The Lockman 2020 New American Standard Reader’s Bible moves the verse and chapter numbers to the inner margin, creating a clean layout that’s ideal for reading. By retaining the chapter and verse numbers on the page, this Bible is usable with reading plans and to follow along with others. It was designed and typeset by 2K/Denmark AS. This is ISBN 9781581352429, printed in Korea.
Lockman provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review.
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This Bible is available at (includes affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
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Table of Contents
Cover and Binding
The cover is a hardcover with olive cloth-over-board. It looks and feels elegant, but it will pick up lint and pet hair. Nothing is printed on the front or back. The text is printed on the spine in gold. It looks great and seems well-made. The block is sewn, and it has no trouble staying flat on the first page. It has two double-sided angle-cut .375-inch satin ribbons in black and olive green. The trim size of the paper is 5.5 x 8.5″, while the overall size is 5.75 x 8.75 x 1.5 inches. It has 1664 pages.
Paper
The paper seems to be around 33GSM. It’s smooth and feels elegant. It’s white in color and is decently opaque. There is no glare under direct light. I find it easy to grab and turn.
In the Front
In the front are the presentation and family pages printed on thick semi-glossy paper. Family pages include marriages, the wife’s and husband’s family trees, births, deaths, and occasions to remember.
Typography
The typesetting has a unique design for a reader’s edition. The NASB 2020 text is presented in a single-column, paragraph format with poetry in two columns, unless it’s just a verse. It retains the standard NASB formatting of italics for supplied words and all-caps for OT quotes. Chapter and verse numbers are placed in the inner margins and are printed in red. For poetry, the verse numbers are printed in the center with a line separating the columns and the verse number on the side of the column it belongs to. Drop caps are outlined letters, and they’re printed in red. The book name and chapter number are centered at the top, and the page number is centered at the bottom.
The typeface is 8.5, black-letter, and includes a good amount of space between the lines. The print is dark and consistent, and the text is line-matched to improve readability. The show-through is minimal, and the line-matching works well. It has around 12 words per line, which looks great on the page. It’s left-justified, leaving a ragged right edge. There is enough inner margin space to keep the verse numbers from going into the gutter. This also brings the text out onto the flat part of the page, making it easier to follow. There is a .75 inch outer margin, giving the text a lot of breathing room on the page.
I found this a joy to read, but the poetic setting seems a little out of place in two columns. Poetic lines are divided well and indented, making it easy to follow. For books that have a lot of both, such as Isaiah, the prose is placed within the double-column, which looks a little odd. This essential creates four layout types. I like it, but I’d rather see one. Having the chapter and verse numbers available makes it easy to know where you are in the text. This makes it easier to use a reading plan, and makes it easier to use it for following along with someone else or for personal study. There isn’t a clear indication of where a verse begins or ends, but most of the time, it’s at the beginning of a new sentence.
Maps
There are 9 maps printed on 8 semi-glossy pages. They’re colorful and include lots of information. The large land areas have a sandy texture, while all of the other colors are flat (or solid). The maps have lots of annotations with explanations and Scriptures. This is extremely helpful. The maps include cities, empires, distance, routes, battle sites, mountains, settlements, seas, journeys, etc.
Maps include:
- The Biblical World of the Patriarchs
- The Exodus Route and Conquest of Canaan
- The Twelve Tribes of Israel
- The Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
- The Herodian Kingdom in the Time of Christ
- Old Testament Jerusalem (labeled 6a)
- New Testament Jerusalem (labeled 6b)
- The Ministry of Jesus
- The Missionary Journeys of Paul
Video Review
Conclusion
The Lockman 2020 NASB Reader’s Bible is an excellent reader’s edition. Including chapter and verse numbers makes this not a pure reader, but to me, that’s a good thing. It makes this Bible more usable as a reader because it works with reading plans. It’s also more usable for studying and following along with others. It still gets the distractions out of the text, creating a smooth reading experience. The quirks of poetry and some prose being in double columns, and some poetry being in the single-column prose could be distracting if you think too much about it while reading. Overall, I found it enjoyable to read and highly recommend it.
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This Bible is available at (includes affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
________________________________________
Lockman provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
