10 Best Journaling Bibles for Writing and Coloring

Some of the most faithful Bible readers I’ve known in 25 years of church leadership, serving in youth, couples and men’s ministry, were people who wrote in their Bibles. Their margins were full of dates, prayers, sermon notes and the names of people they were praying for. A journaling Bible gives you room to do exactly that.

Journaling Bibles come in two families: ones with lined margins for writing, and ones with line art for coloring and drawing. This guide covers both, so you can pick the one that fits how you (or the person you’re shopping for) like to respond to God’s Word. If you only have a minute, start with my top three.

Journaling Bibles compared

How I chose: I compared margin space, paper, type size and binding, because those are what make a journaling Bible pleasant to write in for years.

Best journaling Bibles for writing

1. Best Overall: ESV Single Column Journaling Bible

Crossway’s Single Column Journaling Bible is the one I’d hand most people. The text reads like a book, and the wide ruled margin on every page is ready for whatever God is teaching you. Over a few years, those margins fill with sermon notes, prayers, dates and answered prayers, and the Bible becomes a record of your walk with God. The listed chestnut Leaves Design is ISBN 9781433544408, an older single-column edition. Do not assume a newly typeset edition has the same dimensions or type size just because its title is similar.

2. Best for Larger Type: ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, Large Print

Same layout as my top pick, with bigger type. If you’re shopping for a parent or grandparent who loves to write in their Bible, this is a thoughtful upgrade. Its advertised 9.5-point type is larger than the older standard edition’s 7.5-point text. Check the interior sample under your usual reading conditions; point size alone does not determine comfort. Compare the exact edition’s size and listed weight before choosing it for home reading or carrying; I have not weighed these copies.

3. Best Gift Edition: ESV Single Column Journaling Bible, Artist Series

The Artist Series wraps the same journaling layout in a cover designed by a Christian artist. It makes a lovely Christmas or graduation gift. Lulie Wallace’s bright, painterly florals make this Bible feel personal from the moment it’s unwrapped, and the cloth-over-board cover is a distinct gift presentation. Inside, it’s the same Bible as my top pick, with single-column text and two-inch ruled margins, so it’s as practical as it is beautiful.

4. Best Lay-Flat Binding: CSB Notetaking Bible, Large Print

A Bible that lies flat is a gift when you’re writing. The CSB Notetaking Bible pairs that binding with large type and generous margins, and the CSB’s balance of accuracy and readability makes it easy to read aloud. The publisher advertises a Smyth-sewn lay-flat binding, though I have not checked how a physical copy opens near the beginning and end. Two ribbon markers let you keep your place in both the Old and New Testament. It’s a great choice for someone who journals at a desk or kitchen table every morning.

5. Best of Both: CSB Illustrator’s Notetaking Bible

If you can’t decide between a writing Bible and a coloring Bible, this one has both: lined margins on most pages and line art to color on others. More than 600 illustrations give creative journalers plenty to work with, while the wide lined margins leave room for notes and prayers. The large-print, single-column text is easy on the eyes. It’s a great fit for someone who likes to doodle while they listen to a sermon or process a verse visually.

Best journaling Bibles for coloring and art

6. Best for Coloring: Inspire Bible NLT

The Inspire Bible is one of the best-known coloring Bibles. Beautiful line art fills the margins beside key verses, and the New Living Translation reads warmly and clearly. With more than 400 illustrations, there’s always a fresh page to color, and the margins that don’t have art have ruled lines for notes. I would use the coloring space as an optional way to slow down with a passage, without assuming everyone finds the same practice helpful. The cream paper is thin, so test any pen on a back page first. A large print edition is also available.

7. Best for Prayer: Inspire PRAYER Bible NLT

The PRAYER edition adds prompts that turn your journaling into conversation with God. It’s a good second Inspire Bible for someone who has filled their first. The 142 prompts are placed beside the passages they draw from, so you’re praying Scripture back to God instead of starting from a blank page. The line art gives you something to color alongside prayer. The linked format is a LeatherLike hardcover; I have not tested its durability.

8. Best for Prepared Coloring Pages: NIV Beautiful Word Coloring Bible

Zondervan presents this as a coloring edition with white paper. That description does not establish which pens or wet media it can handle. Test your actual tools, even if a listing describes the paper as thicker. Hundreds of key verses are surrounded by line art, and the lined, wide margins leave room to write as well as color. It is a useful option for someone who wants a starting design rather than an empty margin. There’s also a gift set that includes eight colored pencils:

9. Best Full-Color Art: NIV Beautiful Word Bible

Instead of line art to color, the Beautiful Word Bible prints 500 key verses in finished, full-color designs. It’s lovely to read and still leaves space to write. Turning the pages feels like flipping through an art book, with favorite verses that jump off the page and invite you to stop and think about them. It’s ideal for someone who loves beauty and design but doesn’t want the pressure of coloring, and it makes a striking gift.

10. Best KJV: KJV Journal the Word Bible, Large Print

For readers who love the King James Version, Thomas Nelson’s Journal the Word Bible pairs that familiar text with generous margins and a large, comfortable type. The cream paper and sewn binding are advertised features. I have not measured paper thickness or tested pens in this edition, so I would not treat its journaling label as a marker-compatibility guarantee. The red-letter text and lightly ruled margins keep it both readable and practical. It’s a wonderful choice for a longtime KJV reader who has always wished for more room to write.

Compare the exact edition before you buy

This is a research-based guide, not a paper, ink, or durability test. I checked publisher specifications and linked product identities. Where a weight or paper thickness could not be verified for the exact edition, I have left it unspecified.

The Crossway large-print edition page, Holman publisher catalog, Tyndale Inspire description, and Inspire PRAYER description support these distinctions. The linked Tyndale pages show other bindings in the same format family; check the card’s ISBN for the cover you intend to order. Page or trim size is not the same as the outside cover measurement.

What can fit in a margin?

For an ordinary note-taking session, I would write a date, a short observation about the passage, and one question. A longer prayer or sermon outline can go into a separate notebook with the passage reference. That keeps the margins usable when you return to the same chapter later.

Before buying, compare a sample page at approximately its actual printed size. Ask whether you can read the Scripture, whether a ruled margin suits your handwriting, and whether illustrations take space you need for notes. A small page can have a generous margin while still using small type.

Paper and portability checks

I would start with colored pencil or a lightly used tool you have tested on the same paper. Extra-wide margins do not establish thick paper, and thick paper does not guarantee zero show-through. See the highlighter guide’s paper test before making permanent marks.

For carrying, check the seller’s current outside dimensions and weight for the exact binding. If those details are missing, ask before ordering a fitted cover. I would choose a simpler note-taking layout for travel and reserve a larger art Bible for home if the carrying weight becomes inconvenient.

Journaling supplies to go with it

A journaling Bible pairs well with a few good tools. See my full guide to Bible highlighters, Majestic Bible tabs, and my introduction to Bible journaling. These kits make a complete gift:

How to choose a journaling Bible

• Write or color? Ruled margins suit note-takers. Line art suits colorists.
• Type size: if you need reading glasses, look at large print editions.
• Paper: compare the exact edition and test your chosen tools. A journaling label does not guarantee no bleed-through.
• Translation: pick the one you’ll read daily. My overview of Bible versions explains what each is best for.

My final picks

Shopping for her? See Christian gifts for women or my full Christian gift guide.

Additional editions shown above