Marginal
Interest?
Why
You Need A Wide Margin Bible
 If
you've been around this site for any length of time -- five seconds
ought to do it -- you know that I'm an opinionated, hair-splitting
sort of fellow. For everything I like about a particular edition
of the Bible, there are a dozen things I want to change, and I'll
be the first to admit that some of my demands are a little unrealistic.
Despite what some people think, the folks who publish Bibles do
it out of a sense of vocation. They're not out to shaft the end
user. The generally poor quality of contemporary Bible design and
binding has as much to do with economy and the changing face of
publishing as anything else.
But
you know what? I'm an idealist. My strategy is simple: if we're
all graciously demanding, then the quality and options we see in
the market will improve.
REALLY
BASIC
As far as I'm concerned, some features ought to be basic in Bible
publishing. Text should be paragraphed, set in readable modern type
and formatted in a single column. Bindings should be genuine leather,
spines sewn, and every Bible should come with at least two ribbons
-- and they should be wide, too, not the dinky little strings that
never lay flat between the pages. Every publisher of every translation
should consider it essential to produce at least one edition that
meets this criteria. Sadly, most don't publish any that
do.
And
that's why another favored feature of mine is languishing: the wide
margin. If publishers aren't getting their basic editions right,
you can't expect them to invest much effort in something as 'exotic'
as a well-made wide margin Bible. After all, there isn't that much
demand. Who wants a wide margin Bible?
THE
THINKING MAN'S STUDY BIBLE
The wide margin Bible is the thinking man's Study Bible. Like the
Study Bible, it is full of notes, outlines and annotations. Unlike
the Study Bible, it doesn't come with them. Instead, you make the
notes yourself. That way, they're the result of your study, not
someone else's. Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against store-bought
Study Bibles. It's just that the one you make yourself is better.
Sure, it demands more of you, but over time it gives more back.
If
the demand for wide margin Bibles has declined, perhaps it's an
indicator that the quality of our study has, too. We don't need
those vast margins because we have nothing to write in them.
 HOW
TO USE A WIDE MARGIN BIBLE
I am an enthusiastic supporter of the English
Standard Version, but until there's an ESV wide margin edition,
I won't be able to switch over completely. One day, hopefully not
too far in the future, I will sit down with an ESV wide
margin on one side and my trusty Cambridge Concord on the other
and start the laborious process of transferring notes. Until then,
I keep the Cambridge handy. It's margins are full of annotations
-- notes reminding me of glosses I discovered in commentaries, outlines
I've used for teaching studies, and more. Next to various "problem"
passages I've written down explanations. For example, my notes on
Romans 11 include a reminder that in verse 32, when Paul writes
"...that he might have mercy upon all," the word all
refers to both Gentile and Jew. It's a simple point about context,
but significant in certain theological conversations.
In
the back of the Cambridge Concord wide margin, there is a series
of lined pages. Mine are filled with questions and answers from
the Westminster Longer Catechism; passages copied from Calvin, Kuyper,
Berkouwer, Bavinck and Warfield; a two-page synopsis of John Frame's
arguments for both the deity of Christ and the Trinity from The
Doctrine of God, and much more. How many times have you gotten
into a discussion only to find yourself unable to recall the flow
of a certain line of exegesis? Whenever that happens to me, I research
the answers and copy them into the back of my wide margin Bible.
Another
thing you'll find in the margins of my Cambridge: variant readings
from other translations. Whenever I come across an opaque passage
and discover that an alternate translation offers more light, I
note the reading in the margin beside the verse. This is particularly
helpful when teaching.
TRADE
OFFS
Obviously, there are trade offs. Wide margin Bibles are, well, wider.
And because of those big margins, the page headings are farther
in; you don't want to use a wide margin for your "sword drills."
In my experience, it is even more important to have a good binding
on a wide margin than it is on a regular edition. With a supple,
flexible binding, the extra bulk of the wide margin is more manageable.
 As
Cambridge fans will know, just because two Bibles are the same edition
in the same binding doesn't mean they will actually be
the same. If you choose a Cambridge wide margin -- available only
in the KJV and NIV, as far as I know -- be sure to shop around and
handle the bindings in person. I have three Cambridge wide margins.
One of them is bound in spectacular Berkshire leather and is more
compact than the other two, which are both identical Concords. I
say "identical," but the fact is they are very different.
The one pictured here is quite flexible. I bought it after I'd already
shelled out money on the first one only to discover that the calfskin
cover was so stiff and sharp that it was impossible to flip through
the Bible without reaching inside the cover and holding the paper
block separately.
YOU
NEED ONE
No doubt if Tolstoy had known me, he would have titled his famous
short story "How Many Bibles Does A Man Need?" instead
of "How Much Land," but what can I say? I really think
that if you're serious about Bible study, a wide margin edition
is an asset. Crossway has plans for a Study Bible to debut in the
Fall of 2008, but as far as I know there isn't a wide margin in
the works. The Deluxe Classic Reference Edition has wider
margins -- news that got me all worked up when I heard it -- but
they aren't practical for notetaking. So, as much as I need a wide
margin ESV, it looks like I'm not going to get one.
Unless,
of course, I convince enough readers that they can't live without
a wide margin edition. If that happens, who knows how that schedule
will change?
NB:
For more about wide margin Bibles, including a survey of what's
out there, see Rick Mansfield's "A
Survey of Wide Margin Bibles by Version."
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