As we noted in an earlier post, chapter and verse numbers were added to the Bible relatively late, and they have their own problems. But the Bible has acquired lots of other additives too. Look at most Bibles today and you'll see some combination of footnotes, section headings, call-outs, sidebars, cross-references, and most with red letters for good measure. The fancier editions include photos, illustrations and full-color inserts. Bibles for teens have dating & make-up tips thrown in to confirm that the Bible is—no, really, it is—relevant for people today.

Open a typical niche or study Bible and reflect on the page you see for a moment. What visual messages does it send? What has the design focused on? What items get color treatment? Where do the special borders go? Where is all the energy and excitement directed? Got the visual cues down? OK, here's my question: if it's the Bible text that is sacred, why have we done all we can to direct readers to our own blurbs.

What have our Bibles become?

Having watched, and (let me be honest) been a part of these Bible publishing trends for nearly twenty years, my gut feeling is that we have a problem with the Bible. Maybe several. First, we're actually quite nervous about it. Does the Bible measure up? Oh, of course we'll all typically say the right things. But really, does the plain, unadorned text of the Bible cut it? We publish the Bible as if we're not sure. We publish it as if we need to do something to help it.

I think another key problem we with have with the Bible is that in our rather impatient eagerness to apply it practically to our lives today, we expect this collection of writings from very different times, places and cultures to speak immediately and directly to us now. The result is that we skip (and frankly, many application-oriented Bibles encourage us to skip) the crucial step of first understanding the Bible in its own setting. This may be part of why people are so indifferent to gaining insight into the various literary types of the Bible's books. This is also part of why people like "Bible verses" so much; it allows them to get their instant shot of spirituality without bothering about all that messy and complicated context, interpretation and, horrors, maybe even theology.

Are we interested in the Bible on its own terms?

Perhaps we add things to make it all go down a little easier. The additives allow us to avoid having to face that plain, unadorned text. Give me that section heading so I know what to think about this paragraph. Let me jump around from cross-reference to cross-reference so I can keep this study moving, or I might get bored. Tell me how to apply this verse to my life, even if you don't know my life. Distract me with hipster, magazine-like sidebars. Anything so it's not just me and that text alone in the room.

So what have we done differently with The Books of The Bible? Think of watching a DVD. You sit down and watch the movie. Period. Then, if you want to, you go watch the director's comments, the "making of" backstory, or whatever else is included as extras.

We designed The Books of The Bible so you can sit down and read the Bible. Period. We've got a few extras. The books start with brief introductions answering the basic questions to ask of any book (see Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren's How to Read a Book). The translators' notes are at the end. But when you're on a page with the sacred words, it's just you and that text alone in the room.

-Glenn