Thoughts on Reforming the Page Layout of Printed Bibles

Printing, electronic formatting, and graphic design allow a tremendous variety of ways of presenting the biblical text. However, even as we seek to unleash this potential, we should maintain an awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of the way we physically present the Scriptures. This talk argues that many common ways of presenting the Scriptures physically on pages, such as adding speech marks or using a poetic layout that has no basis in the early manuscripts, can create barriers between readers and the original text. We consider what could be reformed, both practically and ideally, and the benefits of a printing reformation.