Proclaimer Blog
Typesetting Bibles
I’ve been preparing a sermon on Exodus 3 this week and have had to use an unfamiliar Bible translation (to me anyway). It’s raised an interesting point. We often have heated discussions about the translation itself (and are right to think through philosophy of translation and evaluate various options). But we rarely think about how Bible are typeset.
And yet, this week, the typesetting has made an enormous difference to me. I’m working a pretty familiar passage. I don’t know it by heart, sure, but there are not really any “wow” surprises in it that you sometimes get with those unfamiliar passages. And yet….
…and yet I’m struggling to find things in the passage. My particular version of this particular translation (see how cautious I’m being here??) is dense and the typeface not particularly helpful. I know what I’m looking for in the text, but sometimes struggle to find it. There’s plenty of research to show that typeface and layout really count when it comes to reading, and that’s as true for Bibles as any other literature.
In fact, more true. Mainly because Bibles employ some strange layout tools you don’t find anywhere else – little numbers and letters in the text, double columns, hyper-hyphenation and so on. So, when it comes to Bibles I’m determined to think not only of covers and feel (the soft touchy feely part of me) nor only of translation (the thinking mind in me), but layout (the preacher and reader in me). We must.
And well done you, to publishers who have thought this through and delivered excellent typesetting.