Below is my guide on what Bible to get if you do not yet have one. I have spent hours and hours looking into the options of the highest end Bible publishers, and I want to cut your search time down so it is shorter than mine.
Should I settle for a cheap Bible or get an expensive Bible?
I advocate that a person sticks with one Bible their entire life, so I would highly recommend saving up and getting a high quality Bible.
What translation should I get?
KJV. There are many reasons for this, which you can research on your own on YouTube, but just know that it has been the standard and definitive English translation for the past 400 years. Don't mess around with modern translations, just get yourself a KJV.
What type of Bible should I get?
The common ones that you will find are reference Bibles, study Bibles, and text Bibles. For a main Bible that you stick with your entire life I would not recommend a study Bible. Study Bibles have someone else's notes in them such as Scofield's. The notes themselves might not be too bad, but you want it to be YOUR Bible, not someone else's. Either get a reference Bible or a text Bible. Reference Bibles have references that connect verses to each other in a manner that lets the reader quickly see which verse points where, while text Bibles have nothing but the text. I have a text Bible.
Among these choices, you have versions of them that are large print, wide margin, or in a note-taker's format. Large print is for people who don't take notes in their Bible and want a clean presentation, wide margin Bibles are for note-takers who still want to retain the look of a normal Bible, and a note-taker's Bible is for people who straight up want an entire blank column for notes.
Usually you will have three size options: small, medium, and large, which vary greatly depending on the publisher. I wouldn't recommend anything too large because then it may be a hassle to carry to church.
I personally have a full yapp mid size wide margin text Bible. But keep in mind that you may not be able to find a Bible with exactly everything you want. If you have serious OCD and a really high budget, you can get a Bible with the right printing then send it to a rebinder like AA Leather, but I think this is overkill for a main Bible. Unless you're looking for something unusual, I wouldn't consider the rebind option.
Also keep in mind that if you are looking for a reference Bible, there are different kinds. Now because in my search I was specifically looking for a NON reference Bible, this is where my knowledge ends.
What are some good Bible publishers?
Here are my recommendations in a list below. Note that some have certain things available that others do not. I will attempt to give a synopsis of what I know that each has available.
—Church Bible Publishers (KJV only, reference, text only, wide margin, full yapp)
—Schuyler (reference, wide margin, full yapp)
—Allan (reference, wide margin, half yapp)
—Cambridge (reference, text only, wide margin)
There are many publishers who have high end Bibles that are not on this list, but these I know enough to vouch for.
I pray that this helps. This is my knowledge according to what I was looking for personally. If you are interested in finding the rare text-only wide margin, apparently people call it a 390.
