Cambridge NKJV Wide Margin Reference Bible in Black Goatskin

I've been saving this one. Fourteen months ago, I reviewed the NASB version of this Bible, opening with a rhapsodic ode to limp goatskin:

"Like trying to hold water in my hands ... that's what my first experience with the Cambridge Wide Margin Reference Bible was like. I expected the goatskin cover to be flexible, but this was ridiculous. Ridiculously good, that is. Wherever it wasn't supported by my hand, this Bible gracefully plunged toward the floor, almost like it was wet. I half expected it to be dripping, but of course it wasn't. That's the illusion a fine, flexible binding can give."

Nothing's changed. The Wide Margin Reference is spectacular:

This time, we're looking at the NKJV. If you're new to the Cambridge drill, let me explain that the Wide Margin Reference editions are basically grown up versions of the Pitt Minion. But instead of structured covers that spring open, the Wide Margin References have luxuriously soft, indolently flexible, elegantly slouching goatskin covers. If hedonists had a Bible, this would be it.

The dimensions are 7.25" x 9". They're Smyth-sewn with two ribbons, art-gilt page edges and indulgently wide margins. Unlike the original NASB I reviewed, this one has a tiny line of stitching along the edge of the cover, presumably to keep it from delaminating.

The grain is lovely, nice to the touch. But the real story is the limp flexibility of this edition. It's a heavy blanket of wide margin goodness, conforming to the lay of the land (or in this case, the hand). This Bible is the skin-and-wood-pulp embodiment of that Saturday morning, heavy-lidded, there's-no-way-I'm-getting-out-of-my-warm-bed feeling. If you don't like that degree of flexibility, Cambridge offers this setting in French Morocco and even a hardback. 

But don't cheat yourself by getting one. The goatskin is fabulous. It's what a wide margin should be. With a more rigid cover, a Bible with such a large footprint might get in the way. This one folds over without complaint, a willing handful.

 

Bible yoga? Yeah. Not a problem. The Wide Margin Reference even bends its knees, as you can see below. In fact, that reminds me of my brother -- not because he's flexible, but because he's the funniest person I know. He does an impression of Sean Connery saying "Welcome to the Rock" that cracks me up every time. My wife doesn't get it. "He doesn't even sound like Sean Connery!" Yeah, I know. That's part of what makes it funny. Point is, when we're together, I always want him to say his funny lines. He hates it, but I needle him until he gives in. 

The Wide Margin Reference is the same. Once it's in your hands, you're going to keep twisting and turning it. "Do your little trick! Come on!" You'll be in church, bending it this way and that at inappropriate moments. Your family will be embarrassed for you. But you know what? You won't care. In fact, you'll pity them for what they're missing.

 

This is all well and good, but the real test of a wide margin Bible comes inside. The Wide Margin Reference offers generous outside and lower margins, decent ones up top, and even a tiny bit of space near the gutter. If you use it for preaching or teaching, all that space will come in handy. As you can see, this is a red letter edition set in double columns -- essentially the same as the NKJV Pitt Minion I reviewed earlier. The Cambridge roll-out strategy seems to consist of the one-two punch. The slender Pitt Minion for everyday carry and the Wide Margin Reference for study and teaching. Makes sense, if you ask me. 

The nice thing about using the same setting in each edition is that the page numbers correspond. Psalm 120 is in the exact same place on page 522 in both the Pitt Minion NKJV and the Wide Margin Reference, because the page spreads are mirror images. If you're one of those people who finds passages by remembering where they were on the page, going back and forth between the two couldn't be simpler. 

 

According to Baker Books, the US distributor of Cambridge Bibles, the ESV Wide Margin References should make their appearance in February '09. The thought makes me giddy. They'll be available in black goatskin, brown bonded leather, and a gray hardcover. That's why, as I noted at the outset, I've been holding onto this one. If you use the NKJV, you can be happy now, and if you're waiting for the ESV, this gives you something to look forward to.

 

I mean, just look at this thing. The cover refuses to sit still, insisting that you curl it up, fold it over, and let it hang limply from your outstretched hand.

 

And when it's time to settle down and read, to take notes or transfer teaching outlines to the margin, the Wide Margin Reference will relax into a supine, responsive flatness, ready for contemplative action. 

You can find these at various locations, so be sure to shop around. I'll include the Amazon links for reference:

Comments

[Christian]

I have this edition and i can just agree with all Mark writes in this review, it is a masterpiece, if you like NKJV this will be hard to lay down, it causes some kind of a "teddybear" syndrome that makes you allmost want to cling thigth to it while going to sleep. What grieves me even as this is a wonderful bible, is that I also have the KJV edition, now knowing two goatskin bibles can be different even as it is the same edition, I must say i wish cambridge had made the same kind of binding as with the KJV edge-lined edition. My KJV has "thick" goatskin, I would say almost double the thickness of the NKJV and I never seen or felt anything so wonderful, not even my precious allan bible come close. Dont get me wrong this is a absolute tremendous bible, but the KJV I have is just a bit better :-)

And comparing the edge-lined edges with the Nkjv stitched, I can not understand how cambrindge can choose to make the high end editions without the edge line with the gold line?

but other then that, this is a rolls royce of bibles

noone will regret getting one of these

[Kathy]

I have become quite fond of brown Bibles of late. Is anyone familiar with the quality of Cambridge bonded leather? I know how nice the goatskin wide-margin Bibles are but the brown bonded leather ESV in the making intrigues me as well. I also prefer real leather linings over the shiny imitation used in these edge-lined Bibles. Cambridge seems to be phasing out the use of real leather linings, which is a shame.

[Greg Terry]

Does anyone have an idea how the French Morocco version fares when it comes to opening flat? If the only difference is that the cover is slightly stiffer, I would probably prefer that. I prefer flexibility with a tad bit of firmness.

[Paul Esposito]

What a gorgeous Bible!
Let me add another thing to make this Bible even better, imo:
Verse format, instead of paragraph.

[Elaine]

I have this same Bible only in the NIV. It is such as beautiful as your pictures and does all the same tricks! It feels gorgeous. I love the wide margins and the type is easy to read....and I'm 52! :-)

[Andy Chulka]

Thanks, as always, for the great review Mark. I purchased the hardback back at the end of March and then purchased a brown calfskin leather cover for it from Renaissance Art (which I also discovered here!). For the most part I have been happy with it, it is beautiful with the brown leather cover, I recommend Renaissance Art very highly! I do wish the text was set at least at 9 pt., and I would prefer verse by verse over the paragraph, that would be easier for me in teaching and preaching, but the ability to write extensively in the margins is fantastic! The concordance is very extensive, more so than the Pitt Minion I believe, and don't forget the lined pages in the back. All in all a great edition of the Word of God in my main translation. Thanks again Mark!

[Mark]

In the previous day's entry about the French Morocco NRSV, someone wondered about whether "the days are gone when you could buy a Bible off the shelf at your local Christian bookshop and expect to have a lifelong relationship with it." And then asked, "Et tu Cambridge?"

This edition is a nice counterpoint to the French Morocco. Despite a misstep with that Bible, this Bible is a reminder that Cambridge looks fine.

[mats]

This looks fantastic.
Allen also have a wide margin offering from Cambridge. I am wondering if the Allen version really has anything to offer that the original has not. Is there any difference at all.

[Lou]

I own the Cambridge KJV Wide-Margin and Mark is right on. You want to twist and bend it all the time. It comes out of the box like liquid. You don't have to separate the pages like in other Bibles. No pages stuck together in my KJV.
The Cambridge Goatskin leather seems a tad bit thinner of a leather than the Allan's Goatskin leather.

[Edward Ortiz]

Amazing bible. Plenty of space to write notes. I think I'm going to get two the KJV and NKJV.

[Bob Hackett]

this Bible does look nice indeed. I fully understand what you're saying in reference to the story about your brother as I recently received a long primer from my congregation and I have to admit that even while I am preaching there are moments when I make it do the yoga move :-). It just feels so good in my hands, I can't help it!
I am now in the market for a new King James and this wide margin may be the one, however I would really like to get one in the highland goatskin with the full yapp but I doubt that is possible.

[Brendan Devitt]

Mark, I was in The CUP bookshop in Cambridge today looking at the ESV wide margin bible. It's certainly very nice. But I would advise anybody to get their hands on it first before buying it. Compared to the KJV wide margin Cambridge bible it is seriously wanting. Firstly, the print is rather small. Secondly, the margin space for writing notes is paltry in my estimation - at least compared to the KJV edition which has generous margins on both sides of the page. The ESV only really has note space on the right margin of any given page.

[Brendan Devitt]

Correction: my last line in the previous entry should read: The ESV only really has note space on "one" margin of any given page.

[Ryan M Koesel]

I am currently searching for a NKJV(first and foremost), wide margin, softcover.... This one your reveiewing is the one I think... It is a hybrid of the one I have now which is a Zondervan TNIV (my first wide margin experience) which I will never go back to not having a wide margin! I also have a custom black goat leather cover on it and it is indeed "petworthy" (you wanna pet it) Anyhow, the binding I found was weak in addition to my opinion the translation. It is now in disrepair after several attempts of correcting separation from the spine with hot glue and clear packing tape I was unsuccessfull.... So, my question is: How is the spine quality of this Bible? Before I drop over $100 on it?

[Beth R.]

Mind if I bump an old post? Love the blog! And I've learned so much in the comments, too. :)

I am seriously considering purchasing the Cambridge NKJV Wide Margin in Goatskin. It would be my first, and probably only "premium" Bible. (My primary Bible now is a NKJV New Geneva Study Bible with Genuine Leather.) Red letter usually doesn't bother me, but I found a .pdf of the Cambridge which shows a *very* bright red: http://www.cambridgebibles.com/Media/MediaManager/NKJVWMp931-932.pdf. The ink doesn't look that bright in Mark's photos. (Although, it still looks pretty intense.) Can anyone tell me: is the ink as bright as is shown in the .pdf? I don't think I could handle that. It will be hard enough for me to go back to double column after using my single column NGSB for so many years without also being blinded. O_O

Many thanks in advance for any input you have. :)