The NET Bible Compact Edition and the Tyndale Select NLT
If you're a fan of the NET Bible, you probably know this already, but Bible.org recently announced the availability of the new Compact Edition, which is available in traditional black and burgundy, as well as red and black "Amazona" (with croc print with snap closure) and "SuppleMax (tm) Tan." The bindings are sewn, and introductory prices begin at a very reasonable $14.95. According to the specs on the site, the type size is 8 pt. and instead of the original 60,000+ translators' notes, you get a condensed set of 7,722.At the other end of the price spectrum, Tyndale has released the Tyndale Select NLT, a deluxe edition of the New Living Translation bound in calfskin with a Smyth-sewn binding and 9.8 pt type. I haven't had a chance to look at one of these yet, but I have seen the bonded leather box it comes in, which is quite nice. Follow the link above and you can download a PDF brochure that includes a few close-ups of the product, including a nice view of the cover's grain. The Tyndale Select NLT retails for $135. Most publishers offering Bibles in this price range don't give you much to go on visually when ordering online, so it's nice to see the brochure made available on the product page.
J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.
Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.
Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.