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There Are No Bible Verses

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Stand to Reason has a concise and terrific article by Greg Koukl about the fact that the books of the Bible originally had no verse markings. Koukl states the unintended consequences of verse divisions, which were first introduced in 1551:

There’s good news and bad news about verse numbers. The good news is it’s easier to find stuff. The bad news is it’s easier to get stuff wrong. Verse numbers tempt readers to take a passage as a collection of discrete statements having meaning and application in isolation from the larger work (“How does this verse apply to my life?”).

Why is it a problem to do this?

God did not give us 66 books of short, pithy sayings to be applied piecemeal to our lives (with a few exceptions, e.g., much of Proverbs). Most of Scripture is narrative—story. Most of the rest—NT epistles, for example—is argument (making a case) or instruction. Each of these—narrative, argument, instruction—involves a flow of thought within the passage from the larger part to the smaller part.

And in conclusion:

So, beware. A really good idea almost five centuries ago had a bad consequence that can sabotage your understanding of Scripture. I suggest you ignore the artificial divisions (chapters, verses, headings) and focus on the larger narrative, argument, or instruction. Start big, then get small. Look at the larger flow of thought, then zoom in on the particulars.

Koukl makes his case with a few compelling examples. This is why we’ve taken time to review many readers Bibles on this site. Here’s another reason to invest in an ESV Reader’s Bible, 6 Volume Set,  which is 50% off at Westminster Bookstore until tomorrow.

Check it out!

Disclaimer: Westminster Bookstore links are affiliate links, so by clicking them, you’ll support this blog at no extra cost to yourself.

Why Paragraphs Matter

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Some older editions of the Bible used to put every verse on a new line, communicating that each verse was an independent unit of thought. Thankfully, the practice is rare in modern Bibles, and Mark Ward demonstrates why it matters.

Often editors need to guess where the best paragraph divisions should go. And different translation committees will disagree. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try.

In his article “How Paragraph Breaks Can Help You Understand the Bible,” Ward gives two examples of how paragraph breaks in Matthew led him to ask interpretive questions he might not otherwise have thought of. In particular, the paragraphs caused him to ask, “Why does this sentence follow what came before? How does it fit with the flow of thought in this section?”

When we move away from reading Bible verses as isolated aphorisms, and we read them as building blocks in a larger argument, we are well on our way toward proper understanding.

Perhaps you can relate to Ward’s experience. Check it out!

NIV Sola Scriptura Bible Project: Reading the Bible in 4D

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There is a new style of movie theater, called 4D film, where moviegoers endure a complete sensory viewing experience. 3D picture, fog machines, strobe lights, sprays of water, and gusts of wind. Have you ever wondered what it might be like to read the Bible in 4D?

This Is It

The NIV Sola Scriptura Bible Project is a new 4-volume reader’s edition of the Bible that does everything possible to improve the reading experience. All clutter—chapter and verse numbers, section headings, footnotes, and cross-references—is removed from the page. The paper is thick and bright, and the binding is sturdy. The font is beautiful. The margins are more than adequate. Spacing is just right. Headers and footers give enough information to enable basic navigation, but they otherwise remain discreet.

So much, so good. But how is this any different from the other reader’s Bibles on the market? How does the NIV Sola Scriptura Bible Project stand out?

Imagine having the text organized by its internal literary divisions instead of traditional “chapter” divisions. This is it. Some study Bibles print book outlines in a separate introduction. But the Sola Scriptura set doesn’t need outlines. The outlines are visible on the page while you read. The major sections of a book are marked by a four-line break and a large capital letter. The next divisions have a three-line break. Further subdivisions have two- or one-line breaks. In other words, the text is presented to you in the structure that would be noticeable if read aloud. The structure intended by the author. This is remarkable.

Even further, imagine if book divisions were unaffected by ancient scroll-length limitations. You know, don’t you, that 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel were always meant to be a single book? But that it was too long to fit on one scroll? And that our Bibles have been forever stuck in printing this text as two books, even though modern printing technology doesn’t need to be limited by the length of ancient scrolls? And let me blow your mind even further: 1 Kings and 2 Kings are merely parts 3 and 4 of the same story. Now, in the Sola Scriptura set, you can read not only the book of Samuel as one book. You can read the complete epic of Samuel-Kings as one long and glorious tale of the rise and fall of the kingdom of Israel. Also, you get Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah as another epic tale of the rise, fall, and rebuilding of that same kingdom.

But wait; there’s more! Imagine if the books of the Bible were arranged in the best possible order to stimulate not only reading but also understanding. What would it be like to read Luke and Acts as two parts of one story, without being so drastically detoured by John, as in standard canonical order? And then picture going from Acts right into Paul’s epistles. But now they’re not put in order from longest to shortest (as in canonical order), but from earliest to latest so you can see the development of Paul’s thought over time. The rest of the New Testament is arranged here in a similar way, which is very similar to the way I’ve recommended would best promote deeper understanding.

In reading the New Testament, we see that the Bible of Jesus’ day consisted of three sections: the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms/Writings (Luke 24:44). What is that all about? If you were to study biblical Hebrew, you would buy yourself a Hebrew Bible and see this order to the books. Stick Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, and Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah with what we call the “Wisdom Books,” and you’ve got “The Writings.” The Law has Genesis through Deuteronomy. Now we see that “The Prophets” consists not only of Isaiah through Malachi (minus Lamentations and Daniel), but also Joshua through Samuel-Kings. This is a different way to read, but it is the way the Jews conceived of these books.

On top of that, let’s re-arrange our prophetic books by chronology instead of by length. This sets us up to walk ourselves through the late history of Israel to keep things in context. What was it like to live during the final days of the northern kingdom? Read Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah. What about those in the southern kingdom watching the fall of their northern cousins? Read Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk. Want to go into exile (or watch the exiles go)? Read Jeremiah, Obadiah, and Ezekiel. Time to return and rebuild? Read Haggai, Zechariah, Joel, and Malachi. Each book makes a little more sense when read with the others addressing the same situation.

With other reader’s Bibles, I’ve had only three complaints. The paper is impossibly thin. The chapter numbers need to go along with the verse numbers (into the dust bin). And please, oh please, drop the stage cues in the Song of Solomon! Please let us enjoy the poetry and immerse ourselves in it without being told exactly who must be speaking!

The NIV Sola Scriptura Bible Project is the only edition I’ve found that addresses these complaints. And it does so much more to address the complaints I never realized I could have.

What It Could Do Better

So what criticism can I offer about this marvelous edition? Some may not prefer the NIV translation, but I find it a delight to read at length.

Other than that, I could say that the four volumes fit very tightly into the slip case. It’s not easy to grab a volume from the set when I want to read it.

Any edition of a reader’s Bible will not serve you if you need to flip constantly and find particular sentences. And a four-volume set isn’t something to carry around with you wherever you go. You’ll need something else if you need an on-the-go Bible.

But that’s about all the criticism I can muster.

Conclusion

The NIV Sola Scriptura Bible Project solves every complaint I’ve had with other reader’s Bibles. And it solves all the other complaints I didn’t realize I could have had. If you like to read, and you want to get into reading the Bible, this set is for you. Every production decision was made with the reader in mind. I highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: Amazon links are affiliate links. If you click them and buy stuff, you will feed our addiction to extended Bible reading at no extra cost to yourself.

NIV Reader’s Bible: For Readers or Not?

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Paul charged the church in Thessalonica to “have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters” (1 Thess 5:27, NIV). When was the last time your church read one of Paul’s letters in full during a worship service? He expected his letters to be read and taught in this way, but we’ve grown accustomed to dealing with only a few verses at a time.

Now I’m not saying it’s wrong to read or teach the Bible a few verses at a time. But I would suggest this practice shapes us to think of the Bible only a few verses at a time. And we should at least be aware this is not the only (nor perhaps the best) way to read.

Which is why the recent flood of reader’s Bibles is such a delightful turn of events. I recently received a review copy of the NIV Reader’s Bible from Zondervan in exchange for an honest review. How does it hold up?

What It Does Well

As with other reader’s Bibles, the NIV Reader’s Bible gets most of the man-made clutter off the page. There are no verse numbers, cross-references, study notes, or section headings. Chapter numbers are moved out of the text block and into the margin, in a discreet light blue font.

The text presents in a single column, just like the novels and books of poetry we’re used to reading. Scenes with dialogue give a new paragraph to each character that speaks, just like the other narratives we read in our day. This is quite welcome.

Line breaks are placed carefully, being sensitive to the literary flow of the text. This Bible’s editors laudably show no special concern for traditional chapter divisions. They put the line breaks where the text warrants them. For example, in reading Judges, we get a solid block of text from Judges 1:1 all the way to Judges 2:5. Along the way, we wave to an unobtrusive little “2” in the margin that marks the coming and going of Judges 2:1. But we don’t stop to make the acquaintance of that little 2. We drive right by it until we park where the text itself parks, at Judges 2:5. Then we calmly sip our tea, take a breath, and move to the next phase of the story, beginning with Judges 2:6. But we don’t really know it’s verse 6; all we know is that the next round of literary glory awaits us.

And so on, through poetry, prophecy, genealogy, inventory, and letter. This Bible does just fine presenting a clean text that expects to be read and not mutilated.

What Could Be Better

Unfortunately, a few features substantially distract the eager reader.

  1. The margins are too small. With 1/2″ margins all around, the page simply looks like it has too many words on it. There is no buffer, no rest for the eye. When I try to read this Bible for more than a few minutes, I just can’t do it without my eyes bugging out. And I usually have to use my finger to keep my place on the page.
  2. End notes. I do not understand why there are end notes in this Bible. The end note markers either tease or annoy, depending on the reader’s mindset. But either way, they distract from the simplicity of reading. The notes themselves are placed at the end of each Bible book, creating a feeling that you haven’t really read the book unless you’ve spent the time flipping pages back and forth to read them all.
  3. The book is fat and sharp. It has a shorter page height and a wider page width than some other reader’s Bibles. This both adds to the feel of too many words on a page and increases the page count, making the physical book quite fat. In addition, the corners of the spine are sharp, giving the book a distinct rectangular look when sitting on the table. Most books we read have rounded corners to the spine. The fatness and sharpness combine to make this book difficult to hold for extended periods of time. (In its favor, the book lays very flat on a table. But how often do you lose yourself in a book you’re reading on a table?)

Also, this Bible comes with a slip case made from card stock. It’s not really a case, but just a promotional carton for shipping. So if this Bible gets significant use, it will deteriorate quickly.

Conclusion

The NIV is a great translation for extended reading. But unfortunately, the NIV Reader’s Bible does more to distract from the reading experience than to encourage it. This one’s not for me.

Disclaimer: Amazon links are affiliate links. If you click them and buy stuff, this blog will receive a small commission at no extra cost to yourself. Thank you for supporting our Bible reading habits.

CSB Reader’s Bible: A Good Ride

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There seems to be a growing movement among Bible publishers to recognize that the way they present the Scriptures will shape the way people read them. When verses are presented piecemeal on a page, interspersed with frequent interpretive sound bytes, it leads people to read the Bible as a series of disconnected aphorisms. But when they present a clean and unembellished text, they give us permission to take up and read. They communicate that we hold something worth reading. And this direction in Bible publishing is to be celebrated.

The CSB Reader’s Bible takes a noteworthy step in this welcome direction.

What It Does Well

The CSB Reader’s Bible contains the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, typeset just like a novel or book of poetry. With just a single column of text and no chapter or verse numbers, it’s easy to get lost in here. And I mean that in the best possible way. With an edition like this, we’re likely to lose track of time, forget life’s busyness, and simply enjoy the ride.

The CSB Reader’s Bible does a great job helping us to navigate our way. Page footers show which chapters are present on each page, making it easy to find a particular spot. The text also signals new chapters (according to their traditional divisions) with a line break and a large blue first letter, which keeps the text from appearing too monotonous.

And with this volume, Holman Bible Publishers employ a few notable features I’ve not seen before in a Bible:

  1. Prose is not fully justified, but only left-justified. As I read, I find this prevents my eye from skipping lines.
  2. Lines of poetry are all indented the same. Most Bibles try to show the Hebrew parallelism by indenting the second line of each couplet further than the first line. But this often causes lines to wrap to the next line, which gets even more confusing. The CSB Reader’s Bible indents all the lines the same amount, and marks off stanzas with line breaks. As I read, I find it a little more difficult to notice the parallelism of each couplet, but easier to follow the flow of the stanza. This is not a bad thing.

The slipcase that comes with the CSB Reader’s Bible is the sturdiest I’ve seen. This thing will surely take a beating in my book bag and remain intact!

Finally, I must mention again that I am impressed by the CSB translation. It is clear and accurate, a delight to read. In my Sunday night family Bible reading, I have switched over to using the CSB Reader’s Bible, and I haven’t looked back.

What It Could Do Better

I could complain about how extremely thin the paper is, but there’s no other option for a publisher without breaking it out into multiple volumes. And Holman made a great choice in paper quality to make it easy to turn pages.

My biggest beef is simply that the CSB Reader’s Bible sticks with all the traditional chapter divisions. With the ingenuity of a reader’s version of the Bible (removing all verse and chapter numbers), a publisher has total freedom to typeset the text according to true literary divisions. So, for example, the first division in the Bible should come at Genesis 2:4 (“These are the records…”) and not Genesis 2:1 (“So the heavens and the earth…”), which is the conclusion of the story of creation in Genesis 1.

Now I’m sure this would have taken significant manpower to decide where the most natural section divisions should be. It must have been easier to simply stick with the traditional divisions, even though they can sometimes obstruct a good read.

But with that said, the beauty of a reader’s Bible is that you have permission to keep reading through any chapter divisions. Why stop at all? Just enjoy the ride and keep going.

Disclaimer: Amazon links are affiliate links, which will support the blog at no extra cost to yourself. Thank you for helping us to enjoy the ride and continue writing about Bible study!

Disclaimer 2: Holman Bible Publishers provided me with a free copy of the CSB Reader’s Bible in exchange for an honest review.

ESV 6-Volume Reader’s Bible, Part 2: Last Impressions

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In the first review, O God-lover, I have dealt with all that Crossway began to conceive and risk, until the day they presented the world an utterly uncluttered, heretofore unseen, edition of God’s word. They showed us a living and active book, appearing to the populace just like any other book, yet speaking about the kingdom of God. And just as this edition’s first eyewitnesses delivered many opinions to us, it seemed good to me also, having now read every page of the 6-volume set, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning whether this literary wonder should grace your shelves.

For the facts about the physical books, page layout, and specifications, please see my first review. For reflections on the reading experience itself, read on.

The Bible tells a story

I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve heard it before: The Bible tells a unified story, beginning to end, of God’s glorious rescue, through Christ, of his fallen creation. But, though you’re familiar with the idea, do you read the Bible like a story? That is, do you read the Bible the way you would read a story? Beginning to end. Pages at a time. Devouring the drama. Anxiously awaiting the next plot twist.

Most people read the Bible like an encyclopedia. Or like a menu. Or like a codebook. And most Bible typesetting encourages us to read the Bible in these ways.

But the clean look of the ESV Reader’s Bible, 6 Volume Set expects you to read the Bible as you’d read any other book. It encourages you to keep reading and reading. There are no big black numbers coercing you to a screeching halt every few verses. There are no verses. You can’t snack on this thing. All you can do is binge.

And if you get into a theological debate with someone, and this edition is all that’s handy, your only recourse to objection is to read (or tell) a story. Sort of like what Jesus did when he faced opposition…

The Poetry drips with glory

I’ve often struggled with the Bible’s poetry. It often just doesn’t connect with me the way I hear it does for other people. But that has always surprised me, because I have no problem enjoying other poetry. I’ve read Shakespeare, Longfellow, and others to great profit. And I’ve grown to love Proverbs and Job, but Psalms and the Prophets are hard, hard going.

And I now wonder how much my struggle has to do with the typesetting more than the content.

In reading the 6-volume set, I could not put the Psalms down. The Prophets were still challenging, but they felt more…personal. It’s amazing what happens when you get the verse numbers, excessive footnotes, and narrow columns out of the way. Volumes 3 (Poetry) and 4 (Prophets) look and feel like other poetry collections. They sit nicely in hand, invite a nightcap, and call for extended reflection. I know I could read the Psalms meditatively in any version of the Bible, but the reader’s set basically begged me to do so.

Reading the Bible is fun again

As a child and pre-teen, I loved to read. And I learned young that, if I wanted to read the Bible, my best option was to take up a story Bible. The Bible itself was for study, preaching, or classes. Lengthier consumption—you know, the kind done after hours under the covers with a flashlight—was reserved for the “interesting,” the “engaging” re-tellings of biblical tales in children’s Bibles or youth story books.

But discovering God’s word, as presented in the ESV’s 6 Volume Set, rekindled a joy in reading God’s word like I have never experienced. Perhaps this set might do the same for you.

Conclusion

You can tell this review is not so much about this specific edition of the ESV, as it is more about the philosophy that birthed said edition. This philosophy ought to be shouted from the mountaintops. I hope this experiment of Crossway’s provokes a revolution among Bible publishers. I hope we see a similar reader’s edition for every translation. Since the ESV set, one has been published for the KJV. I’m aware of both single-volume and multi-volume reader’s Bibles coming this spring for the NIV. Perhaps more are on the way.

I doubt we’ll ever lose our unreasonably cluttered editions of the Bible altogether. They are useful, after all, for study, preaching, and classes. But I hope new generations of Christians can be brought up learning to simply read the Bible. It is, after all, a book. Or 6.

ESV Reader’s Bible, Six-Volume Set. Get it at Amazon or Westminster.

Disclaimer: Amazon and Westminster links are affiliate links. If you click them and buy stuff, we’ll get a small commission, thus enabling our ongoing Bible reading binge.

ESV 6-Volume Reader’s Bible, Part 1: First Impressions

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23Most of us are blindw to how typographical conventionsx affect the way we read something. And we’re reading things, 24all the time!y But we train ourselves to ignorez the clutter and skimaa the words on the page or screen, 25and who knows how much we

missbb in the processcc? Jots like foot—notesdd, cross-references, and 26verse numbers aren’t present in most things we read. But we’ve learned to treat the Bibleee different than any other book. 27And this is not always to our advantageff gg hh.

 

I’m going to drop the annoying clutter now. Why? Because it gets in your way and decreases your motivation to keep reading.

Thanks, in part, to these typographical conventions, modern Bible readers have been well-trained not to read the Bible. We sample the Bible. We dabble in its teachings. We memorize verses. We support our theological convictions with proof texts.

But if we want to read something, we pick up a newspaper or fantasy novel. We’ll spend hours and hours reading all kinds of things, but how many of us handle the Scriptures only in 10-minute spurts?

For a few years now, I’ve encouraged readers to throw their caution to the scorching east wind and indulge themselves in the sumptuous delight of extended Bible reading. The challenge was always finding an edition of the Bible actually conducive to extended reading.

Two years ago, Crossway took a major risk and released the ESV Reader’s Bible (cloth and TruTone). Finally, we had a Bible meant to be read. With no verse numbers, section headings, footnotes, or cross-references, we had ascended the peak of Pisgah and could see ‘cross the river into a good land, a rich land.

But… As I wrote in my review, while the ESV Reader’s Bible was a great cause for celebration, it was still only “almost” how the Bible was meant to be read. I had a few minor beefs with it, some of which I believed to be outside of Crossway’s control:

  1. Impossibly thin paper
  2. Chapter numbers
  3. Song of Solomon stage cues

Dealing with beefs 2 and 3 would certainly lead us to glory. But beef #1 was admittedly impossible. As I wrote, “I’m not sure how else they could have fit 1825 pages into a single volume. This page formatting holds fewer words per page than typical Bible typesetting, and something has to give to manage the physical thickness.” If they could do the impossible, they just might take us into the third heaven.

And They’ve Done It

readers-bible-6-volume

Crossway did something I never would have expected two years ago. What was impossible for one volume, they did by publishing the Bible in six volumes, “that the Word of God might be treasured for a lifetime.”

The paper is thick and solid, just like any other book. The page layout has plain text in paragraphs or stanzas, just like any other book. It has page numbers at the bottom and brief headings at the top, just like any other book. This wonderful edition of the Bible is pleasing to the eye, sturdy in cover and binding, and comfortable to hold for long periods of reading. Just like any other book.

readers-bible-6-volume-interior

Fancy that. An edition of the Bible that entices you to sit and read. For a time, you might lose track of time. You might forget your to-do list. You just might set aside some of those cares you perpetually carry around. And this Bible promises abundant delight within its pages. You won’t carry this thing around in a backpack; it’s not meant to be portable. It will sit on a shelf or on your desk, and you won’t be able to keep your hands off it. This edition isn’t cheap, either, because it embodies Crossway’s vision “that the Word of God might be treasured for a lifetime.”

So far, in the copy Crossway gave me (in exchange for an honest review), I’ve read only a few books of the Bible. But I must say this has been the most enjoyable time I’ve ever had reading God’s word. I couldn’t recommend this edition any more highly.

You can pick up this marvelous cloth-over-board set at either Westminster Books or Amazon. For the most serious collectors, Crossway’s website also allows you to order the cowhide-over-board edition. Both are limited editions, and they won’t be available forever.

Odds and Ends

I’m calling this review “Part 1” because it has my impressions after only a few days of use. I plan to use these 6 volumes for my annual read-through beginning on January 1. Expect part 2 of the review to come early in the Spring after I’ve read the entire set.

Also, you can expect another Bible reading contest on the blog this year. You won’t have to finish the Bible before me; you’ll just have to read the entire Bible between January 1 and March 31. If you do, you can enter our drawing to win a free copy of this six-volume Reader’s Bible!

Disclaimer #1: Links to Westminster Books and Amazon are affiliate links, so if you click them you’ll grant this blog a small commission and thus feed our addiction to extended Bible reading.

Disclaimer #2: It is a fallen world, and no one but the Lord Jesus is perfect. My proof of this? The 6-volume set fixes my beefs #1 and #2. But, alas, beef #3 remains. I guess you can’t have everything.

A Short History of Bible Clutter

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How did we get our Bibles? Not just the books of the Bible, but all the apparatus that comes along with it? Chapter and verse numbers, section headings, and cross-references. Two-column format, study notes, and call-out boxes with key ideas. Why do our Bible look so different from any other book (or collection of books) we read?

Desiring God recently posted an important episode of the “Ask Pastor John” podcast, where Tony Reinke interviews Glenn Paauw, the Executive Director of the Biblica Institute for Bible Reading, a think tank dedicated to studying trends in Bible reading and design. Listening to this interview may be some of the best-spent 30 minutes of your week. Paauw explains how the appearance of the page drastically affects how we read this book—and how we lose the ability to read this book as a book.

I particularly appreciate Paauw’s question: Which of the following is the Bible most like?

  1. Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations
  2. The Reader’s Digest Guide to Home Repairs
  3. The Collected Papers of the American Antislavery Society

Of course, most of us would pass this test with flying colors. We know the Bible is a collection of writings. But without realizing it, we’ve been trained all our lives not to read the Bible this way. Either we memorize individual verses scattered all throughout the Bible (as we’d handle Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations), or we go to the Bible to learn everything it has to say on a particular topic such as marriage or money (as we’d handle The Reader’s Digest Guide to Home Repairs). And the published presentation of the Bible now serves these market expectations, leading us farther and farther away from reading it like a collection of works.

For this reason, recent uncluttered editions such as the ESV Reader’s Bible have become so important. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should. I assure you, it will transform your Bible reading experience.

And listen to DG’s podcast to learn more about how the published presentation is changing the way we approach the Bible. It’s well worth your time.

Check it out!