984 version, not the 2011 revision!)
  
• The Amplified Bible - helpful for those without knowledge of the original languages
  
• Hendrickson Parallel Bible (KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT-SE - 4 popular translations for comparison)
• NASB Topical Reference Bible
  
• New Bible Commentary, IVP - superior to other 1 volume commentaries
  
• New Bible Dictionary, IVP - the best 1 volume dictionary available
  
• New Dictionary Of Theology, IVP
• Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of OT & NT Words
  

General Reference

• A General Introduction to the Bible*, Norman Geisler and William Nix
  
• A Survey of the New Testament*, Robert Gundry
  
• Basic Christianity*, John R. W. Stott
  
• Concise Theology*, J. I. Packer
• 18 WORDS: The Most Iimportant Words You Will Ever Know*, J.I. Packer
• The New Testament Documents, Are They Reliable?*, F. F. Bruce
• Knowing Scripture*, R. C. Sproul
  
• Bible Doctrine*, Wayne Grudem
• Evangelical Dictionary of Theology*, Walter Elwell (editor)
• Survey Of The Bible, William Hendrickson
  
• The English Bible, F. F. Bruce
  
• The Old Testament Speaks, Samuel J. Schultz
• The Word Study Concordance, G.V. Wingram and R. D. Winter
• Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words, Eugene Carpenter and Philip W Comfort
  
• The English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament: ESV, Crossway
  
• Zondervan Topical Bible
  
• What The Bible Teaches, R. A. Torrey
• Essential Truths Of The Christian Faith, R. C. Sproul
• Knowing God, J.I. Packer
• How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth, Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
• How to Read the Bible Book By Book, Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
  
• We Believe, Michael Horton
  
• The Life And Teaching Of Jesus Christ, James S. Stewart
  
• New Testament Words, William Barclay
• The Analyzed Bible, G. Campbell Morgan
  
• Gospel Parallels, Burton Throckmorton
  

Advanced Reference

• Life Of St. Paul*, James Stalker
  
• Survey Of The Old And New Testaments*, J. Gresham Machen
• New Testament History*, F. F. Bruce
• New Testament Survey*, Merrill C. Tenney
• New Testament Times*, Merrill C. Tenney
• Introduction to the New Testament*, Everett F. Harrison
  
• Old Testament Introduction*, R. K. Harrison
• Old Testament Times*, R. K. Harrison
• A Survey Of Old Testament Introduction*, Gleason Archer
• The Interlinear Hebrew-Greek-English Bible, One-Volume Edition, By Jay P. Green
• Outline Of Hebrew History, J. Barton Payne
• Redating The New Testament, J. A. T. Robinson
• New Testament Introduction, Donald Guthrie
  
• Introduction to the New Testament, D.A. Carson, Douglas Moo, Leon Morris
• Baker Bible Atlas, Charles Pfeiffer
• I Believe In The Historical Jesus, by I.H. Marshall
• International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Geoffrey W. Bromiley (editor)
• The Oxford Companion To The Bible, Bruce Metzler, editor
  
• The Life of Christ, Robert D. Culver
• The Heart Of The New Testament, H. I. Hester
• The Life Of Christ, H. I. Hester
• The Gospel Of Moses, Samuel Schultz
• IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
• IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament

• Handbook Of Christian Apologetics*, Kreeft & Tacelli
• The Case for Christ*, Lee Strobel
• The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel
• The Case For A Creator, Lee Strobel
  
• Know Why You Believe, Paul Little
• Know What You Believe, Paul Little
  
• The Christian View of Science and Scripture, Bernard Ramm
  
• Is God Dead?, Richard Wolff
  

• Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics*, Graeme Goldsworthy.
  
• Protestant Biblical Interpretation*, Bernard Ramm
• Biblical Hermeneutics*, Milton S. Terry
• Interpreting the Bible*, A. Berkeley Mickelsen
• Exegetical Fallacies*, D. A. Carson
• Evangelical Hermeneutics: The New Versus the Old, Robert L. Thompson
  
• New Testament Interpretation, I.H. Marshall
  
• New Testament Exegesis, Scott McKnight
  
• Biblical Exegesis, John Piper
• Interpreting the Pauline Epistles, Tom Schreiner
• Validity In Interpretation, E.D. Hirsch
• Interpreting Prophesy, Phillip E. Hughes
  
• Introduction To Biblical Interpretation, W. Klein, C. Blomberg, R. Hubbard
• Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics, Walter Kaiser and Moises Silva

• Summary Of Christian Doctrine*, Louis Berkhof
  
• New Testament Introduction*, Louis Berkhof
• Systematic Theology* (PDF), Dr. Stanford E. Murrell
• Systematic Theology*, Wayne Grudem
• Systematic Theology,*, Robert Duncan Culver
  
• New Testament Theology*, Leon Morris
• Theology Of The Older Testament*, J. Barton Payne
• Theology Of The New Testament*, George Eldon Ladd
• A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (2nd ed), Robert Reymond
  
• Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Walter Elwell (editor)
  
• The Reformed Faith, Loraine Boettner
• Handbook Of Theology, Norvell Robertson
• Doctrines Of The Christian Faith
• Christianity 101, Gilbert Bilezikian
  
• God's Inerrant Word, John Warwick Montgomery
• Understanding The Trinity, Alister E. McGrath
  
• The Gospel Of The Kingdom, George Eldon Ladd
• Outlines Of Theology, A. A. Hodge
• New Testament Theology, I. Howard Marshall
• Coffeehouse Theology, Jim Thomas
• The Apostles Creed: Do You Really Believe It?, D. Bruce Lockerbie
  
• Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Samuel Waldron
• The Affirmation Of Faith, Bethlehem Institute
• John Wesley's Scriptural Christianity, Thomas C. Oden
  

• The Blessed Hope*, George Eldon Ladd
  
• The Church and the Tribulation*, Robert Gundry
  
• Interpreting Revelation*, Merrill C. Tenney
• Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy*, J. Barton Payne
  
• The Imminent Appearing Of Christ,* J. Barton Payne
• The Rapture Plot, Dave Macpherson (see ad)
  
• The Millennium Bible, William Biederwolf
  
• Crucial Questions About The Kingdom Of God, George Eldon Ladd
  
• The Second Coming, Charles H. Spurgeon
• Jesus And The Future, G. R. Beasley-Murray
• The Return Of Christ, Charles Erdman
  
• Our Lord Cometh, William J. Rowlands
• The Millennial Maze, Stanley Grenz
• The Presence of the Future, George Eldon Ladd
• Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth, John H. Gerstner
• First The Antichrist, Robert Gundry
  

• The Word Study New Testament, G.V. Wingram and R. D. Winter
  
• Greek-English Lexicon, Liddell and Scott
  
• New Testament Greek for Beginners, J. Gresham Machen
  
• Word Pictures in the New Testament, A. T. Robertson
• Word Studies in the New Testament, Marvin R. Vincent
• more
  

Commentaries

• New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition*, Gordon J. Wenham
  
• New International Commentary on the New Testament,*  F.F. Bruce and Gordon Fee (editors)
  
• The Expositor's Bible Commentary - Abridged Edition: New Testament,* Kenneth L. Barker, John R. Kohlenberger III
• The Expositor's Bible Commentary - Abridged Edition: Old Testament,* Kenneth L. Barker, John R. Kohlenberger III
  
• Peakes Commentary On The Bible, M. Black and H. H. Rowley (editors)
• Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible, James D. G. Dunn
  
• The Classic Bible Commentary, Various authors
  
• Commentary On The Bible. Matthew Henry

• New International Commentary On The New Testament (NICNT)*
• New International Commentary On The Old Testament (NICOT)*
• Pillar NT Commentaries, D. A. Carson, Editor*
• New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGT)*
• IVP NT Commentary Series, Grant R. Osborne, Editor*
  
• Tyndale New Testament Commentaries , Leon Morris, Editor
• Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries , Leon Morris, Editor
  
• The Bible Speaks Today (TBST NT Series), John R. W. Stott, Editor
• The Bible Speaks Today (TBST OT Series), J. A. Motyer, Editor
• Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary (3 vol. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible)
  

• The Gospel According to St Luke (TCNT), Leon Morris
  
• Commentary on the Gospel of John (NICNT), Leon Morris
• The Epistles Of Paul To The Thessalonians, Leon Morris
  
• The Gospel Of John, F. F. Bruce
• The Gospel Of John (Pillar), D. A. Carson
  
• 1 And 2 Corinthians, F. F. Bruce
• The Epistle Of Paul To The Romans, F. F. Bruce
• The Epistle To The Romans (Pillar), Leon Morris
• The Epistle to the Romans (NICNT), John Murray
• The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, F. F. Bruce
• Galatians: The Charter Of Christian Liberty, Merrill C. Tenney
  
• Matthew for Today, Michael Green
• To Corinth With Love (1 and 2 Corinthians), Michael Green
  
• The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians (NICNT), Leon Morris
• The Epistle to the Hebrews (NICNT), F. F. Bruce
  
• The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, F. F. Bruce
• The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT), Gordon D. Fee
• The Book of Acts (NIC), F. F. Bruce
  
• The Letters of Paul and Expanded Paraphrase, F. F. Bruce
• Luke: Historian and Theologian (Luke-Acts), I.H. Marshall
• James And Jude, Richard Wolff
• The Gospel According To Matthew, G. Campbell Morgan
• The Gospel According To Mark, G. Campbell Morgan
• The Gospel According To Luke, G. Campbell Morgan
• The Gospel According To John, G. Campbell Morgan
• The Acts Of The Apostles, G. Campbell Morgan
  
• The Epistle of James - Tests of a Living Faith, D. Edmond Hiebert
• First Peter, D. Edmond Hiebert
• Second Peter and Jude, D. Edmond Hiebert
• The Epistle of James - Tests of a Living Faith, D. Edmond Hiebert
• Commentaries On Revelation
  

• The Minor Prophets, Charles L. Feinberg
• The Treasury of David (Psalms), C. H. Spurgeon
• Genesis: A Commentary, Bruce K. Waltke
• A Commentary on Micah, Bruce K. Waltke
  
• Daniel (Geneva Commentaries), Edward Young
• Isaiah: A Commentary, Brevard Childs
• Ezekiel (Geneva Commentaries), William Greenhil
• more to be added
  

Miscellaneous

• Hard Sayings Of Jesus, F. F. Bruce
• 25 Basic Bible Studies, Francis Shaeffer
• True Spirituality, Francis Schaeffer
  
• How Then Should We Live?, Francis Schaeffer
• A Christian Manifesto, Francis Shaeffer
• The God Who is There, Francis Shaeffer
• God In The Dock, C. S. Lewis
  
• Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis
• Miracles, C. S. Lewis
• Spiritual Depression, Martin Lloyd Jones
  
• Lectures To My Students, Charles H. Spurgeon
  

More

• Also see our Recommendations and Other Books pages.
• For some recommendations by Dr. Andreas Kostenberger see: Helpful Reference Tools for Biblical Studies, and Favorite NT Commentaries.
• Reformed Commentaries list at www.reformedbooks.net/commentaries.php
  
• Books in-print can be purchased or ordered from most Christian bookstores. For used books try our Book Search form. Also check Also check  amazon.com and ebay.com.