*This
article is posted with permission from its author, Wayne
Goforth, and was published in Preceptor Magazine.
Mass Market Bibles
Certainly not
everyone needs
(or
wants) a Bible that will last a lifetime. Many enjoy getting
new ones regularly. And if that keeps them excited about
God’s Word then that is wonderful. There are always new
covers and styles coming out. Some are engraved with your
favorite sports team logos, or the insignia of a branch of
the military. These can make thoughtful gifts and awards.
Generally these are not as expensive and thus not as well
made (what point if geared to those wanting a new one
frequently?). The binding is usually glued with little to no
stitching. But, not every tool is a screwdriver, and all
bibles will not be used the same way. There are waterproof
bibles for your tackle box; pink ones with butterflies for
your 8 year old daughter’s birthday and a camo one for your
son’s first deer.
Thomas Nelson, and Zondervan, and others
manufacture a wide assortment of this variety and are popular
among many. I have to say that I was impressed with many of
the new vinyl covers that have the look and feel of leather
at a much lower cost. These can be embossed with various
designs, logos, and colors not possible with actual leather.
But, neither will vinyl last as long as leather. Bibles of
this sort are readily available at most shops from Walmart to
Waldens. The publishers also have online catalogs from which
to select as well, simply google their names.
Thomas-Nelson:
Thomas-Nelson has
some of the most opaque paper available among Bibles (little
to no bleedthrough or “ghosting” of the text). Their print
tends to be clear and large enough to easily read. If they
only took more care in the construction and binding they
could have a very good Bible on their hands, but their
interest seems to be more on quantity. For a short time,
Thomas-Nelson produced the “Signature Series” of Bibles that
offered Smyth sewing and calfskin bindings. These were
snatched up very quickly and should have shown that there was
a market for such. The Bible Publicist for Thomas-Nelson
stated that they no longer have any high-end Bibles.
Semi-Premium
Bibles
Most Bible
publishers that print mass market Bibles also have a more
select edition that would be considered right on the edge of
being a premium Bible. Good format, attractive leather and
usually a lifetime guarantee. Leather not typically as high a
quality or as supple, binding not quite as sturdy, and most
often paper backing on the leather. The leathers on some may
even be very thin and glued onto cardboard. This, of course,
will vary from company and model. These things are not all
bad, but may decrease both the lifespan and feel of the
Bible. Then too, price of the semi-premium Bibles often
overlap with that of the lower end premium Bibles.
Crossway:
One exception to this is the Crossway Single
Column Reference Bible (available only in
the ESV). Generally Crossway bindings have been criticized as
being glued and needing to be replaced regularly. Their
premium leather (not their “genuine leather”) Bibles,
however, are actually Smyth-Sewn. The print is a crisp and
legible 10-point font, nice layout, and two ribbon markers.
As the name suggests, a single column with the references
being to the side. Good grade of soft, attractive, black
matte calf skin. The leather is thick and very supple,
feeling like a fine pair of elk skin boots I once owned
(until the skunk incident, but I digress). The folded over
leather edges on the back of the cover does begin peeling
loose easily on my sample copy, but can easily be re-glued at
home. It is lacking a few features that are common for other
Bibles of the same price bracket, (things found on
Cambridge,
R.L.
Allan, and
Trinitarian
Bible Society Bibles) such as a
lack of art-gilt edging (but then, not everyone likes the red
under gold), absence of stitching around the edge of the
cover to prevent delaminating (which this does seem to need).
These may not matter that much considering the other positive
qualities of the Bible, but where there are so many positive
things among this category of Bibles, little differences are
to be noted. Too, the paper is rather thin for a wide margin
that advertises 1 ¼ inch margins for note taking. This is not
to say this is not a well made or attractive Bible. It is.
And it is guaranteed for life. It is by far and above higher
quality than the others manufactured by Crossway I have
examined. With some tweaking, they could have a true premium
quality Bible here. For comparison purposes, for about the
same price (retail of $195), one could get the
R.L. Allan
ESV1 Bible. R.L. Allan is
using the bookblocks from Crossway, with printing done by
HarperCollins on French India paper, and the binding done at
the Queen’s bindery in London. But, Crossway does give free
Bible software with purchase (either sign up online for the
CD or download it from their site. You must
download, however,
for VISTA), and the Crossway Bible is MUCH larger than the
others in the comparison (6.5 x 9.25 x 1.75 inches for the
Crossway versus 5.5 inch x 8.25 inch x 1.25 in the R.L.
Allan). Paper weight on the Crossway would be about a 20
pound bond, and on the R.L. Allan between a 24-27 pound. The
inside text of the R.L. Allan is identical to Crossway’s
Classic Reference Bible. The Crossway Bible you can at least
see in a store first before purchasing rather than having to
order, though you can return R.L. Allan orders if not to your
liking. This would really come down to a matter of personal
preference, as one would be well served by either.
Kirkbride:
Kirkbride, the
manufacturers of the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, is
virtually in a league by itself. A small Indiana company of
eleven employees who turn out some 100-120,000 Bibles per
year. Their Bibles are Smyth sewn, good 20 pound smooth
paper, gold foil gilt edged with legible 8 point font. The
genuine leather, vinyl backed cover is rather thin and stiff,
however, well made. The inside of the covers have a gilt line
(embossed gold line framing the inside of the cover) which is
almost a non-existent feature now (attractive, but purely for
aesthetics). The fold over edges on the inside of the cover
show no desire to come loose (delaminate) due to a special
machine that only Kirkbride uses for Bibles called a Freeman
case maker. Even with this, you’re paying less than half of
what you would on the premium Bibles with a current retail on
genuine leather of $89.99 (though hardcover, imitation
leather and bonded are also available and less expensive. It
is to be noted that the hardcover is glued, however, rather
than sewn). Layout is interesting. There are two columns
side-by-side with references on the left and right margin. It
does have a nice wide long black ribbon marker, although two
would be nice and three would be fantastic. Kirkbride prides
itself on constantly tweaking their Bibles to try to find
best combinations of leathers, papers and linings. For a
period of time the text was printed in Korea with some
complaints about the quality of printing. These are now only
printed in America and are still assembled by hand. These are
not lifetime warranted, but does have a manufacturer
guarantee against defects. The only thing I found that I did
not care for is that the red lettering is a pink and harder
to read in my opinion. I generally do not recommend study
Bibles, but this one points you to a chain of other passages
on the subject rather than man’s comments. This allows the
Bible to be its own commentator.
The advantage of the semi-premium Bibles is that these are
more readily available at bookstores and in a wider variety
of styles, translations and colors. Again, these are
generally guaranteed for life, so if one is not concerned
with having to find a new Bible in 5-10 years, then these may
well fit the bill. While there are some bad translations to
be sure, there do not appear to be bad Bibles as such, simply
different options available depending on needs and use. So
there really is some truth to the old joke that country
preachers carry around big family Bibles to have something to
protect them with when the dogs come running after them from
under the porches while visiting members!
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