The ESV Study Bible - It's Finally Here

After months of waiting I finally received my new ESV Study Bible today. And since I have blogged about how I was looking forward to its release, I thought I would share this with my readers.

Here is the Bible as it came from CBD. Notice how they had it wrapped in plastic to protect it from the elements.

This next picture is the box that it came in. My only disappointment so far is that this not not the quality of a box that I would expect with a top of the line Bible (but I don't anticipate this getting much "box time" so I guess that's okay)

Out of the box and ready to go.

In case you wondered, this Bible is HUGE! This is probably not the Bible that you will want to carry with you everywhere you go, but this will find a permanent place on my desk in my stack of essential Bibles - The Bibles that I use everyday when I study.

This next picture is to give you an idea of just how big this Bible really is.

These are the Bibles that I use on a daily basis; from top to bottom they are:

1. My ultrathin Holman Christian Standard Bible in bonded leather - I really do like this translation. I picked this up when I was looking for a replacement for my old NASB and I still read and refer to it regularly.
   
2. My thinline, largeprint, updated New American Standard Bible in bonded leather - this one was also picked up as a possible replacement to number 3 below. I love the large print and this is my go-to Bible when I just want to sit and read.
3. My NASB New Open Bible in genuine leather - This Bible was a gift from my mom and it was my main Bible for about 15 years. It is full of personal notes and it was time to be replaced (although I still use it regularly at home)
4. This is my main Bible now. It is a wide margin ESV in genuine leather that I picked up right after Christmas last year. This is now my daily Bible and it has proven to be a great replacement for my old NASB. (and yes, it is now full of notes too)
5. The ESV Study Bible in premuim calfskin leather (it smells great) - look at the size of that thing.
6. Finally, my hardback NJKV MacArthur Study Bible. I would have gotten this in NASB, but when I bought mine the NASB wasn't yet available. This is really the only study Bible I have used for the past several years (I have never really used the study notes in my New Open Bible NASB) and I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good all-around study Bible (although I would get it in NASB)

Okay, now I am going to go read. Talk to you soon.

New Videos From The ESV Study Bible Team

First up is a full introduction to the ESV Study Bible.



And next Justin Peters interviews Wayne Grudem, J.I. Packer, and Lane Dennis, some of those responsible for the content of the ESV Study Bible.



Less than a month to go!!!

More On The ESV Study Bible

Here is a short video just posted yesterday that outlines some of the features of the ESV Study Bible, which is due to be released on October 15th.



This is actually more exciting to me than the release of a new video game counsel. Where do I get in line?

Coming Soon - The ESV Study Bible

I am not usually a fan of Study Bibles; in fact, when I went looking for a Bible this past year to replace my worn out NASB I purposely set out to find a Bible that did not contain any study notes. It's not that there is anything wrong with having a Bible with study notes in them; there is definitely a place for them, I just think that most people use them in a way that they were never intended to be used.

Most of the people that I know who use a study Bible read their Bible from the bottom up, meaning that they spend more time looking at what Dr. so-and-so has to say than what God has to say. Like I said, I think study Bibles have their place, but I think that a study Bible should be used as one of the last steps in your study of God's Word. You should consult the notes only after you have read the text multiple times, examined the cross-references, and developed a general idea of what is being said, then (and only then) should you consult the study notes at the bottom of the page.

With that said, I have been reading a lot about the upcoming release of the ESV Study Bible that is scheduled for October of 2008 and I can hardly wait. I did replace my worn out NASB earlier this year, and I replaced it with an ESV. I love the translation; it is an accurate word-for-word translation, like the NASB, but I find it more readable (but maybe it's just because it's fresh - I had been using the NASB for ~15 years). Anyway, I first saw that Crossway was going to be releasing the ESV Study Bible a few months ago and I have been watching the web site and checking out the press releases ever since.

Look at what some of the people who have seen the pre-production version have said about the ESV Study Bible:

“The ESV is a dream come true for me. The rightful heir to a great line of historic translations, it provides the continuity and modern accuracy I longed for. Now the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible study notes is breathtaking. Oh how precious is the written Word of God.”
John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church



“The ESV Study Bible is the most important resource that has been given to the emerging generation of Bible students and teachers. The ESV Study Bible is the best. Period.”
Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor, Mars Hill Church; President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network


“Outstanding! The ESV Study Bible is a treasure—a beautiful volume, filled with a wealth of resources. It will be just as useful for the seminarian and long-time pastor as it will be accessible to the brand-new Christian.”
R. Albert Mohler Jr., President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“I can’t imagine a greater gift to the body of Christ than the ESV Study Bible. It is a potent combination indeed: the reliability and readability of the ESV translation, supplemented by the best of modern and faithful scholarship, packaged in an accessible and attractive format. A Christian could make no wiser investment for himself, a pastor could recommend no better resource for his congregation.”
C. J. Mahaney, President, Sovereign Grace Ministries

“The ESV Study Bible is a tour de force: innovative production, beautiful graphics, and notes by outstanding scholars packed with useful information.”
Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.

With endorsements like that how could you go wrong?

Here is how the ESV Study Bible website describes the features of this new study bible:

The ESV Study Bible includes 20,000 notes, written specifically for the ESV Study Bible. These notes focus especially on understanding the meaning of the text, giving answers to frequently raised questions, and providing theological, historical, and archaeological background—all for the purpose of helping readers to understand the Bible in a deeper way.

The ESV Study Bible also provides a wealth of additional resources. Thus the introductions to each book include essential information about the author, date, and place of writing; an extensive chart of key themes; a summary of how the book fits in with the rest of the biblical storyline; a description of literary features; an outline of the book; and a large full-color map showing the setting of the book.

Another unique feature is the inclusion of over 50 helpful articles on topics such as the authority and truthfulness of the Bible, reading the Bible for application, the Bible in worship and prayer, the reliability of the biblical manuscripts, the relationship between archaeology and the Bible, an overview of biblical theology, and many more.

Other key resources include a system of 80,000 cross references and a concordance (which together facilitate easy location of important words, passages, and biblical themes). In addition, over 200 color charts, located throughout the Bible, provide clear, concise presentations of essential information.

If you want to see examples of what this Bible will be like they have put up pdf samples of the introductions to the Gospel of Luke and the book of Revelation on their website; you can down load them by following these links:

Introduction to Luke
Introduction to Revelation

I have been very impressed by what I have seen so far, and I will probably be picking one of these up for my library as soon as it is released. And if you happen to be in the market for a new study Bible yourself, I don't think you will go wrong with this one.