The Perfect Bible

The ESV Bible Blog recently issued an invitation to bloggers to outline the features they'd like in their idea of a "perfect" bible. They say they read every blog post they can find on the ESV, so this is a good way to give them feedback on the format that customers like to see in their bibles.

Since the English Standard Version is my translation of choice at the moment, and since, like Mark Bertrand, I am on my own quixotic quest to find the perfect bible (though unlike him, I'm unwilling to sink any serious money in anything less than perfection), I figured it's worth my while to put something together on this topic.

What I have in mind is a go-to bible that can serve as my main bible for studying, teaching, and preaching. Here is a list of features I'd like to see in my perfect bible:

1. A nice flexible cover that allows the bible to lay completely flat, even at Genesis 1 or Revelation 22. A premium cover would be nice, but a really soft, flexible manmade material would also be acceptable, provided it allows the bible to lay limp and completely flat (and I do mean completely flat).
   
2. A smyth sewn binding.
   
3. A single column format that averages out to approximately 12 words per line.
4. Paragraph format.
5. Black letter.
6. A 10 pt font minimum that is clear, crisp, and dark. I'd like to be able to clearly and easily see the text when I'm teaching or during those rare occasions when I preach from the pulpit and the text is at least a full arms length away.
7. Some space between the lines of text so that they don't feel so cramped and it's easier to follow the text all the way across the page without skipping down a line or otherwise losing track of it.
   
8. At least two thick, high quality ribbons.
   
9. Really wide margins, at least 1.5 inches on all sides (preferably 2 inches), even in the gutter if possible. At any rate, nothing should slip into the gutter at all, even cross references (as happens in the Personal Size Reference).
   
10. Cross references, if included (I'm ambivalent about them since they typically clutter up the text itself though they are nice to have to refer to), should be in the gutter, not the outer margin where they would form a barrier between my notes and the biblical text. This also prevents the biblical text from slipping into the gutter. The cross references in the text should be as unobtrusive as possible.
    
11. No book intros at all please. Especially shaded with a different background color.
12. No lines around the text. They're unnecessary and get in the way of notes. Plus they're distracting to look at.
    
13. No concordance in the back. It's an absolute waste of space. I don't think I've ever used a concordance that came in the back of a bible. For that matter, aside from a few color maps, a table of weights and measures, and perhaps a detailed historical timeline covering both testaments, extra material in the back should be kept to an absolute minimum. Use the saved thickness for thicker paper. Speaking of which...
14. Nice thick paper with no bleed-through at all. If the price is a thicker bible, so be it. My notes should also not bleed-through the paper.
15. Finally, everything about the construction of the bible should enable it to last 20 years. This is absolutely crucial for a bible that I would devote hours to writing notes in.
    

The above features were designed with a large wide margin bible in mind. But I'd also like to see a bible with similar features in a compact edition: essentially a Personal Size Reference edition with a few improvements (i.e., columns that average fewer words per line, elimination of the gutter problem, a sewn binding with a premium cover, thicker paper, a slightly larger, darker font, no concordance, and a few maps).