Wide Margin Bible for the New Year

I am looking for a wide margin bible for the new year. While like so many Bible students, I have a collection of texts and translations from which I read, what I am looking for is something of a holy grail to me. During 2006, my favorites, or at least most used editions in a wide margin format, were the Thomas Neslon #475 New King James with bonded black leather cover; black letter text and center coloumn references. Owing to its portable size and modern language, I found it a most convenient and understandable Bible. What it lacked was extra pages for notes such as the Cambridge Concord edition has or the Heritage edition by World Press. I would also like the type to be larger but other than these it has served me well. The paper is thick enough so no "bleed through" occured when using ball point pens or pigma-colour markers. One other draw back to this edition is the inclusion of the Triqueta or intertwining trinity symbol on the spine and flyleaf. I blackened out the gilt symbol on the spine using a paint pen. Fortunately there were no doctrinal commentaries between the covers so those verses that have been used to "prove the trinity" were easily annotated. I only found one caveat, that being in the Introduction to the Gospel of John in which the editor(s) inserted the words "...Jesus Christ has two natures both valid..." I lined through "two natures both" and noted, ONE NATURE WITH TWO PARENTS as is the clear teaching from scripture.

My second wide margin used in 2006 was the Thompson Chain Reference 1996 edition by B.B. Kirkbride Publishers. This is a study bible using Strong's Numbering to link (as in a chain) a host of Bible subjects. There are over 8,000 such chains throughout this Bible. It also includes a large concordance, Bible Atlas, Book and Character Studies, as well as having the Bible passages chapter and verse(s) included written out in the encyclopedic index at the back pages. A generous 20+ blank pages are included for private notes and while there are "chains" that speak to the Divinity of Christ, these are readily balanced with a chain that gives every reference to his humanity. There are no trinity chains and no doctrinally biased notes on the pages. The only things that I found troublesome about this Bible were that it has a red letter text which I personally find distracting, the type face in no more than 8 pt., the bonded leather cover developed a marked crease in the spine, and the paper does bleed through, not only with any pen but even with the text on opposite pages. One other thing to note about this Bible is that it is BIG weighing in at over 5 pounds and 10.5 x 8 inches!! No Bible cover would acommodate it so I got a three-ring notebook cover and removed the rings. This worked just fine.

I would not be opposed to getting another Thompson in 2007 but I would be more careful to use pencils instead of pens to mark up its pages and would consider sending it to a book binder for a more durable cover.

CrossWay Publishers will be coming out with an English Standard Translation wide margin in March 2007 and Hendrickson will have a KJV wide margin available in May 2007 that I look forward to seeing. But as of now, I am still on a quest to obtain a wide margin Bible that has these features:

1. Black letter text (at least 9 point type)
2. Centre Column References
3. Smythe sewn binding
4. Blank note pages in the front and back
5. Margins at least 1.25 inches wide all round
6. Paper thick enough to not "bleed through"

With all the new and improved Bible formats being published, my requests should not be too difficult to attain. Yet, to date, none have been forthcoming. Perhaps someone who reads this will be able to recommend a Bible that has blessed them? I would entertain any thoughts.

I have considered producing my own using lulu as the publishing platform but time, talent, and oppotunity have proven prohibitive. I would need to use a "public domain" version such as the KJV, ASV or Darby translation in large print, one of these would have to be manipulated electronically to become print ready - the size would be larger (8.5 x 11 inches) than most would find beneficial - although I would welcome the added space. And then there is the issue of binding, Smythe sewn would be out.

Anyway, these are my thoughts on wide margin Bibles as we enter the new year. I welcome any insights from you...

in blessing, bless