It’s hard to read the Bible.
This week, there were probably some people (hopefully many people!) who put “Read the Bible” on their New Year’s resolutions list. But like many New Year’s resolutions, it has probably appeared on the list in prior years too and has often failed.
That’s because the Bible you already have on your bookshelf isn’t meant for reading. It’s meant for study, and it includes lots of things that help studying but aren’t part of the inspired text: things like section headings, footnotes, cross-references, and even chapter and verse numbers. These additions get in your way and decrease your motivation to keep reading.
23Most of us are blindw to how typographical conventionsx affect the way we read something. And we’re reading things, 24all the time!a But if we train ourselves to ignorey the clutter and skimz the wordsa on the page or screen, 25who knows how much we missb in the processc?
Although we know the Bible tells a unified story, beginning to end, of God’s work to redeem his people and his world, we rarely actually read it like a story.
So change the formatting.
A “reader’s Bible” removes all footnotes, cross-references, section headings, verse numbers, and chapter numbers. The text is typeset like any other novel or book of poetry and printed on thick, regular-sized paper like any other book.
Not only that, but ancient scroll lengths no longer have to control the book divisions. For example, 1 and 2 Samuel are a single book, but it didn’t fit on one scroll and our Bibles have been forever stuck printing this text as two books. Not only that, but 1 and 2 Kings are actually parts three and four of that same book. In a reader’s Bible you can read the complete epic of the rise and fall of the kingdom of Israel all at once.
There’s more! Most reader’s Bibles re-arrange the order of the books more sensibly. Both the Old Testament prophets and St. Paul’s letters can be put in chronological order rather than arranged from longest to shortest as they are usually. And the two-part book of Luke and Acts doesn’t have to be interrupted by the Gospel of John.
An edition of the Bible like this is really something that entices you to sit and read!
There are many options.
First is to pick your translation. The NLT is my choice for long form reading because it's a little more casual. The NIV is the most popular and what we read in church on Sundays at King of Grace. The ESV is highly regarded as a more closely word-for-word study translation.
Second is to pick the edition, and each publisher has many bindings for each translation (e.g., one volume vs. multiple volumes, wide margins for taking notes, hardcover vs paperback, etc.) Here are my picks for those three translations:
(These links are to the publishers’ websites, but all are sold through Amazon too.)
Personally, I like the NLT Immerse Bible the best. Although it looks the least “Bible-y” with it’s colorful paperback covers, it’s the easiest to physically hold for a long time and the New Living Translation is the easiest to read as an epic story.
You are invited to read!
The standard editions of our Bibles are useful for studying the individual trees of the forest. But that’s stage two. First we need to have a solid grasp on the entire forest. As you read, don’t stop and don’t back up. You might not understand something, but don’t be discouraged. It’s not going anywhere and you can try again next time! Just keep reading, and the Spirit of God will do his work in you, as he has always done, through his chosen means of grace.
Introductory typesetting from Peter Krol at knowableword.com.