What Color Is Your Text?

Since Louis Klopsch's innovation of printing the words of Christ in red in 1899, many publishers have printed red letter Bibles.  But some have used different coloring for varying reasons.  This article lists a few of those more unusual colored text Bibles.  I have divided these Bibles into three main categories:  Speaker identification, Topical and Decorative.

The first category started with Klopsch's New Testament in 1899 which identified the words of Christ by printing them in red.  Most major Bible translations now have a red letter edition available.  An example of a red letter New Testament can be read online here.  The Bible Gateway supports viewing the red letter NT in several versions such as the CEB, ESV, HCSB, NASB, NIV, NKJV and the TNIV.

Red isn't the only color that has been used.  An article at The International Society of Bible Collectors mentions one unsuccessful NT that had Christ's words in Green.  The Woman's Bible available from the Adventist Book Center has Christ's words printed in gold.

Now that red lettering has become so common a new term has surfaced:  "black letter Bibles."  Some find the red print difficult to read.  Others disagree with highlighting part of the New Testament over the rest.  Some publishers now offer both red letter and black letter editions.

Others have expanded the speaker identification idea into the Old Testament.  The King James Bible: Purple Letter Edition identifies the speaker by printing God's name, the Spirit's name and Jesus' name in purple. The Names of God Bible has God's names and Jesus' name in gold.  The Holy Bible:  King James Easy Reading Edition has God's spoken words in red print.  The King James 2000 by Robert Couric also follows this convention.

Some Bibles use even more colors.  The BRG Bible is one of these:  It has the God's words in blue, Jesus' words in red, the name of the Holy Spirit in gold, words of angels in underlined blue and messianic prophecies in underlined red.  A sample of this Bible is available on  Google Books.  It can also be read on Bible Gateway.  The God Speaks Interactive Bible uses the following color scheme:  God's words in purple, passages about God speaking in green, people speaking God's words in third person in brown, angels, visions and dreams in blue, Jesus' words in red and miracles and acts in gold. The Strand Study Bible uses blue for God the Father, red for God the Son, purple for God the Holy Spirit.  Titles and pronouns of each are bold, upper case and colored, full color satellite maps are included right in the text, trinity passages have box around them (such as Colossians 2:9) and underlining indicates passages quoted (or that are quoted elsewhere).  The Spoken Word, a Red Letter Project has God's words in red, people's words in blue, Satan's words in brown and people speaking words from God in purple.

The Sourceview Bible colorizes text according to the identity of the speaker.  When I saw the name, I expected it to be similar to the Bible With Sources Revealed (see below).  But in the free sample of Jonah (available on their preview page) God's words are in red, Jonah's are in blue, the ship's captain and crew are in green, the narrator is in black

A group calling themselves "The Jesus Seminar" produced The Five Gospels.  They used colors more to show what they think wasn't really said than anything else.  Red means Jesus said this or something very like it; Pink indicates that Jesus probably said something like this; Grey words are probably not Jesus' words, but the ideas are close to his and black means Jesus did not say this.  In their version of the Lord's Prayer, the only thing we can be certain Jesus said is "Our Father."

The next category is Bibles that use coloring for topical reasons.  For instance, The Green Bible has "Verses and passages that speak to God’s care for creation" in green print.  Most of Genesis 1 and 2 are in green text.  It is also printed on recycled paper, soy-based ink and water-based coating.  The Financial Stewardship Bible has verses relating to finances highlighted in green.  The Bible looks as though someone took a green highlighter and marked certain passages (e.g. Genesis 2:2-3). The Freedom Bible also uses the highlighter technique.  In this one, passages relating to freedom are highlighted in blue (e.g. Mark 2:3-5).  Another highlighter style Bible is the Poverty and Justice Bible.  Here, scriptures dealing with poverty and justice issues are highlighted in brown (e.g. John 16:8-11).

Taking multicolored text even further is the Bible With Sources Revealed.  It uses different colors to indicated the sources of the text according to the documentary theory (also known as the JEPD theory).  Each source has a letter or letters, so the key looks like this:

• J - green
• E - green sans bold
• P - blue sans
• RJE - green with green background
• R - blue with blue background
• other independent texts - blue italic
• Genesis 14 - green italic
• Dtn - green sans italic
• Dtr1 - blue
• Dtr2 - blue bold

The Rainbow Study Bible challenges my ability to see and name colors.  It has every verse highlighted in color according to the subject matter.  The key is as follows:  Purple - God, Pink - Discipleship, Green - Love, Peach - Faith, Grey - Sin, Brown - Satan, Blue - Salvation, Yellow - Family, Lighter Pink - Witnessing, Lighter Green - Commandments, Lighter Grey - History, Gold - Prophecy.  Fortunately, this Bible came with a bookmark containing the color guide.

 The New Marked Reference Bible colorized the text according to four major themes.  Red was for salvation, green for the Holy Spirit, gold for temporal blessings and Blue for prophecy.   The Standard Full Color Bible uses 12 different color highlights to identify Scriptural themes.  I wasn't able to connect safely to their website, but there may be a sample of it available.

The final category is decorative coloring.  The main reason for the colorized text in these Bibles is for appearance.  For instance, the KJV Promise Bible for Women has nearly everything in purple.  This includes the covers, the table of contents, introduction, essays, reading plan and even the lines on the notes pages.  Can you guess the color of the ribbon?  I was told that the Duck Commander Bible has headings in green and the text in tan.  I wasn't able to verify that one. The My Beautiful Princess Bible has purple text.  Some verses also have purple highlighting.  You can view a sample here.

There are certainly many more Bibles to be found in each of these categories.  By the time this article is finished, there will be even more.  I don't intend to list all of them.  But I hope this overview has given you an idea of the wide variety of coloring schemes.

The purpose of this article isn't to decide whether or not to colorize the text in Bibles.  I have heard arguments on both sides.  Love them or hate them, there are a lot of them out there.

I would like to thank several people in the Bible Versions Discussions/Dialogue group on Facebook including (but not limited to) Daniel, Joshua, Lance, Lawrence, Marika, Stephen, Steven and Timothy.  If you are interested in the sort of thing I discuss on my sites, you might enjoy joining the group.

Whatever color text you choose, I certainly hope you are reading a Bible.  That is my favorite color:  read.

Writings mentioned in the Bible

I've added a new page to the EELBV website called "Writings Mentioned in the Bible."  It is a listing of writings mentioned in Scripture.  It does not include direct mention of Biblical writings such as the mention of Isaiah in the New Testament.  It also does not include apocryphal or deuterocanonical writings.

Holman NKJV Study Bible Review

I was recently given the opportunity to review the Holman NKJV Study Bible, Large Print Edition (ISBN 978-1-4336-0751-6).  The receipt of this Bible had no bearing on the outcome of this review.

I received the two tone brown, “leathertouch” binding.  It has 1 brown and 1 black ribbon.  According to Christianbook, this is a sewn binding.  It has 2,304 pages.  It lays fairly flat for such a thick Bible.  Of course, in Genesis or Revelation it is more difficult but still lays open and readable.  Holman has a page here for the study Bible that promises a digital study tool is coming soon.  This Bible is available in the same binding with tabs or in hardback.  Retail price is $89.99; Christianbook offers it at $30 off.


The first thing that struck me when unpacking this Bible is its size.  It is 10.5 inches high, 7.5 inches wide and 2 inches thick.  Since it is a large print study Bible that is no surprise.  The size makes it too unwieldy for me to use in preaching.  It works best on a desk or table.

One unfortunate matter also caught my attention quickly - the pages stuck together.  This is probably a result of whatever method was used to gild the page edges.  I tried fanning the pages several times through, but this did not free up all the pages.  Eventually I had to go through the Bible page by page.  Many were stuck so badly that I had to rub two fingers together in the center to get it started.  This was time consuming but once done the  Bible is easy to use.

This is a two column setting with cross references in the middle.  It is paragraphed and include section headings.  Textual notes are at the bottom of the Scripture section.  Study notes are at the bottom of the page separated from the Scripture by a horizontal line.  Verse numbers are in blue ink.  I found this made it easier to ignore them when reading.  I didn't find it hard to find an individual verse either.  This is also a red letter edition.  I am not a fan of red lettering so I tend to be critical of the practice.  My complaint is with readability.  As a devotional practice, it is appealing, but what really matters to me is legibility.  However, this red lettering is bold and consistent.

Upon opening the Bible itself I really noticed the print.  This is a very readable font (10.25 pt) for my aging eyesight.  The notes are smaller, but still readable for me. 

The paper is average quality.  There is definitely some ghosting (words, etc showing through from the page behind).  In some places there is line matching but not everywhere.  Most of the time I didn't find the ghosting distracting.  In some places where a bar or picture is on the page behind it was more annoying.

I've used this several ways.  First, I used it for sermon preparation.  I did not find the notes as helpful since I usually prefer textual notes that explain words.  The NET Bible notes are the type I use.  These notes did explain the text well, but the notes were more like my sermon than references for building that  sermon.

Secondly, I used this for personal reading and study.  Here I found it to be excellent.  After reading the text, I read the notes to see if they were helpful.  As an example, I read James 3:13-18 which has a section title "Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom."  The phrase "lie against the truth" in verse 14 is explained  by "Denial of truth is a constant threat in churches that tolerate false teachings."

A third way I used this Bible was for researching questions that came up in my daily reading.  I am currently reading through the NASB.  The study Bible had some explanations that I didn't find in a couple other study Bibles I used for comparison.  For instance, I wanted to find out what the "Book of the Wars of the Lord"  is (mentioned in Numbers 21:14).  The study notes say this is "an early source of Israelite documentation of God's victories on behalf of His people, perhaps in poetic form."  There are 15,000 such study notes in this Bible.

There are 66 maps spread throughout the Bible including those on typical glossy paper in the back.  The maps are all full color.  I was delighted to discover that the ones interspersed in the text are printed on the same Bible paper as the text (not that thick glossy near-cardboard)!  One example is found in Matthew 15; It is a map of the ministry of Jesus beyond Galilee.  Another shows the ministry of Elijah and Elisha.  A small section of it is show below.

There are 141 full color photos as well.  Again, these are printed on the Bible paper.  They are also integrated into the study notes.  A picture of an ancient baptismal at Avdat, Israel is included in the notes on Romans 5-6.  A picture (partially shown below) of trees from Gethsemane is found under the notes for Mark 14:21-27).  These color pictures are a wonderful addition to the resources found in here.  My scan doesn't do justice to the quality of these pictures.

There are also 19 illustrations such as this drawing of Noah's ark.

19 charts are included;  I found them useful.  I'm reading an Old Testament passage every day.  I found the charts gave a good overview to some aspects of my reading.  The first is one showing all the priests of Israel.  The second is one listing the Old Testament feasts.  Another lists the all the prophets.

Other features are a 62 page concordance, book introductions and book timelines.  I would like to see more detail on the timelines.  I like the timelines; they help give some historical context to the Scriptures.  Both one and three year reading schedules are found in the back.  21 articles and essays on practical and theological issues are found through the Bible, such as “The Historic Reliability of the New Testament” by Craig L. Blomberg.

Once I got past the stuck pages I began to really like using this Bible.  I haven't read all of the notes.  I did not find anything objectionable in what I did read.  The page layout and physical form of this Bible contribute to the readability.  I really appreciated having the maps included within the text.  I used them more because of this feature.  I am delighted by the full color printing on regular Bible paper.  As I mentioned above, I wouldn't use this a sermon preparation resource.  I would recommend this for devotional reading and study.

I like this Bible.  I like it enough either to keep it or to give it some one else.  I am considering sending it along with my son when he returns to college this fall.  I would love to see this in a leather binding and printed on more opaque paper.  But I say that about most Bibles I see today.  I think Holman has produced an excellent study Bible.

Baker Publishing to produce TLV Bible

Baker Publishing will publish the Tree of Life Bible in 2016.  The TLV is the work of the Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.  You can read the press release on their web site.

Word of YHVH (Mary E. Lewis) Update

I wrote about the Word of YHVH by Mary E. Lewis about one year ago.  I recently received notice from her that she has produced a new edition.  She writes:

Many are expressing an interest in having the Hebrew name of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. In answer to that desire, I have added the Word of YHVH Bible--Yehoshua Mashiyach Edition--2015 (WYB-YM). Both are free. The new address for both Bibles is http://www.freebiblepdf.com/about.html.

The new version uses "Yehoshua Mashiyach" for "Jesus Christ" and still uses "YHVH Elohim" for "Lord God."   As she mentions, the Bibles are available for a free download on her website.

Internet Bible Catalog - EELBV Cross Reference

For those of you who use the Encyclopedia of English Language Bible Versions, there are some web resources you might want to know about.  I just noticed that the Internet Bible Catalog has cross reference its entries to the EELBV.  On the EELBV page the IBC lists all the entries by their EELBV numbers.

At the website for the EELBV, you can find a list of EELBV numbers with a corresponding web link.  There is also a page with new versions found since the EELBV was published.

Topical Reference Bible: New American Standard

Topical Reference Bible:  New American Standard

I recently received a review copy of the Topical Reference Bible (Foundation Publications, Inc., 2010, ISBN 978-1-58135-147-7) from the publisher.  The receipt of this Bible did not influence the outcome of this review.

This is a two column New American Standard (1995, EELBV #8100.120) text bible with cross references and textual notes in an additional center column.  My copy is a hardback.  The Bible is also available in Leathertex™ and bonded leather.  This is not a premium Bible so expect some ghosting (text behind the current page showing through) and no ribbons.  I intend to use this Bible as a quick study tool, so it isn't as big a problem for me.  According to the Bible Buying Guide, this is a sewn binding.  The Lockman Foundation lists the font size as 9pt.  Comparing the font size with my other NASB Bibles, it looks like 8pt.  The cover measures about 5.75 x 8.75 inches.  It is a handy sized bible.  It lays fairly flat due to the sewn binding.

It also has the words of Christ in red.  I am not a big fan of red lettering, mostly because of readability.  However, Lockman often uses a brownish red that is easier for me to read.  I prefer it over most other red lettered texts that I have.

The first section is a 255 page topical index.  This is followed by the Bible text.  Next is the 210 page New American Standard Dictionary/Concordance/Thesaurus.  Additional pages present Jesus' family tree, God's promises, The miracles of Jesus, Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Christ, The parables of Jesus, and the titles of Christ.  The introductions to the books of the Bible are included here instead of at the beginning of the books.  A reading schedule and full color Lockman Foundation maps round out the extra sections.

For the purpose of this review I decided to do a quick study on the topic of evil.  I recently read an article, 5 Indicators of an Evil and Wicked Heart, that got me thinking more about this subject.

I started my study in the Topical index, copyrighted 2000.  The picture to the left shows the ghosting well.

The topical index has excellent divisions to help narrow down your search.  Under the heading "EVIL" there are subdivisions for "in relation to God," "good and evil," "ascribed to" and others.





  Given the topic of the article I mentioned above, I chose to focus on good and evil, discernment between.



This leads to passages such as "So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" (1 Kings 3:9).  This is part of Solomon's prayer to God after becoming king of Israel.
 



Turning to the Dictionary/Thesaurus/Concordance we find synonyms or definitions for evil listed as "bad, wicked, wrong."  Of course, the size of this Bible doesn't allow for an exhaustive concordance.  Thus, under "Evil" there are just 18 verses listed.  These range from "man's  heart is evil" (Genesis 8:21) to " But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison" (James 3:8).  I find a concordance to be an invaluable tool anytime I am doing a topical study.  As you can see, the entry for "Evil" covers about half a page.


The topical index and dictionary/thesaurus/concordance are handy additions to this little Bible.  Neither compares to a full sized reference so this won't replace your standard reference library.  But for an easy-to-carry quick reference this Bible is good.  I can see myself taking it along to Sunday School or Bible Study where I want something small and portable. With the average ghosting, I prefer better quality paper for daily reading.

Another important note is the price:  $29.95 (USD) retail.  It is available for about $20 on ChristianBook.com.  American Bible Sales offers it for less that $14!  It offers a lot of features for such a low price.


For its small size this Bible contains a great deal of helpful information.  I like it that the references all point me back to the actual scriptures.  If this were printed on better paper in a leather binding I believe I might just carry it all the time.

Bible Hunting Update

I've received several notices about new versions but haven't had time to get them all listed.  Here they are (initials of the contributor follow each item):

My Personal Book of Yahuwah by Glenn Wilson, 2011.  A sacred name revision of the KJV.  GK
An Abridgment of the New Testament by Sarah Trimmer, 18??.  GK.
Pauline Theology: A Study in Galatians by Joel D. Martin, 2004.  K
Watchman's Bible: Yehovah's Second Testament by Richard H. Perry, 2015. JH
The Fusion English Version by Daniel Harder, 2015 (John only so far).  A revision of the WEB.  JH
The Holy City Bible, August 2015.  Catholic.  JH
Byzantine New Testament.  Possibly the WEB, unsure of changes.  JH

Leonard's Book Restoration rebind - IBS LP NIV(84)

Earlier this year I decided to have one of my Bibles rebound.  After seeing several people's rebinds done by Leonard's Book Restoration, I sent off my information for a quote.  The Bible I decided to rebind is not a premium Bible, but one I have used quite a bit when preaching.  It is an International Bible Society large print 1984 New International Version.  It has a glued binding which was cracking in the front.

As you can see, it wasn't badly worn.  It does not have gold edges.  The paper is fair - it does allow some ghosting.  But it has been a great Bible for preaching now that my eyesight is gradually getting worse.  Since the 2011 NIV was published there are decreasing options for large print 1984 NIV texts (or any 1984 NIV Bible, see my earlier post for some options).

I decided to have it rebound in black goatskin.  Leonard's added binding cord to the spine edge of the text block to repair and strengthen the Bible.  I had them insert three black ribbons as well.  The whole process, including ship time, took about a month.  I found Leonard's easy to work with.  Here is the finished product:

When I unboxed my newly rebound Bible I was delighted at the appearance. When I first handled it I found it stiff.  To be honest, I wasn't sure I liked the way it felt.  However, after handling it and reading from it, I soon found it softened up.  Now I am delighted with the way it feels.  As you can see above, the text is too close to the gutter.  This is due to the way the text block is printed, not the way it was rebound.  The cover is as flexible as the text block (see below).

One thing hit me as I first viewed this rebind:  It looks like this preacher's Bible.  With the ribbons hanging about 4 inches off the bottom, the silver printing on the spine and the rounded corners on the cover it really is my kind of  Bible.

The spine has raised ribs.  The print is very similar to that on the original hardback.  I  like the smaller ribbing.  I tend to prefer a simple, cleaner look on a Bible.

Of course, the original Bible did not have a box.  So I found some acid free board at Hobby Lobby.  My two part box isn't fancy or all that well made, but it protects the Bible.  I glued decorative paper on the outside that has Scripture verses (such as the Lord's prayer).

I am delighted with the work done by Leonard's book restoration.  Once I got the cover broken in (a very short process) it is perfect for my needs.  Their work will preserve one of my favorite preaching Bibles for years to come. 

Rare Bible translations for sale

A fellow Bible lover and collector is selling some rare translations out of his collection.  You can view his sales on eBay here.  Some of the items listed for sale are Abner Kneeland's NT, Gilbert Wakefield's NT, Thomas Belsham's NT and Granville Penn's NT.  The seller states "Since there is no standard for pricing these Bible translations, most of them are truly one of a kind and extremely rare...the price is my own estimate. If you think the price is unreasonable, please Make Offer with explanation. Every serious and reasonable offer will be dutifully considered."

New Testament - Breakthrough Version

While still in translation, this version was called The Bible for a New Generation, which is UBV-0048 in The Encyclopedia of English Language Bible Versions.  Now that the New Testament is finished the name has changed to New Testament - Breakthrough Version.  It is available in electronic formats on Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.  It is available in print on Amazon.  My earlier post about The Bible for a New Generation is here.


Thanks to JH for this version.

21st Century Revised King James Version

The 21st Century Revised King James Version is one I just heard about from the Internet Bible Catalog.  It is a revision that was published in South Africa in 2001.  Sample verses and a link to the entire work in PDF are available on that website as well.  It is an immersionist version.  As the title indicates, it is a revision of the King James Version.

Thanks to SR for this version.