The CSB Thinline and The CSB Thinline Reference
The Christian Standard Bible is a translation that I’m really excited to see release in new editions. I like the translation a lot, but they seem to be a bit slow in putting new things out and I want more. They have recently released two new thinline editions in black genuine leather. One with references and one without. I’ll be look at both in this review.
The boxes of these Bibles are almost identical and the Bibles look identical. If you don’t read carefully you’ll miss it. One simply says “Thinline” while the other says “Thinline Reference”.
The leather on these Bibles really impresses me. It smells fantastic! It also has a great grain. It both looks and feels really good. It’s flexible, but not floppy. The spines have stamped bars instead of raised hubs. In gold is the CSB logo, “HOLY BIBLE”, “CHRISTIAN STANDARD BIBLE”, and “HOLMAN”.
The Bibles have gold page edges as well as a single, narrow, red double-sided satin ribbon. I definitely prefer a wider ribbon, but I can get past that. I do wish they had at least included two ribbons in these Bibles. It would have been a nice touch that I can’t imagine would have been much more money production wise.
Inside, both Bibles have vinyl paste-down liners and vinyl end sheets. I always get questions about the paper. While I’m unsure of the actual gsm of this paper, it does look fairly opaque. It has a bit of a rougher feel than many premium editions, but the text does look to be linematched. Both of these Bibles are double column, but then we arrive at some differences.
The Thinline Reference has center column references with textual notes at the bottom of each page. Because of the references and shorter columns, the font size is an 8.5 whereas the non reference Thinline has a 9 point font. This text size difference is noticeable. What is more noticeable to me is the column width and line spacing. The edition without references just has more room to breathe. The page looks less crowded because of the lack of references. To my eyes, there also seems to be better line spacing in the paragraphs, which can help the text look even bigger. The last thing that jumps out at me is that the textual notes are set off by a horizontal line in the edition without references, whereas the reference edition does not have this line at the bottom of each page.
I will also mention that Words of Christ are in red. This is certainly not my preference and the red looks light to me in some places. Others, however, prefer this feature.
The Thinline Reference features a Concordance and maps at the back of the Bible. The Thinline Edition does not have a Concordance, but has list of verses that are helpful for topical things you may be experiencing such as “When you are afraid of death, when you feel abandoned, etc.” There is a table of measures, and there are also maps. I’m not a fan of maps, but I do think that the CSB’s feature some of the best maps out there because they’re printed on something close to the feel of Bible paper rather than shiny cardstock.
Both of these Bibles are fantastic and they are very similar. When it comes down to it, you really have to decide if you don’t mind the smaller font and if you want references. I don’t think you’ll go wrong either way. Holman has created some awesome genuine leather Thinlines with these Bibles.
Pick up the Thinline Reference on Amazon. (affiliate)
Pick up the Thinline on Amazon. (affiliate)
Disclaimer: I received copies of these Bibles from Holman in exchange for a fair and honest review.
