Ink Blots by TRD: Adventures in Bible art & journaling :: A Peek Inside

If you are interested in Bible art & journaling, please consider joining me in the "Bible Art & Journaling" group on Facebook.

I've received some great feedback from my post about choosing a journaling Bible (going over the specifications on a variety of journaling Bibles currently offered and some that are coming soon), and I wanted to take things just a step further.

Today, let's look inside a few of the popular journaling Bibles. I hope to give you a good idea of layout and size - particularly if you are shopping for a journaling Bible online.

I will be comparing the following journaling Bibles today:

Note-Taker's Bible (NASB version is shown, others are offered) - published by Zondervan

NIV Holy Bible, Journal Edition - published by Zondervan

ESV Single Column Journaling Bible - published by Crossway

ESV Journaling Bible (Double Column) - published by Crossway

(Please note that the Note-Taker's Bible shown in these pictures is the one I have been using for my Bible art. I have drawn and written in it and it has some marks on the edges of the pages because of this. The other Bibles pictured are in new condition.)

First, a look at the exterior sizing:

(From left to right: Note-Taker's Bible, NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition, ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column)

(From bottom to top: Note-Taker's Bible, NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition, ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column)

(From top to bottom: Note-Taker's Bible, NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition, ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column)

(Due to the angle, the above picture makes the Note-Taker's Bible look a bit thicker than it is. In reality it is closer to, but just slightly thicker than, the ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column. The NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition and ESV Single Column Journaling Bible are very similar to each other in thickness.)

Now...let's take a look inside.

(From top to bottom: Note-Taker's Bible, NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition, ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column)

Because the Bibles are stacked on top of each other, this picture does not accurately show the font sizes of each of these Bibles. The ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column, shown at the bottom of the picture, definitely has the smallest font.

If you are particular about font size, they are as follows (in my opinion) from smallest to largest: ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column, ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition, Note-Taker's Bible.

You can see that the pages are not all the same as far as color goes. The Note-Taker's Bible has white pages, the NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition has cream-colored pages (with a faint orange tint, when compared to the others), and the ESV Single Column Journaling Bible and ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column both have cream-colored pages (on the ivory side, when compared to the others).

(From bottom to top: Note-Taker's Bible, NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition, ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column)

The NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition, ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, and ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column offer more space on the side margins, but they do not offer the large bottom margin of the Note-Taker's Bible.

(Top row, right: Note-Taker's Bible. Top row, left: NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition.

Bottom row, right: ESV Single Column Journaling Bible. Bottom row, left: ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column)

In the above photo, you can see a difference in the open space offered in places such as the Psalms. (This is definitely where a single column Bible like the NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition or ESV Single Column Journaling Bible will offer more "real estate" for your art.)

Okay...now that we've seen them all together, let's take a look at the footprint and margin sizes of each Bible, individually.

For each Bible I will be first sharing a picture on a standard 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper. To the side, you will see a standard size Bic ballpoint pen and a Sakura Pigma Micron pen (the second being my current drawing tool of choice for Bible art).

I will also share pictures showing each Bible's margins with a ruler for reference.

(Please note that taking pictures from overhead may have distorted the sizing a little bit due to angle and distance from the camera, but I did my best to give you an overall idea of size. I tried to line up the bottom of the pens with the bottom edge of each of the Bibles, so you can see that some distortion took place.)

First up, the Note-Taker's Bible:

(Page length: just over 9 1/8", but not quite 9 1/4")

(Margin width: just over 1 1/4", but not quite 1 3/8")

Bottom margin: just over 1 5/8" (or more, depending on footnotes)
(Page width, not pictured: just about 6 1/4")

Next, let's look at the NIV Holy Bible -Journal Edition:

(Page length: 8")

(Margin width: 2")

Here's a look at the ESV Single Column Journaling Bible:

(Page length: just over 7 7/8", but not quite 8")

(Margin width: 2")

And, finally, let's look at the ESV Journaling Bible - Double Column:

(Page length: 7 1/4")

(Margin width: 2")

Whew!
I know that is a lot of pictures, but I know that many of you (like me) are doing your shopping online, and I wanted to give you a chance to peek inside of the journaling Bibles you might be looking at.

That's all I've got to share for today, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Have a great day!