The 10 Best Illustrated Bibles

Adults who want the full Bible and a view of its world should start with the NLT Illustrated Study Bible. Tyndale places over a thousand photos, with maps and charts, right beside the passages they explain. The New Living Translation reads like everyday speech, and the notes lay out more than one view on disputed questions. It won Bible of the Year at the 2016 Christian Book Awards. The print is small, and it's a thick book to carry.

The ESV Illuminated Bible is made to be looked at slowly. Artist Dana Tanamachi hand-lettered key verses in gold and drew a full-page opener for every book. Crossway sets the text in one column with wide margins, so there's room for your own notes and sketches, and the sewn binding lets it lie open on a desk. The cream paper is thick for a Bible. It has no study notes or maps, so serious study calls for a second Bible.

Families who learn by looking will get the most from DK's Illustrated Bible Story by Story. It retells the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in short sections, each set beside famous paintings, maps and photos of ancient objects, more than two thousand images in all. Side panels explain the history behind each story, which helps teens and adults alike. It quotes Scripture but doesn't print the complete text, and an older edition with a similar cover still circulates.

Catholic readers need the full Catholic canon, and the NRSVCE Illustrated Catholic Bible pairs it with art. More than 500 woodcuts from a 16th-century Venetian Bible sit beside the passages they show. The text runs in one roomy column, the page edges are gilded, and two ribbons mark your place. It carries the church's approval for private reading, and reviewer Tim Wildsmith praised its clean layout. The old black-and-white prints won't please anyone hoping for color.

Tweens who skip anything that looks like homework often read The Action Bible cover to cover. Sergio Cariello, a comic artist with Marvel and DC credits, drew more than 230 stories in time order, from creation to the early church. The current edition adds 128 pages of new art. It's a condensed retelling, not the full text, and the battles and crucifixion are drawn with real drama, so parents of sensitive kids may want to page through first.

Drawn reconstructions of ancient cities, temples and homes are where the CSB Baker Illustrated Study Bible stands out, alongside photos and color maps. The seller lists notes from over 200 scholars, with articles, outlines and word definitions. The Christian Standard Bible sits between word-for-word and plain-English styles, so it reads smoothly and stays close to the original wording. Because it came out recently, there's little independent review yet, and printings may differ.

Anyone who likes to color while reading will find room for it in The Sketchbook Bible. Artist Paul Mignard drew hundreds of line drawings through the complete New King James text, left as outlines for you to fill with pencils or pens. Thomas Nelson sets the words in a clear typeface designed for Bibles. Bible paper is thin, so markers can show through to the next page, and colored pencils are the safer choice.

Meant to stay on a shelf for generations, the Classically Illustrated Heirloom Family Bible prints the King James text with full-page engravings by Gustave Doré, the French artist whose scenes still shape how many people picture these stories. Pages up front record births, marriages and deaths, and the faux leather cover is stamped in gold. It's a big desk book, better on a stand than in a lap, and the old English can be slow going.

Parents reading aloud to early grade-schoolers can cover the whole Bible story with the Complete Illustrated Children's Bible. Janice Emmerson retells 287 stories from Genesis to Revelation in short, simple passages, and nearly every one sits on a two-page painting. At one story a night, it lasts most of a year. Because it's so complete, it's thick and heavy for small hands, and the stories are trimmed retellings, not Scripture text.

Preschoolers get a gentle first look at the Bible in the Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible by Joanna Rivard and Tim Penner. Its 33 stories are short enough for one sitting, and the round-faced cartoon characters are drawn to make young kids smile. Each story is told in simple words a parent can read without stumbling. With so few stories it hits the big moments only, and readers past second grade will outgrow it.