The Bible on the Bible
To keep saying the same, one needs from time to time to say it differently
At 2K we have designed and typeset books for almost 30 years. Many, if not even most, of these books have been Bibles of all types, sizes, and languages. As a result we have achieved a lot of experience and expertise in this specific field—both in relation to Bible design and typesetting and in relation to the Bible publishing industry in -general.
Based on the accumulated knowledge that comes from working with Bible publishers and the biblical texts on a daily basis, we thought that 2K could further extend the services for our clients by joining them in their (ideally) continued quest of developing new and innovative Bible products, bringing more people in contact with the Bible and its message. So we began developing our 2K Bible concepts to innovate the form in which the unchangeable content presents itself to the reader/user/listener/viewer, or however the consumer of that given form is most aptly described.
The aim of this continuous endeavour is to create new, innovative, and fresh expressions of the biblical content, be it in digital or printed form, be it through text or image, be it in the King James Version or the New International Version, be it in English, Russian, or Swahili. Ideally, a 2K Bible concept can be prepared and published in all languages and Bible translations, which is why we tend to focus on utilising the flexibility that comes with the well-established standard for referencing Bible texts (i.e., book-, chapter-, verse-divisions). Take the Quotation Bible concept as an example.
The Quotation bible
The vision of this concept is in part to communicate the coherence and unity of the two collections of texts that we today know as the Old and the New Testaments, and in part to let the understanding of the Old Testament be informed and enhanced by the New Testament and vice versa. The original readers of the biblical texts were familiar with Hebrew history and cultural tradition, but the situation is different for modern Bible readers, who find it difficult to read and understand the Old Testament especially. Consequently most modern Bible reading focuses on the New Testament, and readers remain unfamiliar with the Old Testament. But this not only reduces the general familiarity with the Old Testament but impoverishes the understanding of the New Testament as well.
The Quotation Bible helps Bible readers by quoting relevant and related passages from the opposite part of the Bible alongside the passage that is currently studied. Also, whenever a text in the Old Testament is actually quoted in the New Testament text (and vice versa, whenever a text in the New Testament is a quote from the Old Testament) it is highlighted for easy identification. This allows the Bible to provide commentary on itself. The Bible text itself provides explanation and interpretation of events, practices, expressions, metaphors, and doctrine by presenting the most relevant text passages available at a glance on the same page without the reader having to flip forwards and backwards in the Bible to look up cross references.
A simple example of a thematic connection could be the following passage from the Proverbs in the Old Testament:
Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Proverbs 14:31, New International Version
This verse is juxtaposed with a passage from the New Testament, in which Jesus is lauding a group of people for having been kind to him. But these people, unknowing of their good deeds, reply:
… “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:37-40,
New International Version
The Quotation Bible concept contain 1.800 of such connections between the Old and New Testaments.
The 2K Bible concept, the Quotation Bible, has just recently been published by Broadman & Holman Publishing Group in the NKJV translation under the name Reader’s Reference Bible (released October 1, 2016). The interior, as pictured here, is designed and typeset by 2K.
Designing Content
(Book) design is not simply polishing and refining the visual presentation (of a book). Ideally to design is to create the form that most accurately communicates the content. In order to do this one needs to know and take ownership of the content as well as the context in which it is to be communicated. That is what experience and expertise bring. And that is the ambition of the 2K Bible concepts.