Q & A: Pocket NT Recommendations
Q. I am in need of a New Testament w/Psalms to carry in my back pocket so that I always have God's word. Is there a goatskin NT/Psalms that you would recommend. I have looked on your site and I'm quite sure you have already remarked on one but I am unable to find it.
A. I wrote about Pocket New Testaments in October 2007, and while that wasn't an exhaustive inventory of everything out there, I think it's still representative. Like psalters, New Testaments have been strangely neglected in recent years. The best NT layout -- indeed, one of the best Scripture layouts of all time -- is the REB New Testament from Cambridge. Unfortunately it's only available now with the green flex cover. I like the single column NRSV NT from Cambridge, too.
If the ESV is your translation of choice (as it is for the original questioner), there's just the one option, the Crossway NT in genuine leather. It's nice and compact, and at least the psalms are set in a single column.
There are no goatskin-bound NTs on the market as far as I know, and I'm not sure whether Cambridge is still offering its calfskin ones. It's a shame, since of all editions, a Pocket NT needs to be well-constructed and durable.
Readers, if you have any cherished NTs, or know of any high quality editions I'm overlooking, let me know. Likewise, if you're frustrated by the lack of choices, I'd like to hear about that, too. Perhaps there's not much demand -- but if there is, let's talk!
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.