Making the Case (Yet Again) for Wide Margin Bibles
05/28/2007 17:28 Filed in: Faith & Reason
In a recent comment, Larry brought to my attention that a NKJV Wide Margin Bible just sold on eBay for $318!
Although I've provided the link above, it won’t remain active after a few weeks, so I’ll include a screenshot below:
It boggles my mind really to think that someone would pay $318 for a wide margin NKJV--and a bonded leather one at that! But Larry summed it up quite well in his comments when he said this:
I've had representatives from three different Bible publishers tell me that wide margin Bibles just don't sell well. But it's that last statement made by Larry that I believe most Bible publishers just don't get. But Crossway gets it. They know that the teachers, preachers, and other serious Bible students want wide margin Bibles. And even if these particular buyers don't represent a large market, the fact is that this is the group that influences the purchases made by those sitting under their instruction. The fact that Crossway gets this is evidenced by the fact that they offer four different ESV Bibles with wide margins: The Deluxe Reference Bible, The Journaling Bible, The Single Column Reference Bible, and the Wide Margin Reference Bible.
But where are the decent wide-margin Bibles from the other 21st century translations (NLTse [2004], HCSB [2004], NET [2005], TNIV [2005])? Let's run through that list real quick.
New Living Translation
The original NLT1 (1996) had one of the best wide margin Bibles I've ever seen in terms of the Notemakers Bible. It had a healthy one and a half inches of space in the margins of a single-column text and two inches of lined space at the bottom for journaling. But since sells weren't that great, Tyndale has decided not to release an edition in the NLT second edition.
But why didn't the Notemakers Bible sell? The Living Bible and its inheritor, the New Living Translation have always been a bit of a populist Bible. While scholars put down the original Living Bible, Christians bought them in droves, and many testified that this was the first Bible they ever really understood. But these were probably not the kind of folks--for the most part--who would have been interested in a wide margin edition for their own notes.
The 1996 NLT wasn't that far removed from it's predecessor--especially in the public's eye--in spite now being called a translation rather than a paraphrase. Regardless, the top notch team of Evangelical scholars who produced the 1996 first edition reconvened to tighten up the translation, bringing it closer to the autographs and hopefully bring about the respect the NLT deserved. That resulted in the 2004 NLT second edition, which although quietly introduced was radically different than the first edition.
To gain even greater credibility, Tyndale has begun the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary Series, based solely on the NLTse. From the two volumes I have so far in the series, I can say that it's an excellent evangelical commentary series on the Bible. And I'm not sure it could have been based on the earlier NLT1 (let alone the Living Bible) without a great amount of work. But the NLTse is a different creature! And now that a commentary series is based on it, what would be a better match than an NLTse Bible with wide margins to study along with it and make notes? It seems to only make sense to me.
Holman Christian Standard Bible
There is only one wide margin HCSB Bible available: The HCSB Minister's Bible. So far it has received mixed reviews (see my review here). The main complaints stem from paper that is too thin and wide margins that really aren't that wide. Plus I've had more than one person email me who was not a minister saying they would like to use it simply to have a wide margin HCSB, but have been reluctant to do so because they feel funny carrying around something with that title on the spine. I'm really surprised there aren't more offerings here from Holman considering the HCSB is now the default translation in all of Lifeway's Sunday School curriculum. It would seem to me that a decent wide margin HCSB would be a perfect match.
NET Bible
I'm not totally surprised that the NET Bible has not seen a wide margin edition yet. Certainly with 60,000+ notes, one would wonder what could be added. Plus, the NET is still trying to gain the attention of the larger Evangelical world. Selling through more than merely mail order might help them out some. To me of all these Bible translations listed here that don't have wide-margin editions, the NET is the only one that gets a pass.
Today's New International Version
I would guess that the possibility of a TNIV Wide Margin Bible primarily suffers from the mixed track record of Zondervan's wide margin NIV and NASB Bibles. But if these editions have not sold quite as well as Zondervan would have liked there might be a reason why. Last year when I posted a Survey of Wide Margin Bibles by Version, I counted two other publishers of wide margins NIV's besides Zondervan and and three other NASB offerings. Could it be that the market for NIV and NASB wide margin Bibles is simply flooded? Consider also that most NASB aficionados have been using the classic single-column reference edition since the 1971 NASB. Foundation Press now offers a variety of high quality leather bindings in the classic reference edition, while Zondervan only offers hardback and bonded leather. There is a similar weakness for Zondervan's wide margin NIV: Cambridge offers a variety much higher quality bindings (scroll down to the bottom of the page for the previous link).
I'll come back to this, but one thing I believe that publishers like Cambridge and Crossway might get and Zondervan might not, is that people who buy a Bible for taking notes in want to use this Bible long term. Generally, there's going to be a preference for higher quality bindings. And if there's a choice, quality will trump cost--at least for these buyers.
The TNIV does have a wide margin represented in the "Squared" Bible. However, the TNIV Squared Bible breaks two cardinal rules of wide margin Bibles: (1) It is a thinline Bible, so the paper is not suitable for heavy annotations, and (2), as a two-column text, it does not allow any margin for the inner column. Ultimately, this Bible misses its intended market.
There is a TNIV Reference Bible coming out later this year, and many of the "gatekeepers" will use it as the best option of what's available, but I get emails and comments on this blog every week bemoaning the fact that it's not a wide-margin TNIV Bible. I would hope that eventually Zondervan will offer the TNIV Reference in a wide-margin offering.
Here's what most publishers are missing...
Most publishers don't get two things about wide margin Bibles:
Finally, there's another little secret that Bible publishers don't realize, and I almost even hate to bring it up. But as evidenced by the sale of a $318 wide margin NKJV on eBay, people who want wide margin Bibles are willing to pay extra for them. It is well known that publishers make limited printings of some Bible editions. Why can't this be done for wide-margin Bibles, too? Heck, I imagine most of us would even be willing to order them straight from the publisher if there's some fear they wouldn't sell in stores. But most of us who would like to use a wide margin Bible would be willing to pay upwards of $100 knowing that it would be a long term investment, knowing that it should be a publication made with the utmost standards in binding and materials.
The wide margin survey that I posted last year remains one of the most popular pages on this blog. It gets hits everyday. There's a market out there. The products just need to match the demand.
Although I've provided the link above, it won’t remain active after a few weeks, so I’ll include a screenshot below:
It boggles my mind really to think that someone would pay $318 for a wide margin NKJV--and a bonded leather one at that! But Larry summed it up quite well in his comments when he said this:
This must be proof positive that people are passionate about wide margin Bibles. More than $300 for a bonded leather cheapo Bible from Nelson? A NKJV?
And the fact that Nelson allowed this to go out of print while Crossway is publishing multiple note-taking Bibles may perhaps play some role in the NKJV's fall and the ESV's rise. (Certainly, there are other factors, but given the investment that publishers claim to make in new Bibles, why wouldn't they want to make their franchises available in every format that there is demand for?)
I think you put your finger on it a few months ago when you pointed out that while sales of wide margins may appear weak, they are sold to opinion makers -- and thus influence many more sales.
I've had representatives from three different Bible publishers tell me that wide margin Bibles just don't sell well. But it's that last statement made by Larry that I believe most Bible publishers just don't get. But Crossway gets it. They know that the teachers, preachers, and other serious Bible students want wide margin Bibles. And even if these particular buyers don't represent a large market, the fact is that this is the group that influences the purchases made by those sitting under their instruction. The fact that Crossway gets this is evidenced by the fact that they offer four different ESV Bibles with wide margins: The Deluxe Reference Bible, The Journaling Bible, The Single Column Reference Bible, and the Wide Margin Reference Bible.
But where are the decent wide-margin Bibles from the other 21st century translations (NLTse [2004], HCSB [2004], NET [2005], TNIV [2005])? Let's run through that list real quick.
New Living Translation
The original NLT1 (1996) had one of the best wide margin Bibles I've ever seen in terms of the Notemakers Bible. It had a healthy one and a half inches of space in the margins of a single-column text and two inches of lined space at the bottom for journaling. But since sells weren't that great, Tyndale has decided not to release an edition in the NLT second edition.
But why didn't the Notemakers Bible sell? The Living Bible and its inheritor, the New Living Translation have always been a bit of a populist Bible. While scholars put down the original Living Bible, Christians bought them in droves, and many testified that this was the first Bible they ever really understood. But these were probably not the kind of folks--for the most part--who would have been interested in a wide margin edition for their own notes.
The 1996 NLT wasn't that far removed from it's predecessor--especially in the public's eye--in spite now being called a translation rather than a paraphrase. Regardless, the top notch team of Evangelical scholars who produced the 1996 first edition reconvened to tighten up the translation, bringing it closer to the autographs and hopefully bring about the respect the NLT deserved. That resulted in the 2004 NLT second edition, which although quietly introduced was radically different than the first edition.
To gain even greater credibility, Tyndale has begun the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary Series, based solely on the NLTse. From the two volumes I have so far in the series, I can say that it's an excellent evangelical commentary series on the Bible. And I'm not sure it could have been based on the earlier NLT1 (let alone the Living Bible) without a great amount of work. But the NLTse is a different creature! And now that a commentary series is based on it, what would be a better match than an NLTse Bible with wide margins to study along with it and make notes? It seems to only make sense to me.
Holman Christian Standard Bible
There is only one wide margin HCSB Bible available: The HCSB Minister's Bible. So far it has received mixed reviews (see my review here). The main complaints stem from paper that is too thin and wide margins that really aren't that wide. Plus I've had more than one person email me who was not a minister saying they would like to use it simply to have a wide margin HCSB, but have been reluctant to do so because they feel funny carrying around something with that title on the spine. I'm really surprised there aren't more offerings here from Holman considering the HCSB is now the default translation in all of Lifeway's Sunday School curriculum. It would seem to me that a decent wide margin HCSB would be a perfect match.
NET Bible
I'm not totally surprised that the NET Bible has not seen a wide margin edition yet. Certainly with 60,000+ notes, one would wonder what could be added. Plus, the NET is still trying to gain the attention of the larger Evangelical world. Selling through more than merely mail order might help them out some. To me of all these Bible translations listed here that don't have wide-margin editions, the NET is the only one that gets a pass.
Today's New International Version
I would guess that the possibility of a TNIV Wide Margin Bible primarily suffers from the mixed track record of Zondervan's wide margin NIV and NASB Bibles. But if these editions have not sold quite as well as Zondervan would have liked there might be a reason why. Last year when I posted a Survey of Wide Margin Bibles by Version, I counted two other publishers of wide margins NIV's besides Zondervan and and three other NASB offerings. Could it be that the market for NIV and NASB wide margin Bibles is simply flooded? Consider also that most NASB aficionados have been using the classic single-column reference edition since the 1971 NASB. Foundation Press now offers a variety of high quality leather bindings in the classic reference edition, while Zondervan only offers hardback and bonded leather. There is a similar weakness for Zondervan's wide margin NIV: Cambridge offers a variety much higher quality bindings (scroll down to the bottom of the page for the previous link).
I'll come back to this, but one thing I believe that publishers like Cambridge and Crossway might get and Zondervan might not, is that people who buy a Bible for taking notes in want to use this Bible long term. Generally, there's going to be a preference for higher quality bindings. And if there's a choice, quality will trump cost--at least for these buyers.
The TNIV does have a wide margin represented in the "Squared" Bible. However, the TNIV Squared Bible breaks two cardinal rules of wide margin Bibles: (1) It is a thinline Bible, so the paper is not suitable for heavy annotations, and (2), as a two-column text, it does not allow any margin for the inner column. Ultimately, this Bible misses its intended market.
There is a TNIV Reference Bible coming out later this year, and many of the "gatekeepers" will use it as the best option of what's available, but I get emails and comments on this blog every week bemoaning the fact that it's not a wide-margin TNIV Bible. I would hope that eventually Zondervan will offer the TNIV Reference in a wide-margin offering.
Here's what most publishers are missing...
Most publishers don't get two things about wide margin Bibles:
- Despite lower sales, wide margin Bibles are for gatekeepers, and gatekeepers influence the translation choice of others who will buy the more popular editions.
- People who are in the market for a wide margin Bible want a quality Bible: genuine leather or better and a solid stitched binding. A wide-margin Bible is going to be considered by most to be a long term investment.
Finally, there's another little secret that Bible publishers don't realize, and I almost even hate to bring it up. But as evidenced by the sale of a $318 wide margin NKJV on eBay, people who want wide margin Bibles are willing to pay extra for them. It is well known that publishers make limited printings of some Bible editions. Why can't this be done for wide-margin Bibles, too? Heck, I imagine most of us would even be willing to order them straight from the publisher if there's some fear they wouldn't sell in stores. But most of us who would like to use a wide margin Bible would be willing to pay upwards of $100 knowing that it would be a long term investment, knowing that it should be a publication made with the utmost standards in binding and materials.
The wide margin survey that I posted last year remains one of the most popular pages on this blog. It gets hits everyday. There's a market out there. The products just need to match the demand.