C. S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors. I find his writing style easy to follow and it keeps my attention (and that’s not easy to do). I was excited when I heard about The C. S. Lewis Bible from Zondervan. This is a Protestant NRSV with portions of writings from his classic works alongside the Scriptures. This creates an interesting devotional Bible that I can pass up. So, of course, I have to review it. This is ISBN: 9780310454397, printed in China.
Zondervan 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 (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
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Table of Contents
- Video Review
- Physical Materials
- Typography and Layout
- Devotionals
- Essays
- Indexes
- Ending Thoughts on the C. S. Lewis Bible
Video Review
Physical Materials
This is a hardcover edition with a dust jacket. It’s cream with a fancy pattern. The title is printed within a diamond on the front. The hardcover itself has no printed on the front. The spine matches the spine of the dust jacket, which continues the pattern. The back of the jacket includes promotional material. This is a sewn edition. It does not include a ribbon. The overall size is 6 5/8 x 9 1/2 x 1 1/2″. It weighs 2 lbs, 9 oz. I like this size. It doesn’t feel like a large Bible and it’s easy to manage.
The paper is the same 32gsm paper that’s used in all Zondervan study Bibles. It’s white in color and highly opaque for how thin it is. The texture is easy to turn. It’s great for reading. This paper was a good choice for this Bible.
Typography and Layout
The text is presented in a double-column, paragraph layout. Poetry is set to stanzas. Section headings are in bold all-caps. Other page highlights are in gold. It looks great in good light, but it can sometimes be difficult to see. The header shows the book name, chapter, and verse number in the outer margin surrounded by icons. The page number is in the center. Writings of C. S. Lewis are placed at the bottom of the page in a single column and as a callout within the text. Translation footnotes are placed under the last verse on the page.
The print is the Comfort Print typeface designed by 2K/Denmark for Zondervan’s NRSV line. It’s 10-point printed in black letter. It has 10 words per line, which is my favorite layout for the best balance between prose and poetry. The font is dark and consistent and includes lots of space between the lines. It was printed with line-matching, so the text on both sides of the page lines up to reduce show-through. Verse numbers are large, but they don’t stand out. This can make them difficult to find quickly. The first verse number of each paragraph is larger and darker so they’re easy to see.
Poetry is mostly divided into good locations. It uses an indented style with multiple levels of indention to identify when something continues the previous line or should be a new line. It makes sense, but it’s not my favorite for reading because I find the intentions distracting. I’m sure I can get used to it, though. It doesn’t include special formating for lists, letters, or Old Testament quotes.
Devotionals
The C. S. Lewis Bible includes 600 selections from 35 works of C. S. Lewis plus 3 other sources. The works include books and letters that have been compiled into books. Most are his theological books, but they also include his fiction. I like the theological works a lot. Even though I’m a fan of Lewis’s fiction, the fiction feels out of place to me. Although, the point is to learn something about a setting or situation, and his allegorical fiction does fit for this.
The devotionals are placed at the bottom of the page or as a call-out within the text. Sometimes within one of the two columns and sometimes within both columns. Those at the bottom of the page are usually large, while the callouts are shorter quotes. The text at the bottom is a smaller black font and the titles are gold. The text for the quotes callouts is large and is completely gold. Poetic callouts are in black and are formated as poetry. All provide the title of the resource they’re from and the Scripture references they’re reflecting on. Those in the text are small enough that I read them as I’m reading the text. They’re not that disruptive for reading, but they are hard to ignore if I don’t want to read them. Those at the bottom are easy to ignore if I don’t want to read them as I’m reading the Bible.
Even though they’re from theological works, they have more of a devotional quality. Lewis does mention that he takes the Calvinistic view, but’s only reflected upon briefly and not deeply. As always, I recommend using it for reference and doing your own study.
Essays
There are several essays in the front that describes the purpose of the C. S. Lewis Bible and how to use it. They include:
- Why a C. S. Lewis Bible?
- C. S. Lewis and the Bible
- C. S. Lewis as a Guide for Bible Reading
- How to Read The C. S. Lewis Bible
- The Spiritual Journey of C. S. Lewis
In the back is an essay titled Reflections on Scripture. This one was written by Lewis and is from his book Reflections on the Psalms.
Indexes
The C. S. Lewis Bible includes 3 indexes in the back:
Indexes – This is a list of books by Lewis and 3 other works that are used as sources in this Bible.
Index by Source – Provides the name of each book with a list of chapters with the page numbers used and the Scripture reference of where it’s used.
Index by Scripture Reference – Provides the biblical book with a list of Scripture references and the book name, chapter number, and page number used for each Scripture passage.
Ending Thoughts on the C. S. Lewis Bible
C. S. Lewis is considered one of the best writers in modern times. It’s hard to argue that he left us with many gems in his writing. Zondervan has done an excellent job of compiling many of those gems into the C. S. Lewis Bible. I hope to see this in other translations. Any fan of C. S. Lewis and anyone interested in a devotional Bible in the NRSV will enjoy The C. S. Lewis Bible.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_________________________________________________________
Zondervan 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.