Word

Last week I bought my first Bible. I own many Bibles already, but I didn't buy them; they were Sunday School prizes, gifts, freebies or just acquisitions whose provenances have been lost in the mists of time and the cul-de-sacs of my notoriously faulty memory. After thirty-six years, this is the first that I've actually shelled out my hard-earned dough on.


It feels nice. The pages are thin and delicate, pure white and producing a crisp sound as they're turned. There are no greasy smudges, tears, water stains or grimy marks. There are no scribbled notations in the margins, so it almost feels as if I'm reading the passages for the first time.


In the coronation ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II, she was presented with a copy of the Bible and told, "This book is the most valuable thing the world affords, here is wisdom; this is the royal law, these are the lively oracles of God." The Crown Jewels, the customised Rolls Royces, the palaces, the vast wealth, the power, the adulation of millions... they are all overshadowed by this ordinary-looking book. Nothing greater could be given to her.


So, not a bad investment for $23.50. I got mine wholesale.