I have become a fan of single column text Bibles. Of the single column Bibles available, I think God’s Word (GW) translation has the best layout of any Bibles published. If you haven’t seen one, go to a bookstore and look at one.
Recently I saw a new addition to the NKJV line of Bibles, a single column text only Bible, and since the genuine leather binding was ½ price ($23.95) I bought it. I wanted something with decent font size and readable typeface, as well as format for personal devotional reading and possible public reading. It also had to be in paragraph format, not individual verse layout like most NKJV and NAS Bibles. This one fit the bill.
Bible Specifics:
Leather, Black
Pages 1,798
Font size: 9 pt
Width 6.1 / Height 1.8 / Length 9.2
Publication Date 04/19/2011
This is strictly a reading Bible, so no cross references, no study notes, no maps. Interestingly on the box it indicated that there are “in-text references and explanatory footnotes.” However, that can be a little misleading because there are only reference notes for specific OT quotes in the New Testament (as footnotes, not in-text), and the explanatory notes deal only with manuscript issues (comparing textual basis of Textus Receptus (TR) vs. NA/UBS text). For my use that is all I wanted, but some might be a little disappointed in that.
Helps for Reading the Bible:
Read Your Bible Through in a Year
30 Days with Jesus
90 Day Overview of the Bible
Passages for the Christmas Season
Passages for the Easter Season
Concordance to the New King James Version
(obviously the concordance is nowhere complete, but it is serviceable)
Looking at the Physical Characteristics
Bleed-through is a little worse than I wanted. However, after reading for a few days it is not as distracting as it was initially. Also, the bleed-through shows up more in this photo than it appears in real life (see illustration).
While the text is single column and in paragraph style, the indentation and spacing between paragraphs need improvement. (see illustration)
Even though NKJV has an awkward (no indent) style for poetic and prophetic sections, at least there is separation between units of thought. Thus, it is still easier to read than say the HCSB in poetic sections.
Conclusion
I find this size Bible, font size, and overall feel to be exactly what I wanted. The bleed-through can be a distraction. But this is what I was looking for in NKJV regarding a reading Bible.
