There are a lot of Bible to choose from. How do I find the Bible(s) that is right for me? We will try and provide some guidelines to assist you in this process. We cannot of course choose the Bible for you, but we may be able to point you in the right direction. The best place to start is our search tool .
Start Here – What’s the most important feature(s) that I need in a Bible?
Typically we want everything in our personal Bible. We want it to be highly legible with wide margins, thick and opaque paper, bound in beautiful and durable goatskin, and able to fit in our back pocket….Wishful thinking!
Legibility – Perhaps this is the most important feature in the Bible – You want a Bible that is easy to read. Typically (there are of course always exceptions) pocket size, compact, personal size, wide margins, thinline Bibles – i.e. Bibles that have a premium on size or note-taking are going to have smaller font in order to be small. Legibility is of course relative. Legibility has a different meaning to a 20 year old compared to a 75 year old….. There are many other factors associated with legibility. One other major factor is the degree to which print shows through the page ‘ghosting.’ Ghosting can be a distraction for some. Two factors mitigate against this. One – is paper opacity. If the paper is relatively opaque – the ‘see-through’ will be less noticeable. Second – line matching. Bibles that have line matching have lines on opposite sides of the page match – which nearly eliminates the ‘see through’ issue altogether. Many Bible descriptions will have this feature listed.
Font Size – Caution! Closely connected to legibility is its most common yardstick – font size. Typically font sizes of 10 point or greater have better than average legibility. Now here is the caution. Font families can look completely different in the same size: example – Cambridge uses an 8 point Times Semi Bold font for its Concord Reference Bibles. This Bible is however more legible than many other Bibles with larger fonts – particularly ‘thinner’ fonts…
Portable – A Bible that travels well – in a carry-on, back pack or purse. Remember that typically Bibles that carry well in a purse are not going to be at the top of the legibility charts. Having said that, there are some really great compact Bibles that are amazingly legible for their size.
Note-taking capability. You need a Bible that you can take notes in. If note-taking is a premium you should be looking at 2 essential features: paper quality and width of margins. Some Allan Bibles have lined paper in the back of the Bible as well. Typically, Wide Margin Bibles are fairly big Bibles because of the added space for the 1″ + margin space. Do not expect the text to be more than 8-9 point (with the exception of the new Schuyler Wide Margins) – i.e. not exceptionally large. If the text was large the Bible would be enormous.
Cross-References/Text . Bibles typically come with or without cross-references. Anyone who has studied the Bible knows how important cross-references can be to study. A quick note about these invaluable references. Many Bibles have cross-references that are so small as to be essentially illegible. If you want to have these in the Bible itself, take a minute to see if you will be able to read them. Keep in mind as well that there are dozens on places to find cross references online.
Classic Reference Bible – Many Bibles fall into the ‘Classic Size’ range. These Bibles do not fit into a ‘specialty’ category and will require research to determine whether or not they fit your specifications. Typically these Bibles are a person’s ‘standard’ ‘go-to’ Bible.
Study Bible – We actually have a page dedicated to study Bibles. Of course, many people carry these to church every Sunday, but obviously they average 4-5 lbs and can be a bit cumbersome. You probably can’t put this in your back pocket either….