Pocket New Testaments

My first New Testament probably came from the Gideons -- if it wasn't the first, it's the first I remember. I must remember it wrong, though, because in my mind it's green, but according to the official color coding it should have been red or orange. Anyway, whatever its color, I was fascinated by the little book with its dry, crisp pages and cramped text, and the fact that it was small enough to put in a pocket. Over the years, that fascination has never worn off, which is why I have a stack of New Testaments on my desk right now. Let's take a look at what we've got here, starting at the top of the stack.

1. Cambridge Pocket New Testament (NIV), bound in black calfskin. I bought this one on a whim because of its tiny size. It measures 4.5 x 3.25, and 7/16 of an inch thick. The cover is flexible and aromatic, and the binding is sewn. In other words, quality-wise it's comparable to one of the larger Bibles. It even came in a miniature slipcase.

2. Crossway New Testament (ESV) with Psalms and Proverbs, bound in black genuine leather. Like the Cambridge NIV above, it measures just 4.5 x 3.25, but it's about 5/8 of an inch thick. That doesn't seem like much, but to the eye it looks almost twice as thick as the Cambridge. No matter, the ESV New Testament is excellent. Genuine leather is not the same as calfskin, of course, but the binding is sewn and, when it reaches the Psalms and Proverbs, the format switches to single column, which is very attractive in this form factor.

3. Holman CSB UltraTrim New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs, bound in black bonded leather. I don't know much about the Holman CSB as a translation, but this New Testament shows some good design sense. Just over 6.5 inches tall and 3.5 wide, it's about the size of a checkbook wallet. It's just half an inch thick, as well. The real news, though, is that the text setting is single column -- which is ideal for a tall, thin format. The picture at right illustrates the layout, which is clean and modern. (The only misstep, in my view, is the way the book titles are designed.) The binding is glued.

4. Cambridge New Testament (NRSV) with Psalms and Proverbs, bound in black imitation leather. The Cambridge site gives the measurements as 7.25 x 3.75, but mine measures 7 x 3.5. It's about half an inch thick, and the imitation leather cover is quite flexible. Combined with the sewn binding, it makes for a nice feel in the hand. Like the Holman CSB, this New Testament features a single column text setting (pictured at left). The type looks a little archaic to my eye, but otherwise this is a very attractive edition.

5-7. Cambridge Compact New Testament (REB), bound in (a) dark red calfskin, (b) burgundy calfskin, and (c) green softback. I bought the dark red REB New Testament sight unseen and was so impressed that I decided to get another -- one to use and the other to keep in reserve. Unfortunately, I was never able to find another of the reds -- booksellers kept sending me burgundy instead. No problem -- I've been giving them away. This is the most attractive single column text setting of Scripture I've encountered (although the Standard NRSV from Harper Collins rivals it in everything but form factor), so I don't mind keeping a few on hand to use as examples. I like the REB translation, too, and that helps. The red calfskin is luxuriantly flexible, but the burgundy tends to be stiff (sometimes extremely so). The leather editions measure 6 1/8 x 4.5, and they're 3/8 of an inch thick. The green softcover is just 5.5 x 4, since it doesn't have a leather cover to hang over. Both the leather and the softcover are sewn bindings. I'm worried, though, because the Cambridge site no longer lists the leather editions. They're still on the Baker site, though, and the color is listed as Dark Red rather than Burgundy. Also, there's an excellent, large photo of the page layout on the Baker page featuring the green "flexbind" cover.

8. Cambridge New Testament and Psalms (RSV) Pocket Edition, bound in black French morocco leather. This one I bought because it's a single column setting and the RSV is the source text of the ESV, which was the translation used at my church. Unfortunately, the setting isn't modern and is a little hard on the eyes, and the French morocco cover is quite stiff, in spite of the "soft and supple" description on the slipcase. The format measures 7 x 4.25, and it's about three quarters of an inch thick, making it the largest example in this listing.

9. Thomas Nelson New Testament with Psalms (NRSV), bound in gray bonded leather. This edition doesn't seem to be available any longer. Gray used to be a much more popular color for Bibles than it seems to be now, and I have several Thomas Nelsons in this exact binding, including an old KJV Open Bible. A bookstore had it marked for $1 on a discount table more than a decade ago, and I figured, "Why not?" The type is the same as the Open Bible, too, and I believe it's the precise typeface and layout used in the Thomas Nelson Bible I was given as a high school graduation present -- so there's continuity to the line. This one measures 7 x 4.5, and half an inch thick, so it's roughly equivalent to the REB NTs from Cambridge. The size makes it less portable than the super-small NTs earlier on the list, but it is naturally much easier to read.

The great thing about a Pocket New Testament is that, even though it doesn't include the entire Bible, it is compact enough to have with you when a larger edition is sitting at home. All of these examples serve the purpose, some of them extremely well. Until I sat down to make this list, I didn't realize how many of them had sewn bindings -- quite a surprise.

Years ago, a man came to speak at our church and he withdrew from his pocket a battered orange Gideons New Testament, which had been given to him decades before by the same man who'd shared the Gospel with him for the first time. I was impressed he'd kept it with him all those years, and though I can't say that I'm always similarly equipped, remembering his story makes me resolve again to try.

Comments

[Mark]

All that leather! All those slipcovers! All those pocket Bibles that include the commandment not to covet!

Finding a decent pocket Bible to slip into my jacket when I'm making pastoral calls is an ongoing challenge. Next time I go shopping, I'm taking you along as a guide.

And thanks for the link to the Gideon information. My first Gideon Bible was red, given away in a public elementary school. When I received a green one in college, I wondered why they'd changed the color. Now I know. And though it's decades upon decades since that red Gideon Testament, there have been few experiences that compare to the feeling of receiving that gift.

[Denis]

While not a pocket NT, I have one of the ESV Compact TruTone Bibles (http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581347049) and the portability is great.

I wish however the publishers had not put the words of Christ in red. While the text is small (6.2 font) I find it is usable, however, the red words are noticeably more difficult to read due to, I assume, the reduced contrast and the bit of bleed through from the black text on the other side of the page.

When looking at pocket Bibles I'd recommend trying to stick with black-letter only editions.

[J. Mark Bertrand]

Denis, I think you're right about the ultra-portable Compact ESV. I had a British Tan one that served me well until it had an unexpected sip of coffee. (It didn't exactly develop a patina, but it did smell nice.)

[ElShaddai Edwards]

I have the REB New Testament as well - probably the burgundy cover since it's fairly stiff and a close enough color match to my old Nelson NASB Open Bible. I really like the interior layout - Cambridge has a great product.

I'm curious if you know anything more about the REB Pocket Edition Bible (hardback [ISBN 0521507480] or white French Morocco leather [ISBN 0521507499]) and how it compares to this NT setting?

For what it's worth, I recently ordered the compact NASB NT from Foundation. Wasn't as impressed as I have been with their full-size Bibles - binding looked cheap and the text just felt too cramped with the two-column layout.

[J. Mark Bertrand]

The only other recent REB I have from Cambridge is the Standard Text Edition bound in French Morocco, which is nice but doesn't use the same setting as the Compact NT. Apart from the information available at Amazon, I don't know anything about the editions you mention -- although my guess is that they do not use the Compact NT setting, since a single-column format is still rare enough to be worth mentioning in advertising copy.

[J. Mark Bertrand]

One more note on the REB New Testament. If you order from the Baker site -- http://www.cambridgebibles.com -- although the cover is described as "dark red," you receive the burgundy version. An earlier one I received was marked burgundy, but as of today it looks like the burgundy is actually called dark red on the label. I can only assume that the red has been phased out entirely in favor of the super-stiff burgundy covers, which is a shame.

[matt]

Burgandy...what a shame! while I like the color burgundy, I have never really liked it in bible design. What is it about Red/Dark Red??? For some reason red just looks better with bibles...as though it conveys royalty, power, beauty. Or as mark said it can be "splendid"

[ElShaddai Edwards]

Yes... my copy looks like burgundy, the slipcase is marked "dark red" and the cover is stiff. I ordered it from Amazon a few years ago.

I had a French Morocco REB briefly, but returned it because the page signatures broke apart after just a week of light use. Actually, the REB NT suffers from a bit of the same, but not so bad to return it. My green REB hardback from Cambridge has been very durable.

[Ted]

Why are hardback pocket New Testaments no longer made? I love finding them at used bookstores. Is there some reason for their rarity?

[Andrew]

I've been trying to find one of the Pocket REBs, and it seems nigh impossible. The compact New Testament doesn't even seem to be available off Amazon.ca any longer. Any ideas as to where I might find one?

[brian blair]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HOLY-BIBLES-PLACED-BY-THE-GIDEONS_W0QQitemZ190208981093QQihZ009QQcategoryZ378QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m122

A green Gideons (although they should not be re-sold)