Crossway Shows How Jongbloed Makes ESV Bibles

The process of creating a bible is longer and more complex than some people might think. As shown in this newly released video by Crossway, it’s actually a rather lengthy and several step process, especially for a company as meticulous for quality as Jongbloed.

The first step is the paper, which has to be printed in very specific humidity and temperature conditions to maintain optimum quality. During the printing the pages are marked with special signatures in group of 64 pages, and then those groups are assembled into the final text blocks for each bible.

The pages of each text block are then sown together, the excess paper on each side is trimmed off, and the edges are sanded down and gilded with gold or silver foil. Some bibles go through an extra step here, which is one of the most delicate in the entire process. For any colored gilding, such as art gild, the edges of the paper then have to be carefully sprayed with special coloring. This process is so delicate because if too much is sprayed on, it can get into the pages and ruin the entire text block.

The final step is binding, with each natural leather cover being hand bound by skilled professionals to each and every bible.

This lengthy process is done because Jongbloed believes the bible is important and special, and that each one produced deserves a care, attention, and quality of material and construction befitting such an important book.

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