What Type of Bible Should You Buy Next?

Writing is an amazing way to connect with God and record what He is teaching us. A note-taking Bible provides areas to write down information, prayers, and questions. It enables the reader to fully engage with the Lord and write down to remember. It is easy to forget what we learn from the Bible, so writing down our thoughts and discoveries will aide us to ponder the Scriptures in a deeper way.

Note-taking Bibles are also incredibly useful at church to take notes while hearing the sermon. It eliminates the hassle of having to bring a separate journal with a Bible. This is a two-for-one gift. 

Webster’s Dictionary shares that a text Bible is “an edition of the Bible published with an unannotated text.”

If you get distracted with all of the artsy Bible additions and just want the Word, the text Bible is your friend. Everything else is simply an add on. It is important to research the context of the Scriptures and not neglect resources, but sometimes it is nice to keep those physically separate by just having the Bible text.

If you would like to get back to the basics of the Bible, then look no further, the Text Bible is for you.

Crossway shares, “In the Reader’s Bible they have been removed from the Bible text, and the result is a new kind of Bible-reading experience in a volume that presents Scripture as one extended storyline.”

If you are desiring to read the Bible as a whole without the verses, but just read per chapter, the Reader’s Bible is for you. The Scriptures are seamlessly connected. This type of Bible helps you to have the ability to focus on the chapter as a whole rather than get caught on one single verse. It creates a fluidity for the reader to see God’s Word as a whole.

Next time you go Bible shopping, I hope that you can use this article as a resource. Whether it is a study, devotional, note-taking, text, or reader’s Bible, all of them are useful to growing in our personal faiths in Christ. Ultimately the goal is knowing Jesus and sharing Him with the world. The Bible is our gift in knowing God and gaining a deeper relationship with Him through our time spent reading and praying.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed in a Bible book section by all of the styles of Bibles, I hope that we can each feel a little more confident in understanding the various types. Feel free to have multiple styles, whatever motivates you to get into the Word is the goal. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

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Emma Danzey’s mission in life stems from Ephesians 3:20-21, to embrace the extraordinary. One of her greatest joys is to journey with the Lord in His Scriptures. She is wife to Drew and mom to Graham. Emma serves alongside her husband in ministry, she focuses most of her time in the home, but loves to provide articles on the Bible, life questions, and Christian lifestyle. Her article on Interracial Marriage was the number 1 on Crosswalk in 2021. Most recently, Emma released Treasures for Tots, (Scripture memory songs) for young children. During her ministry career, Emma has released Wildflower: Blooming Through Singleness, two worship EP albums, founded and led Polished Conference Ministries, and ran the Refined Magazine. You can view her articles on her blog at emmadanzey.wordpress.com and check out her Instagram @Emmadanzey.