The short answer

Yes. Illustrated Bibles for adults come in four kinds: fine-art editions with classic engravings or paintings, illuminated hand-lettered Bibles, graphic-novel retellings, and design-led editions that print the complete text with a few full-page illustrations at the turning points. Before you buy, check two things: that the full text is there, not a retelling, and which translation it uses.

For centuries adults met the Bible in pictures as much as in words: stained glass, altarpieces, the woodcuts of early printed Bibles. Later, pictures became something for children’s Bibles. Now readers ask again for an illustrated Bible made for grown-ups. Here is what you will find.

Four kinds of illustrated Bible for adults

Fine-art editions

These reproduce classic art beside the text. The most famous are Gustave Doré’s engravings, first published in a French Bible in 1866 and now in the public domain, so they appear in everything from cheap reprints to large gift editions. Check the print quality, and whether each picture sits by its passage.

Illuminated Bibles

Written and decorated by hand, as medieval manuscripts were. The best-known modern one is The Saint John’s Bible, commissioned by Saint John’s Abbey and University in Minnesota and completed in 2011 under the calligrapher Donald Jackson; smaller reproductions exist for home reading.

Graphic-novel Bibles

Comic-style Bibles such as The Action Bible retell the stories in panels. They are vivid, but they are retellings: the words are the writers’, and much of the text is left out.

Design-led editions

The newest kind prints the complete text of a translation in a carefully designed book, often one book of the Bible per volume, with a small number of full-page illustrations, a distinctive cover and generous margins. Journaling Bibles with line drawings in the margins sit close to this group. This is the kind we make.

Five things to check before you buy

  1. The full text? Many “illustrated Bibles” are story collections. Look for “complete text” and a named translation.
  2. Which translation? Fine-art editions often use the KJV, which is free to print. See Bible translations explained.
  3. How many pictures, and where? Two hundred small pictures and thirty full-page plates make very different books. Look at a sample spread.
  4. Size and weight. A large fine-art Bible suits a lectern, not a bed. One volume per book is easier to read.

Our illustrated New Testament and Five Books of Moses

We print the New Testament and the Five Books of Moses as illustrated books for adult readers. Each book of the Bible has its own volume, with one colour, one constructed symbol and one verse on its cover. Inside, the complete text of the King James Version or the World English Bible runs as continuous prose with small verse numbers and section headings, and full-page illustrations mark the turning points of the story: John, for example, has five, the first at the wedding at Cana. The words of Jesus are printed in red. Every book opens with a frontispiece, a title page, a contents page and a short note on the edition, so you know exactly what you are reading. We chose the turning points for the Torah’s 31 illustrations book by book; our guide the Five Books of Moses in order lists them.

What we do not do: we do not print the whole Bible in one book, and our illustrations are few and quiet rather than on every page. If you want a picture on every spread, a fine-art or graphic edition will suit you better. If you want to read the text itself, in a book that feels made for an adult, this is what we designed ours for. The product pages show a preview of the opening pages, so you can see the illustrations and the type before you buy.

The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork.

KJVThe heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Psalm 19:1 · World English Bible, with the King James Version

Illustrated Bibles and children

Illustrated Bibles for children are a different category, with retold stories and a picture on every page. If you are buying for a child, our guide to the best Bible for kids aged 8 to 12 covers storybook Bibles, children’s translations, and our illustrated family edition of Genesis.

As a gift

An illustrated Gospel is one of the easiest Bible gifts to give an adult who would not open a plain Bible: it is short, beautiful and complete. Our guide on what to write in a Bible you are giving has wording for the inscription. Printed books are printed to order and sent to the address you enter at checkout; shipping is calculated at checkout and free over $80.

Questions about illustrated Bibles

Is there an illustrated Bible for adults?

Yes: fine-art editions with classic engravings or paintings, illuminated Bibles such as The Saint John’s Bible, graphic-novel Bibles, and design-led editions that print the complete text with full-page illustrations at the turning points.

What is the best illustrated Bible?

It depends on what you want: art to look at (a fine-art edition), a work of calligraphy (an illuminated Bible), a story told in pictures (a graphic Bible), or the complete text in a beautiful book (a design-led edition). Check that it has the full text and a translation you like.

Does the Bible have pictures in it?

The text of the Bible has no pictures; illustrations are added by each edition. Most standard Bibles have none, apart from maps.

Is there an illustrated New Testament?

Yes. Ours prints all 27 books in the King James Version or the World English Bible, each opening with its own cover, with 28 full-page illustrations and the words of Jesus in red, as one volume or book by book.

Are Gustave Doré’s Bible illustrations public domain?

Yes. Doré’s engravings were published in 1866 and are in the public domain, which is why they appear in so many editions.

How we wrote this guide. We design and print illustrated books of the Bible, so we have an interest; the guide describes other kinds of illustrated Bible that may suit you better. The details of the other editions follow their publishers’ and institutions’ own descriptions, linked below. The quotation is from the World English Bible and King James texts we print. Published 26 October 2026.

Sources and further reading