Lockman has released their new Prime Edition Bibles. These are high-quality versions of several 2020 NASB editions, including the Large Print Compact Bible. In this review, I’ll take a look at Prime Edition Large Print Compact Bible in brown goatskin and compare it to the original. This is ISBN: 9781581351996, printed in Korea.
The Lockman Foundation 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.
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This Bible is available at Lockman Foundation
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Table of Contents
- Video Review
- Binding
- Paper
- Typography and Layout
- Footnotes
- Introductions
- Maps
- Comparisons
- Conclusion
Video Review
Binding
The cover is dark brown goatskin. It’s soft to the touch and it’s highly flexible. It has a pronounced grain that looks and feels natural. It includes perimeter stitching. The front does not include printing. The spine has 5 raised hubs. The text is printed gold.
The liner is edge-lined cowhide leather. It includes a gilt line around the inside perimeter. The edge-lined tab is slightly stiff out of the box, but it doesn’t get in the way of using the Bible. The page that’s glued to the edge-lined tab is vinyl. It does lift up the first few pages, but they don’t close. The text block is sewn. It has a few thick end sheets to help give it structure.
It has two double-sided 3/8″ ribbons- dark brown for the Old Testament and black for the New Testament. They’re more than long enough to pull to the corner to open the Bible and have more than enough left to hold it. The head/tail bands are brown. The overall size is 5.25 x 7.75 x 1.25″. It weighs 1 lb, 6.5 oz.
Paper
The paper is 31gsm. I actually thought it was thicker than this. It feels like it has a coating, and it’s a more premium paper than in the regular edition. It has a white tint (instead of blue like the original) and it’s great for reading. It does not have glare under direct light. The show-through is just noticeable. It’s easy enough to grab and turn.
It also adds presentation and family pages in the front. They include a presentation page, marriages, wife’s family tree, husband’s family tree, births, deaths, and occasions to remember.
Typography and Layout
The layout is the same as the 2020 NASB Large Print Compact Bible in black genuine leather. The text is presented in a single-column, paragraph layout. Poetry is set to stanzas and it’s indented. Old Testament quotes in the New Testament are in all caps. Section headings are in bold italics. Supplied words are in italics. The header includes the page number in the center and the book name with the chapter number in the outer margin. Footnotes are placed in the footer and they’re separated from the text by a line.
The typeface is 9 point, black letter. It’s dark and consistent throughout. It has around 16 words per line and it’s printed with line-matching. They placed the margin space where it mattered the most for readability. It has a wide inner margin to bring the text out of the gutter. All other margins are small. The text stays on the flat part of the page and never bends into the gutter. This keeps the lines straight. The text is only left-justified, so it has a ragged right edge.
Poetry looks great at this word count. One thing I find awkward is that poetry includes pilcrows next to the verse numbers. I think a space between the paragraphs would look cleaner and be more understandable at a glance.
Footnotes
A reduced set of translation footnotes are placed in a single column along the bottom of the page, and they’re separated from the text with a line. They’re printed in a smaller font. They include alternate renderings, explanations of the original languages, etc. These are helpful for studying and getting insights into the 2020 NASB translation.
Introductions
In the back are introductions to each book of the Bible. Each is about a paragraph and includes information about its title and the main themes of the book. They’re not detailed, but they are helpful.
Maps
Unlike the 2020 NASB Large Print Compact Bible in black genuine leather, this edition has maps. There are 8 maps printed on thick, semi-glossy paper. The sixth map is actually two maps, so there are really 9, even though they’re called 6a and 6b. The maps are in color, but they’re minimal rather than heavily shaded. Rather than a map index, they’re annotated. They include distance, cities, mountains (but not topographical information), battle sites, ancient settlements, seas, rivers, descriptions, and lots of Scripture references.
The maps include:
- The Biblical World of the Patriarchs
- The Exodus Route and the 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 / New Testament Jerusalem
- The Ministry of Jesus
- The Missionary Journeys of Paul
Comparisons
Here’s how the Prime Edition Large Print Compact compares to several similar Bibles.
Lockman NASB Large Print Compact Bible in Genuine Leather
The 2020 NASB Large Print Compact Bible in black genuine leather has a lot stiffer cover with a paste-down liner that closes on its own. The paper has a slightly blue tint which is a lot more noticeable next to the Prime edition. It also has more show-through. The page edges are gold. It doesn’t include the presentation/family pages or maps, but all the other tools are the same. The ribbons are single-sided 1/4″. The print is the same between them. I much prefer the Prime edition.
Clarion
The NASB Clarion has a single-column layout with references in the outer margin. It’s similar in size. The paper is thinner, but it’s a higher quality. The Clarion’s print is slightly larger and it has more space in the text. It also has a concordance and maps.
Personal Size Quentel
The Schuyler NASB Personal Size Quentel is another premium compact NASB. This one has a double-column layout with references in the footer. It has the same paper as the Clarion. It includes maps, but no concordance (unlike the regular size Quentel).
Conclusion
The NASB Prime Edition Large Print Compact is a well-made Bible. It’s far better than the genuine leather edition. It’s great for carrying and reading. The bold verse numbers make it a great choice for preaching and ministry. I the Prime Edition series. If you’re interested in a single-column compact NASB 2020, the Lockman NASB Prime Edition Large Print Compact Bible in goatskin leather is a great choice.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at Lockman Foundation
_________________________________________________________
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.
My experience with the brown goatskin from Lockman was a real disappointment. It did not feel like goatskin at all. It resembled a cheap leathered type cover like one would find in a WalMart Bible. I was truly disappointed and would not recommend at all. The only upside was the sale price.