The Immerse series is one of my favorite ways to read the Bible. I know it doesn’t look like a Bible. It doesn’t have cross-references, footnotes, two columns of text, or section headings. That’s a good thing. It presents the Bible in a readable format that’s meant to be read. It doesn’t novelize the Bible. It’s just readable, presenting biblical genres differently from one another so you can know something is prose, a letter, a list, or poetry. You can read it without distractions or unnatural interruptions. Immerse is inexpensive paperbacks. but some might find the typeface too small. Fortunately, Immerse is now available in large print, and it’s an exact match of the regular print. In this review, I’ll take a look at Immerse Messiah Large Print edition, which includes the entire New Testament. This is ISBN: 9781496458346, printed in the USA.
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This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
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Tyndale provided this review copy in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
Table of Contents
Materials
Immerse Messiah Large Print is a paperback edition measuring 6″ x 9″ x 1”. It’s only 3/4 x 1/2″ larger than the standard edition. It’s glued like a normal paperback. The cover is thick paper. It’s colorful and includes a blue watercolor design. Information about this book is printed on the back.
The paper looks to be the same 40# blended sheet that’s used in the regular editions, but the pages are smoother to the touch. It’s extremely opaque with almost no show-through. The color is off-white like you’d see in most paperback novels. It creates a good contrast with the typeface which makes it great for reading. It seems to be thicker and higher-quality than the paper used in most paperbacks. The pages are easy to turn.
Typography and Layout
The NLT text is presented in a single column, paragraph format with poetry in stanzas, lists as lists, and letters indented. Dialog is placed on a new line. The header shows the page number in the outer margin. The right page shows Immerse and Messiah in the center, while the left page shows the book name in the center. Both pages show the range of chapters and verses in a light print in the inner margin. When books are combined, like Luke and Acts, the name of the book that’s on the page will be printed with regular darkness and the other book name will be lighter. I think it would be a touch more usable if the current book name was printed on both sides, but it’s easy enough to find once you get used to it.
The typeface is Arno Pro in black letter. My Westcott typography scale measures the font at 10-point. It has a generous amount of space between the lines to improve readability. The font is dark and consistent throughout. I find it great for reading. It has around 18 words per line. It removes all the distractions from the text. There are no chapter or verse numbers, footnotes, or section headings. Complete subject changes are separated with crosses, and minor changes are separated with line spaces.
Immerse is excellent for reading. I read more at a time and I find that I retain more of what I read. It’s smooth because it removes the road bumps that get in the way, making it a more natural and enjoyable reading experience.
Book Introductions
Immerse Messiah Large Print includes an introduction to the New Testament as well as individual book introductions. Book introductions are around two pages and are placed before each book. Books that are combined, such as Luke and Acts, have one introduction that covers both books. They provide a literary and historical context for each book and include information about the writer, audience, purpose, date, key people, key events, sections or phases of the book, genre, major themes, and more. Rather than verse numbers for reference, they provide page numbers and cover multiple pages. They’re well-written and provide good information about the book.
Book Order
Immerse Messiah Large Print presented the New Testament books in a different order than the standard order. They’re placed where they fit the most naturally. Luke and Acts are combined into one to show they’re two parts of one story. Paul’s books are placed in the order of their writing instead of from the largest to the smallest. This helps inform the situations that Paul faced through his journeys and as he wrote the books.
Overall, I like this book order. It works well when reading through the New Testament because it shows the context in a way that highlights the bigger picture. It does feel a little odd reading the gospels after some of the epistles, and it can be difficult finding certain books. If I made any changes, I’d place the gospels first, starting with John. It does have an index in the front with the page numbers.
Tools
There are several tools in the front and back, and a quick start guide that can be used as a bookmark.
Tools in the Front
A Sacred Saga – The Bible’s Drama in Six Acts – In the front is an introduction to Immerse and the Bible. It describes the Bible’s story in six acts. They include:
- World’s Genesis
- Humanity’s Rebellion
- Israel’s Quest
- King’s Advent
- Community’s Calling
- God’s Homecoming
Each of the sections gives a short introduction to that section. They discuss the six volumes of Immerse with a focus on God and man rather than Immerse. I found them interesting to read.
Tools in the Back
There are several articles and tools in the back.
Introducing Immerse – The Reading Bible – This discusses the problems with modern Bible design and shows how Immerse solves those problems. It covers the layout and the advantages, what features have been removed and why, the order of the books, etc.
Literary Forms of the Bible – This discusses the different types of prose and poetic genres. It includes detailed descriptions of each type. This helps the reader to understand the text the way the writer intended.
NLT: A Note to the Readers – This is a short introduction to the New Living Translation.
Maps
There are two maps printed in black-and-white. They include distance, topography, water, and locations. They have a lot of places and they’re good for seeing the main locations. The maps cover:
- Israel – During the Time of Jesus
- The Roman Empire – During the Spread of Christianity
Reading Plans
Two reading plans are printed in the back. They can take you through Immerse Messiah in 8 or 16 weeks. They include instructions on how to use them. Both print the week number, books you’ll be reading that week, the day, and the page numbers. The first one includes conversation questions to ask for group discussion. I’m glad to see the reading plans included in the book itself.
Quick Start Guide and Reading Plan
Immerse Messiah Large Print also includes a card that has a quick start guide on the front and the 8-week reading plan on the back. It can be used as a bookmark. The quick start guide shows 3 ways to get the most out of reading Immerse. It also includes a list of resources at ImmerseBible.com. The reading plan is the 8-week plan that matches the one printed in the back of the book. It includes the same conversation questions. This is a good reference, but I don’t feel that it’s really needed except for being used as a bookmark. It does come in handy, though, so I’m glad they’ve included it.
Comparing to Immerse Messiah
The regular size Immerse (this example shows Immerse Beginnings, which I haven’t reviewed yet. You can see all of our Immerse reviews here), is just over a half-inch smaller and the font is one point smaller. Everything else is the same except for a few tweaks to the extra material. The font in the large print is more comfortable to read, but if you need the font a lot larger than the regular edition, then the large print might not be large enough. If you just need it a touch larger, then the Immerse Messiah Large Print is a perfect choice.
Conclusion
Immerse Messiah Large Print is an excellent Bible for reading. The paperback is very usable and a joy to read. The font size isn’t dramatically larger than the regular edition, but I think it’s large enough unless you need a giant print. I enjoy reading the Bible without unnatural distractions and I recommend this reading experience to everyone. Immerse Messiah Large Print is a great choice for any fan of the NLT.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_________________________________________________________
Tyndale provided this review copy in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
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