A Journaling Bible

[Ransom]

The Berean Standard Bible has been released to the public domain.

This is purely theoretical, of course (the process of formatting a 1000+ page book being rather prohibitive, to say nothing of the hoops you have to jump through to make sure your personal use of the text is technically legal), but I'd rather be on the same page with other people, so I'd go with the ESV.

 

[aleshanee]

Your Bible looks very similar to the size of my Zondervan. Without the wide margins you mentioned, they are not any bigger than most Bibles. I like the idea that I can keep virtually all my notes on the same page as the text I am reading and the fact that the notes are typewritten makes them much neater and easier to read than a lot of notes that are handwritten.

i also have another regular hawaiian language bible.... it;s hawaiian language only..... .... smaller than the parallel bible.. . that;s the one i carry to sunday school... ..and whenever someone else goes with me i loan them the parallel bible to use in class..... .... but of course if they want to take notes they better have their own notebook.. ..

 

[aleshanee]

I don't remember who (@Tarheel Baptist ?) turned me on to the ESV reader's version. I'm not a note taker; I read and learn from the context, which is why I love the reader's version, because it is structured to read the same way we read an ordinary book: in paragraph form without chapter and verse divisions. I find the flow to be uninterrupted by verse divisions which, for me, has been revolutionary in my comprehension of the scriptures.

i have been reading the bible that way for years... just ignoring the chapter verse divisions.... ...... that;s the way the bible was originally written... straight forward like any other book..... ... it was a 13th century monk... (whose name i can;t rememebr right now).... who added the chapter and verse notations..... and he did it with the good intention of making bible study and finding desired sections easier.... . ....

but the down side was that it lended itself to a reduction in actual bible study as people began focusing on a few verses and nothing else.... . it also lent itself to cults taking scripture out of context and using versus as if they were meant to stand alone.... ..it;s sad but even after learning the truth many people try to treat the chapter and verse divisions as if they were an inspired part of the text.....

 

[DrHuk&Duck]

I feel tempted from time to time to use my desktop publishing skills to make a "reader's version" of my own, not with the verse numbers removed, but relegated to the (very wide) margins, so I can find them if I need them, but otherwise ignore them. It'd be strictly for personal use, though, as pasting massive amounts of Bible text into my own word processor is perhaps a bit iffy, but sharing it around would be right out. (I'd need to also find out if I can get binders in the right size, as each page would probably be something like 7" x 8.5", half a legal sheet.)

Just out of curiosity, have you ever known anyone who did something like this? This is essentially publishing your own version of the Bible. That must be a huge undertaking, although if you did it, why not try to see if there’s any way to publish. Maybe something like this but in a digital format could be profitable.

 

[Ransom]

Just out of curiosity, have you ever known anyone who did something like this? This is essentially publishing your own version of the Bible. That must be a huge undertaking,

It is. I did something like this several years ago, just as an a exercise to learn a particular piece of software. Just formatting Philippians to my liking took ages. And that was just a few pages.

although if you did it, why not try to see if there’s any way to publish. Maybe something like this but in a digital format could be profitable.

Mainly, as I discussed above, because the legal ramifications of doing so apart from strictly personal use would get me in trouble. Besides, since I came up with the idea several years ago, Bible publishers have started publishing editions that would meet that same need. It:s cheaper to buy a mass-produced one than roll your own