Hand-making A Cambridge King James Bible

One day around the middle of 1995 a friend who courted me for the Lord went with me to a bookstore along Pasay Road. It was my first time to be inside what turned out to be a Christian bookstore, specifically Philippine Christian Book Store, or more affectionately known as PCBS. I can still recall the serene freshness I felt stepping into that room: peacefully quiet and soothingly calm, and soft worship music was in the air. I was amazed to see such an array of books and titles about God, the sight of which I have never seen before. Tracts were plenteous and of different sorts. I was on the edge of my Catholic life then, nothing dramatic to affect a sudden change of my worldview, but randomly I picked up two tracts: "Why Is Mary Crying?" and "The Death Cookie." I did not pick any title after that. Those two tracts were mightily used by the Lord to break the chains that religion had on me, the story of which, is worthy of another long post. But I walked on to the furthest aisle, and came to where the bibles were.

I clearly remember never having the slightest want or interest in bibles, but something inside me was screaming that I had to acquire one and immediately. Without thinking, my hand reached up to the topmost shelf and slid one out from the collection. I held it in my hands with my eyes beaming with an unearthly joy, oblivious really about this object I am now holding reverently still. It was leather bound. Just the right size. Black, with gold leaf letters announcing its name. The 1611 Authorized King James Bible. Just by the name of it, I can tell it was of royal roots. 'Wow, it looks majestic," I thought, "but what is it?"

I very carefully opened the cover to the first few pages. It had the Translator's Preface, followed by the Dedicatory Page. And then I beheld the words, The Book of Genesis. In the beginning God.. I remember feeling like being in a dark room and finding the door, opening it, only to be blinded by light coming from behind that door. I held it to my nose and took a deep breath. It smelled so good to the spirit. I closed it, went to the counter with my two new tracts, and paid for it.

That night lying under my table, (I worked at then Philippine Animation Studios along Paseo extension, about the time when I would spend weeks and months on end living within the confines of my workplace along with other artists, rarely going home only on occasions, until my dog barely knew me.) I poured over its pages like a desert-dweller finding water for the very first time. I came across Psalm 23, amazed at such beautiful words, and promises, and assurance; I copied it and wrote it under my table, (we lay facing up under the table) I read it over and over before I finally slept, and read it again and again the first time I awoke. I spent many nights like that with that book, which just after some months looked like a coloring book of rainbows with markers on almost every page.

I lost that bible after some years.

Fast forward 2009. My wife bought me a King James bible from Canada. She had no idea then what bible to get, probably not even the slightest hint why she should get one. But she did. and it was a Zondervan print, (for those of you who do not know, Zondervan is the same company who publishes the Satanic Bible, and some prominent nude and men's magazines.) which I kept here and there till just around 2015 when I started using it consistently during my 4 AM devotions, eventually tearing out the non-essentials it had like the publisher's page, title page, maps, marker helps - and left only the pages between the first page of Genesis and the last page of Revelation.

I was so ashamed to have lost my original bible, it would have been 22 years old by now. When I cross-checked my Zondervan version with the original manuscripts, it had 8 single word alterations. I have no intention of keeping rotten burgers in my fridge, and so I searched for THE Authorized version once again, acknowledging the fact that this was the bible that the Lord first gave me when I was found an ignorant child adopted by a most merciful father. God led me to the Cambridge Edition where the words were faithful to the original translations. Once again I was reunited with the version that the Lord in His sovereign grace gave to me one day in the middle of 1995 to establish my walk upon solid ground.

I printed it, and personally covered it, hand-stitched and hand-tooled, the result of which is now in front of you.

I find no difficulty in reading the King James. None whatsoever. Every page revealing God's words in a most noble and beautiful narration that personally speaks to my soul. There are times it would lift me, often times it would tear me to pieces. I find God blessing me according to the reverence I show to his faithful words in this book; blessings not of material worth, but blessings of purging out the old man, blessings of driving my person deeper into the heights of his divinity, his holiness, his awesomeness, his terrible presence, blessings of being broken in prayer. There are words that merit a more meticulous study, and for that I consult the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and translations, but for everything else, it is sufficient.

The print is A$ size in 80GSM paper. Hard bound with wooden covers overlaid with leather and hand-dyed. Finally, my leather work is put to good use. For those of you interested in printing out your own bibles, here is the KJV Cambridge Version, the files are at the bottom of the page, in different font sizes suited to your preference.

In the sight of my children, preaching is the visible path to follow, prayer is the private war to wage, but the pure and unchanging Word of the Lord is the heritage I most confidently leave with them.