Like most people who teach the Bible regularly, I have owned quite a few Bibles over the years. When I went to college my parents gave me a nice leather bound NIV Bible. I used that one for years be eventually had to retire it because the NIV translation had been revised several times. I tried several other Bibles but have never quite found one that had the same feel. I have a couple of well-worn NIV 2011 variations, and I am a sucker for a Crossway Readers edition. I even bought a goatskin ESV Psalms volume at ETS a few years ago (it is a beautiful book that will likely outlast me).
Since 2005, I have been using variations on the ESV Bible, settling eventually on a hardback ESV Study Bible soon after it was released in 2010. I have used that Bible in classes and in Bible studies for the last ten years, and it is looking a bit long in the tooth. The cover is loose and there are some awkward coffee stains in the Pauline epistles. I thought about a new edition of the NRSV (which I use in Logos Bible Software, and I do have a hardback with the Apocrypha handy in my office).
I recently upgraded the hardback ESV Study Bible to a nice TruTone binding of the same edition. It looks exactly like my comfortable old ESV, but it feels just a bit more special. I got the Bible from Personalized Bible, a website which focuses almost exclusively on Bibles. I say almost exclusively, because non-Bibles sometimes turn up in searches.
Their website is very user-friendly, you can by translation (KJV, NIV, ESV, NKJV, NASB, NLT, HCSB), and then adjust the search by price of the Bible (in case you do not want to be tempted by those Cambridge calf-skin leather Bibles). They have a wide selection of Study Bibles in various translations, including the old Scofield Reference Bible (“if it was good enough for Paul, it is good enough for you”) and the Ryrie Study Bible.
As for imprinting, they will do two lines for maximum of 25 characters each for an additional $7.99. Not every Bible can be customized, so look the imprintable Bibles if you want to add your name. This is also a good source for a gift and award Bibles that can be customized. They have both large print (12-point) and giant print (14-point) Bibles. Honestly, I did not know a giant print existed, but as I get older, that is more and more attractive. I noticed a “super giant print” 17-point ESV Bible. There is an economy giant print ESV ($8.54 each), churches might consider buying a case to help out the older folk who attended Bible studies.
The prices are competitive and they are lightning fast on shipping (even for a personalized Bible). Check them out when you are in the market for a new Bible.
