A few months ago, Nic posted a comment about something I’ve actually thought about doing. He mentioned all the different styles of Bibles available now and how they’re a little representation of your Christian personality. I’d had my Bible for a while (It was the second thing I bought myself after setting up my first checking account; the first was a DVD of The Princess Bride. And there’s my 17-year-old self in a nutshell) and that was before the new Bible styles came out, so I didn’t have any firsthand experience with the subject. This weekend I went through the process of choosing a new one, so now I’m qualified to judge others. That was sarcasm.

1 – Translations
This is the least obvious thing to anyone looking at your Bible from the outside, but when your Bible study group starts needing volunteers to read aloud it quickly becomes very obvious.

Most people use the NIV. It’s New (it was in 1973, anyway); it’s International so surely it’s the must-have for anyone who speaks English. It’s a thought-for-thought translation and it remains the best-selling Bible translation year after year. You win, International Bible Society Biblica. You win.

The guy with the NASB means business. It’s a word-for-word translation, but he probably also supplements his study times with the original Hebrew or Greek. He knows something you don’t know, and he’ll usually let you know it.

The NASB guy’s arch nemesis is the ESV guy. If you get the two of them in the same room for a Romans study, watch out. Things will remain civil, but it will get intense.

Every once in a while you hear someone read out of the KJV. Maybe that person is a closet fundamental and is secretly thinking they’re better than you. Maybe they just got used to it as a kid and never switched. Maybe they forgot their Bible that day and picked up the first one they could get their hands on from the bookcase in the corner of the room where you’re meeting before anyone could see (preposition win!). Whatever the reason, it’s a little startling to hear.

The Message Guy. We don’t know what to think about The Message Guy. His Bible has an author’s name on the spine and that’s odd. The Lord’s Prayer ends with “Yes. Yes. Yes.” and that makes us uncomfortable.  We don’t care that he’s new to this; that he didn’t grow up memorizing verses in return for gold stars; that he doesn’t know the difference between propitiation and expiation. Everyone knows it’s more of a commentary and not an actual Bible; what’s wrong with him?

The person with an HCSB: Trail-blazer? Scholar? Hard Core Southern Baptist? Time will tell.

2- Study Tools
The options are astounding when it comes to extra study tools. There are themed study Bibles like The Kids’ Study Bible, The VeggieTales Study Bible, The Women’s or Men’s, The Collegiate, The Grandmothers’, The Apologetics, The Rainbow Study Bible (which I had as a young teenager and loved), and on and on and on. These scream “I got this as a gift!”

Commentary Bibles like the MacArthur, Zondervan’s NIV Study Bible, The Scofield, or ESVSB are usually in the hands of someone who has – or wanted to start having – or wants you to think he’s having – some serious Quiet Times.

3 – Covers
The person with a Bible fanny pack is either under the age of 10, over the age of 40, or just really careful and organized. They never forget to bring their Bible to church.

The person with a hardback Bible has either had it for a long time or will keep it for a long time. He or she is the one to go to when you need a volunteer for an event.

Most people have a plain black, brown, or some other modestly-colored leather-covered Bible. You can’t automatically see the translation or study type, and their name is usually engraved on the front. There are all kinds of stories of how and why and from whom they got it, but it’s usually not that person’s first Bible. It says, “I’ve been at this a while.”

And then there are the new ones. Italian Duo-Tone, Bloom Collection, Bug Collection, Mossy Oak brand camouflage. Thinline, Slimline, Compact, Pocket-sized, Large Print, Jumbo Print, and on and on and on. As a marketing move, this was genius. Everything else in our lives nowadays are customized and individualized, so why not the covers of our Bibles? Bible publishers found a way to stick the words “limited edition” on the Word of God and not change anything important.

For a guy looking for a potential date at church, the cover style of her Bible is a pretty good indication of the girliness of a girl. On the flip side, you can tell whether a guy values fashion, education, or recreation based on his Bible cover. But watch out; the more pocket-sized the Bible, the less often it probably gets read.

The Point
I ended up choosing the same Bible I had already been already using but in a fancy new cover. A Zondervan NIV Thinline with a seaglass & chocolate cover. It’s pretty. I like the NIV Thinline for its readability and portability, and when I need a commentary or other translation there are apps and websites I use. (The notebook is always with my Bible because I don’t underline or highlight; not my style).

The day after my shopping trip, I was reading a Voice of the Martyrs magazine we had received in the mail. There was a story in it about a Middle Eastern woman who had become a Christian and was given a Bible in her language by a missionary. Her husband and entire community were devout Muslims and she was afraid of what would happen if she was found out so she hid her Bible in the oven, the only place where she knew her husband would never stumble upon it.

I had just walked through aisle after aisle of Bibles, in a Christian bookstore that was one of hundreds in a chain run by the largest Protestant denomination in America, choosing the type of English and the amount of study tools and the size and the shape and the color I wanted. Anytime I want, I can open up an app on my phone that lets me read any translation and see what others say about a verse and share it on my Twitter. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, there are people whose language has just one translation of the Bible and they put themselves in mortal danger just to be able to own a copy and read it in secret.

I am so thankful to live in a place and time where I can have so much access to the Word of God, and I hope I never take for granted how precious it is.