Have you tried the ESV Illuminated Scripture Journals? Even though the font is a dark gray, the spacing is nice. You can buy each book separately to see if you like it before buying the entire set. That's what I did. I would suggest starting with Psalms and John. They also just have them in black or the "ESV Scripture Journals".
I like the ESV translation but I too find Crossway published editions difficult to read. Not sure if its line spacing, word spacing, text color or what.
The words on the NASB are more spaced out from each other making the words easier to identify, whereas the ESV looks more cluttered making your eyes work harder.
I must agree. I truly respect the ESV and find the books written by its translators about this translation are fascinating. But I have yet to find one that I can comfortably read for more than a few minutes. That font seems to aggravate my (admittedly fussy) eyes. Peace.
I have found this one much easier on my eyes! It's a bit of a "chunky" Bible. But it's the best I have found so far. I know everyone is different. But something about the single column and black letter have been helpful for me. ESV Single Column Heritage Bible, Soft Imitation Leather
I have the Lockman Calfskin double column on the way, when I get it I will compare that new ESV Heirloom and my Allan Nasb. I'm interested to see how they compare, I've never had the more premium Lockmans. The cheaper edition I reviewed last year was actually pretty good print but it was on that bright white blue infused paper.
Looking at this video, you might be asking yourself, "What's he talking about? The ESV Large Print Thinline seems perfectly readable to me!" Somehow the lack of contrast just doesn't come across in the video. When I watched Pastor Matt's review at th-cam.com/video/jna_b2gl0Us/w-d-xo.html before I bought the ESV Large Print Thinline, I didn't imagine it would present a readability issue.
Another amazing text is the full size Westminster from TBS, their ink is actually dark licorice under close inspection. 😉 It's one of the best prints I've seen out of many reviews, IMHO for the money it has no competition.
Yes , I call it news paper print😉 Schuyler and Cambridge do the same with the Clarion and Quentel, the print is grey not black, comparing my Longprimer to these prints is even more telling. Another big difference with the Nasb, is that it's verse by verse and not in paragraph form which makes the news paper print even more flat and grey looking to the eye.
Totally agree. I ordered a Clarion about a year and a half back, opened it, and immediately had that sinking feeling -- I had to send it back. Skinny, low contrast characters.
Rick Jones Your videos have influenced me to start making the HD video with more attention to the text. I am now going to make two videos of each bible I review, one mainly just for presentation and kicks, the other for more detailed analysis.😉 Thanks for sharing these.
I'm glad. I hope those videos are a big help to people trying to decide where to put their hard-earned money. The high-end publishers seem to do the binding well, but readability is still an issue. Many review videos concentrate on the skin on the outside of the book and just glance at the print -- which is fine if you're purchasing the Bible to caress it and make it do yoga, but they don't tell you what you need to know if you want to read and study it.
Rick Jones Amen to that, we bible geeks get a bit crazy about the bindings. Without constructive criticism we can't grow, I being one of them need to change but, also publishers won't fix the problems without it. Thanks again😇
I'm not sure how to measure accuracy in translations, so I usually avoid talking about that. (If I used the term "accuracy" in this video, that was a mistake on my part.) I developed a method to measure the literalness of translations and used it to examine about 17 translations of the New Testament. I found the ASV, the KJV, and the NKJV to be more literal than the NASB. The 1977 NASB is more literal than the 1995 NASB. The KJV and the NKJV are both based on the _Textus Receptus,_ which most scholars consider seriously flawed. So, if we were to eliminate those two, the NASB77 would rank second and the NASB95 would be third. You can see a graphic on this topic at the 22:52 point in this video -- th-cam.com/video/on_bRZ_RpkA/w-d-xo.html .
Perhaps I "lucked out", but the print in my ESV Large Print Thinline Reference is nice and black. I also have the top grain edition. Contrast seems really good and I don't see the issues you're referencing. However, I know that every printing is a little unique. To readability, I'd say that my only complaint about this Bible is the layout in general. The text just feels crowded and there is very little margin space anywhere. Is it possible that this is also contributing to your reading issues with it?
I agree with you about the layout; it is crowded. But my readability issue seems to come down to the relative lack of contrast between the characters and the background. I have it open right now to Jeremiah 26. The ninth and tenth verses are somewhat extreme examples. In my copy, the line that reads "name of the LORD, saying ..." and the following two lines are marred by distinct medium gray marks showing through from the opposite page. More often, rather than any well defined show-through, I have to deal with a patterned gray background. If the characters were darker and bolder, I doubt that would be an issue for me. It's possible this is just a matter of human physiology, and some of us are more sensitive to it than others.
Have you tried the ESV Illuminated Scripture Journals? Even though the font is a dark gray, the spacing is nice. You can buy each book separately to see if you like it before buying the entire set. That's what I did. I would suggest starting with Psalms and John. They also just have them in black or the "ESV Scripture Journals".
I like the ESV translation but I too find Crossway published editions difficult to read. Not sure if its line spacing, word spacing, text color or what.
The ESV isn't hard to read at all. But yes, Crossway should make their print bolder and more crisp.
The words on the NASB are more spaced out from each other making the words easier to identify, whereas the ESV looks more cluttered making your eyes work harder.
I agree. That's a good point.
It's also verse by verse, which helps to spread the words out.
I must agree. I truly respect the ESV and find the books written by its translators about this translation are fascinating. But I have yet to find one that I can comfortably read for more than a few minutes. That font seems to aggravate my (admittedly fussy) eyes.
Peace.
I have found this one much easier on my eyes! It's a bit of a "chunky" Bible. But it's the best I have found so far. I know everyone is different. But something about the single column and black letter have been helpful for me.
ESV Single Column Heritage Bible, Soft Imitation Leather
I have the Lockman Calfskin double column on the way, when I get it I will compare that new ESV Heirloom and my Allan Nasb. I'm interested to see how they compare, I've never had the more premium Lockmans. The cheaper edition I reviewed last year was actually pretty good print but it was on that bright white blue infused paper.
Looking at this video, you might be asking yourself, "What's he talking about? The ESV Large Print Thinline seems perfectly readable to me!" Somehow the lack of contrast just doesn't come across in the video. When I watched Pastor Matt's review at th-cam.com/video/jna_b2gl0Us/w-d-xo.html before I bought the ESV Large Print Thinline, I didn't imagine it would present a readability issue.
You're giving me hope that it's not just my eyes getting worse! (Though, I think they are.)
Presbyopia overtakes most of us eventually, if we're blessed to live that long! But here it found some allies in the gray ink and the thin paper.
Another amazing text is the full size Westminster from TBS, their ink is actually dark licorice under close inspection. 😉 It's one of the best prints I've seen out of many reviews, IMHO for the money it has no competition.
Thanks. I might have to take a look at that one.
Yes , I call it news paper print😉
Schuyler and Cambridge do the same with the Clarion and Quentel, the print is grey not black, comparing my Longprimer to these prints is even more telling. Another big difference with the Nasb, is that it's verse by verse and not in paragraph form which makes the news paper print even more flat and grey looking to the eye.
Totally agree. I ordered a Clarion about a year and a half back, opened it, and immediately had that sinking feeling -- I had to send it back. Skinny, low contrast characters.
Rick Jones Your videos have influenced me to start making the HD video with more attention to the text. I am now going to make two videos of each bible I review, one mainly just for presentation and kicks, the other for more detailed analysis.😉 Thanks for sharing these.
Sorry I missed subbing your channel last time, just seen that😞😒.😉
Blessings brother.
I'm glad. I hope those videos are a big help to people trying to decide where to put their hard-earned money. The high-end publishers seem to do the binding well, but readability is still an issue. Many review videos concentrate on the skin on the outside of the book and just glance at the print -- which is fine if you're purchasing the Bible to caress it and make it do yoga, but they don't tell you what you need to know if you want to read and study it.
Rick Jones Amen to that, we bible geeks get a bit crazy about the bindings. Without constructive criticism we can't grow, I being one of them need to change but, also publishers won't fix the problems without it. Thanks again😇
Do you have the 2011 or the 2016 text edition? And what printing is yours?
2016 text. 6th printing.
Which translation do you consider the most accurate if you don’t think it’s the NASB?
I'm not sure how to measure accuracy in translations, so I usually avoid talking about that. (If I used the term "accuracy" in this video, that was a mistake on my part.) I developed a method to measure the literalness of translations and used it to examine about 17 translations of the New Testament. I found the ASV, the KJV, and the NKJV to be more literal than the NASB. The 1977 NASB is more literal than the 1995 NASB. The KJV and the NKJV are both based on the _Textus Receptus,_ which most scholars consider seriously flawed. So, if we were to eliminate those two, the NASB77 would rank second and the NASB95 would be third. You can see a graphic on this topic at the 22:52 point in this video -- th-cam.com/video/on_bRZ_RpkA/w-d-xo.html .
Perhaps I "lucked out", but the print in my ESV Large Print Thinline Reference is nice and black. I also have the top grain edition. Contrast seems really good and I don't see the issues you're referencing. However, I know that every printing is a little unique. To readability, I'd say that my only complaint about this Bible is the layout in general. The text just feels crowded and there is very little margin space anywhere. Is it possible that this is also contributing to your reading issues with it?
I agree with you about the layout; it is crowded. But my readability issue seems to come down to the relative lack of contrast between the characters and the background. I have it open right now to Jeremiah 26. The ninth and tenth verses are somewhat extreme examples. In my copy, the line that reads "name of the LORD, saying ..." and the following two lines are marred by distinct medium gray marks showing through from the opposite page. More often, rather than any well defined show-through, I have to deal with a patterned gray background. If the characters were darker and bolder, I doubt that would be an issue for me. It's possible this is just a matter of human physiology, and some of us are more sensitive to it than others.