The Gospels by Manuscripts
An impressive set of pocket-sized books of the Bible.
This is my third review in recent weeks of a Bible (or set) that contains just the four Gospels, and the reason for this is purely selfish. You see, I am currently in the midst of an intensive, yearlong study through the Gospels. My process includes commentaries, textbooks, and other study tools, but I am also trying to immerse myself in the text as much as possible. When you’re camping out in one book of the Bible for three months at a time, it’s nice to be able to mix things up a little bit, so I was glad to include the Word On Fire Bible and the Gospels Set from Alabaster in my routine, both of which impressed me with their beauty and unique approach to the design and layout of the text.
Enter Manuscripts, a company that launched in 2017 with a successful Kickstarter campaign for their set of pocket-sized individual Gospels.
I discovered the Manuscripts Gospels via an advertisement on Instagram (those things actually work!). Let’s face it, when I’m logged into the Bible Review Blog Instagram account, I see a ton of ads for Bible-related content, so it takes something special to make me stop scrolling and actually click the ad. In the case of Manuscripts, I knew immediately that this was something I wanted to check out.
Manuscripts Gospels Set – Overview
The goal of Manuscripts is to create editions of the Bible that are easy to use and far from intimidating. They do this by keeping things simple and small. At about the size of a Field Notes or Moleskin notebook (they feature a 3.75” x 5.5” trim size and are each less than half an inch thick), these pocket-sized volumes of each of the four Gospels are extremely portable. You can slip one in your pocket and return to it throughout the day.
I enjoy good design, and the team at Manuscripts has done an excellent job with the overall look and feel of this set. The design is clean and simple, but it also has a warmth that invites you in. The big question I had was whether or not the font size would be too small, which is always something to consider on any edition of the Bible that has a small overall footprint. Thankfully, the Manuscripts Gospels have a 9.5pt font size (larger than some big reference edition Bibles) that is spaced very well on 60# paper in a single column, paragraph format. For me, this adds up to a comfortable reading experience.
FEATURES
• Perfect bound with rounded corners
• 60# natural paper
• Single column text
• No verse numbers
• Words of Christ in red
• NASB Translation
• 9.5pt font size
• 3.75” x 5.5” trim size
• Less than 0.5” thick (all four combined are 1.5” thick)
• Coated cardboard slipcase
A Unique Reader
One thing that makes the Manuscripts Gospels even more unique is that they fall into the “reader” category of Bibles that do not contain verse numbers. This has been a popular trend amounts Bible publishers in recent years, and it earned Manuscripts some attention in articles form NPR, Slate, and Relevant. In general, I am a fan of reader editions, and I think the format works particularly well here in these small, on-the-go copies.
I could be wrong about this (shoot me an email if I am), but I think Manuscripts is the first publisher to use the New American Standard (NASB) translation in a reader format. I like the NASB, and I am glad to see it used in an edition like this that has a modern feel to it.
Small Books with Big Appeal
Whether you’re looking for something small to carry with you or just something different and fun to shake up your Bible reading, the Gospels from Manuscripts are a well designed and unique set that will be a great addition to your library.
BUYING THIS BIBLE*
• The Manuscripts Gospels are available directly from Manuscripts for $28.00 by visiting https://manuscriptsbooks.com.
• You can also order the Manuscripts Gospels from Amazon.
*Pricing and Availability subject to change.
