Itsy Bitsy Bibles

FrontstackSome pastors are going to hate me for this. They send me e-mails all the time, and their biggest complaint is the small type size used in so many Bibles. How can ... mature ... eyes be expected to read these things? I know some of my readers would be happy to see legislation passed prohibiting type under 12 pt., and I feel for them. Still, I just love small Bibles. No, let me take that back: I love tiny Bibles, itsy bitsy ones. The kind you can slip in a jacket pocket and forget about. The kind you can carry with you everywhere. In this roundup, I've collected three of the smallest editions in my collection: a Compact ESV rebound by LeatherBibles.com, a Cambridge Crystal Reference KJV bound by Allan's, and a Little Oxford Bible. Let's start with the biggest and work our way down. The Compact Thinline ESV is small. The type is just over 6 pt. and the trim size is a mere 3.75 x 5.75. It offers a concordance but no references. Old eyes may find this edition unusable, but I happen to like it -- so much that I have six or seven of them lying around in various bindings: two Collins editions from the UK in hardback and paperback, two of the original bonded leather ones, a TruGlo, a bonded leather Portfolio, and this one in soft calfskin from LeatherBibles.com.

Leatherbibles_2If you visit their website, you'll see that this edition is no longer available -- and for good reason. For some reason (possibly the adhesive binding), the Bible simply won't lie flat. In the photograph here, you can see that the inner part of the binding near the spine is kind of pinched together, so that the pages only spill out flower-like after the first half inch or so. Needless to say, that makes for a difficult reading experience. Having said that, the leather is attractive -- comparable to the soft calfskin used in Nelson Signature Bibles -- and it comes with two ribbons.

CrystalThe second Bible in the line-up is from R. L. Allan's. It's a Cambridge Crystal Reference KJV bound in goatskin, measuring 3.75 x 5.5. The type size is comparable to the ESV, but the font seems a little more readable. When you consider how small this Bible is, under an inch thick, it's amazing to think that this is a reference Bible complete with a concordance. The goatskin cover feels exquisite, but it's a subtle luxury that only makes itself apparent with use. I wish I'd had this Bible back when I attended a church that used the so-called Authorized Version from the pulpit, because the features would have come in handy at this size. I'm not sure how this Bible, which is roughly the same thickness and width as the ESV Compact Thinline and a quarter inch shorter manages to pack so much onto the page (and offer wider margins to boot), but it does.

LittleoxfordThe last and smallest Bible in our diminutive line-up is the Little Oxford Bible. Like the Compact Thinline ESV, it offers no references, but it comes in at a mere 3.5 x 5. The sewn binding is quite supple, though it doesn't quite lay flat. The covers are French Morocco and have acquired a nice patina from use, though the ribbon is now a bit frayed. I've never encountered a smaller Bible that was actually usable -- and this one is emphatically usable, assuming you have good eyes.

The portability of these tiny Bibles is amazing. They're designed for the hand and the pocket, not the shelf. They aren't as easy to read as larger editions and perhaps they're smaller than they reasonably need to be -- but as far as I'm concerned, they're wonderful. Thanks to these itsy bitsy books, you can take a Bible with you anywhere and read to your heart's content.

J. MARK BERTRAND

J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.

Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.

Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

http://www.lectio.org
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