Buying a large bible?

[Panter]

I need the above (hardback) as a Christmas present for the Mother in law.

However, I'm struggling to find one for a reasonable price, any ideas?

She doesn't want a large print one, just a large-ish size one to replace the one she had stolen when she was in hospital, I believe it was roughly A4 size.

Also, what is a "normal" bible, there seems to be study ones, ESV ones and allsorts. I'd assumed they were all they same?

 

[SavageHoutkop]

... stolen while she was in hospital???
no, they are all not the same.
In particular you should find out if she's a fan of the King James version or the newer language ones, that's your first major hurdle.
What denomination is she?

You don't say where you are based, your best bet is to go into a Christian bookshop and look at what's on offer, and ask for assistance if needed....

 

[Globalti]

My father-in-law was an undertaker and when he died we acquired a huge Victorian bible that had fallen apart under its own weight. Kept it for a year or two not wanting to throw it away because it was a thing of beauty. Then I discovered that just up the road in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, is Britain's best restorer of old Victorian bibles so I took it along to him for a quote. He wanted about £180 to sort it out so I managed to persuade my employer to pay the M.I.L. some cash for the book AND pay to restore it, I then gave it to my best Nigerian customer who is a very devout Catholic and he was chuffed to bits with it. He now keeps it on an altar in the home prayer room with a couple of candles and some holy pictures.

Interestingly the restorer told me that the kid leather for binding these bibles came from Kano in northern Nigeria so in a way the bible had gone home. Also the pages were individually typeset and each would have taken the typesetter about a week to do, hence the high price. The bibles were bought by Victorian families in instalments because they would have cost several months' wages.

 

[BrumJim]

Chain Christian bookshops are:
Wesley Owens
St Andrews
CLC
Available in most decent sized towns.

There are also independent ones.

My experience is that, if anything, they are overly helpful, but don't let that put you off. Just walk in knowing that you aren't going to be treated as you are in Tescos. But as per the poster above, you need to know what translation they like/need. People can be very particular about it, particularly if they are replacing a much loved and read copy.

 

[ASC1951]

Amazon sell standard book size bibles and some lectern bibles (£267.94 to you, Sir) but apparently nothing in between. You could even browse their forum discussions about evolution, which is a bit like our Politics and Life without the erudition, rationality and good humour.

These people have more bibles than you can shake a crozier at http://www.christianbits.co.uk/list.php?cat=BIBLES so it might be worth giving them or someone similar a call.

If it was me, I would want the KJV. I can still recall big chunks of its magnificent prose, fifty years after going to a school where I had Chapel every day and twice on Sundays. Even then I thought it was misguided medieval nonsense, but you can't deny that it reads well.

 

[bonj2]

Ask the hospital whether it actually was genuinely stolen or just merely confiscated. Was she bashing people with it?

 

[dellzeqq]

there's a bible shop a mile from my front door. I'll have a look inside - provided they haven't got the garlic over the front door. Get back to you this afternoon.

 

[numbnuts]

http://www.cenacle.co.uk/lists/BooksBibles.htm

 

[XmisterIS]

Personally, I am a big fan on the King James version; the language of the new versions is so ugly by comparison.

You could do worse than to look in second hand bookshops, there's usually a KJ version knocking around there!

 

[postman]

Try Wesley Owen. And the GOOD NEWS Bible.

 

[Mr Pig]

Yes, a good Christian bookshop should have loads to choose from. It's such a personal thing though. If she reads the King James she might not be very keen on a new translation, or she might find she prefers it!

Obviously the original writings weren't written in English so have been translated. Some translations are better than others. Some contain paraphrasing where the translators insert what they think the text means rather than what the words literally translate as.

Study Bibles are like two books in one. You have the Bible text with notes etc printed alongside. Again, some are better than others.

I prefer a straightforward translation of the Bible, and personally think the King James is the best, but it is a personal choice. Lots of good Christians use all sorts of Bibles. It would be a good idea to try and find out what it is your mother-in-law lost, if you can.

Even looking at just one version you'll have lots of options. Text size and style, Bible size etc. That's why you really want to go and look at some in the flesh... paper ;0)

 

[Happiness Stan]

Howabout 'The God Delusion' by Stephen Dawkins?

 

[BrumJim]

Try Wesley Owen. And the GOOD NEWS Bible.

IMHO, the least suitable would be the GOOD NEWS. Language is a bit simple, and has allegedly lost some of the nuances of the original text. Fine for teenagers less competent readers, or those with limited attention span, bit limited for more mature people.

 

[Globalti]

Our bible has "Holiday Inn" written on the front. What version would that be?

 

[darkstar]

How about a copy of Charles Darwin, "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life," 1859?

joke