Stone Soup for Five: easy DIY blank Bible inspired by Jonathan Edwards

easy DIY blank Bible inspired by Jonathan Edwards




I was recently reminded of Jonathan Edwards' blank Bible and remembered again how I've always wanted to do something similar.

However, when researching modern people who had made their own blank Bibles, I got overwhelmed with all the pages and stacking and hole punching and spiral binding at an office store... which is probably why I haven't ever followed through with making my own.

WHY make a blank Bible?
If you look at images of Jonathan Edwards' blank Bible it is inspiring.  Jonathan Edwards was a contemporary of George Whitefield and contributed a part in the Great Awakening in America in the mid 1700's.  Perhaps his most famous sermon was Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.  In addition to his pastoral work, he studied the Bible deeply and devoutly and created a "blank Bible" so he could add thoughts and notes on pages right next to the Bible pages.  Today we have wide margin Bibles (which still don't give me enough room!), but he took apart a Bible and had it rebound with blank pages for his personal study.  There are images of his original Bible and there is now a searchable and transcribed copy of his Bible here. There are quite a few people who have made their own blank Bibles in a big more involved way, but I wanted something easy and almost free that I could do on my own, today.

I happened to have a new Bible journal that I had just started on, with just a few pages written on, so I used that (and think it will be great to mix normal Bible and sermon notes with the Blank Bible pages).



Canson art journal

I also had a cheap paperback ESV Bible that I had picked up a while ago for $3 that was falling apart anyway, which actually makes tearing the pages out super easy.


economy Bible

I also had some good glue (because of a book I repaired), but regular Elmer's glue would work too, or even washi or scotch tape!

Then I set to work.  I turned to the next two page spread I had in my Bible journal, ran a thin bead of glue as much in the binding as I could, making it the length of my Bible page, and pressed the Bible page into the crease as well as I could.  This way I could turn the Bible page and use both sides without having to glue an entire side down.





I'll keep adding pages like this through the end of Psalms.  Jonathan Edwards made an entire Bible, but I'm good with just the Psalms for now.


My first project will be to go through all the Psalms and trace all the times the Psalms mention meditation, wisdom, and knowledge.  And I'll also be writing out all the "I wills" and "I shalls" again.

I'm so excited to get to work through the Psalms like this.  Lots of space for notes, thoughts, prayers, doodles, and having fun!

Anyone want to join me?  Build your own and share pics on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #blankbible.  I'd love to see what you glean from it!



I'd love to see what you do!  #blankbible


Other Bible study posts you might like:


5 ways to add Bible into homeschool, without buying curriculum


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8 comments:

  1. That is a great idea. I remember you suggesting copying all the "I will" in the Psalms. I did that and enjoyed it. I just finished copying all the verses from the Psalms in regards to thanks as I prepare journaling prompts for a thankful heart.

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  2. I've looked at getting an interleaved bible, which is a similar idea. There's a full blank page for every page of scripture for notes etc. The pro for that is it's less work; the pro for yours is the art journal is far sturdier. You've given me much to ponder, thank you :)

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  3. Brilliant idea, thank you so much for sharing. i have some inexpensive lined hardcover journals that i wanted to use for my fall bible study classes. now i'm going to do this for the chapters we'll be studying this fall. God Bless You for inspiring others to get into the word

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  4. Nice post, thanks so much for this sharing!

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  5. I love this. This is something I'd like to do when I finish my current study.

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  6. Please will you share more photos as you progress? Thank you!😊

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  7. Love your ideas! I refer to multiple Bible versions to get a better understanding
    Tyfs honey!

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