Customer Reviews

ESV Personal Size Reference Bible (TruTone, Black)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this Bible after reading a friend's. It's a great size and feel, small and slim but not with text that's too tiny to read. The leather cover looks and feels nice. I particularly appreciate the way it's laid out, with one column of text that is broken into paragraphs and cross-references on the inside margins where they're not too conspicuous but easy to find when you want them. I also like the fact that it's all printed in black; Jesus' words are not in red as is traditional for Bibles.

The only thing I have been disappointed with that bits of some letters are missing; the printing process seems not to have been too careful. I don't recall noticing that with my friend's bible so perhaps it was just this print run.

Bible should not be ornaments. You need to read it and dissect it, make it part of you. For me a bible that has room for me to write in is important. This one fit the bill nicely and was still portable and nice to look at.

[ Pros: ]
Love the leather. The feel of it is very soft to the touch. I saw some people complain in that not being a hard face finish to the leather it does show scratches and marks easily. I don't find it an issue being quality leather you just rub any marks with your fingers and they disappear. If you're a little OCD this may bother you as the face will always show marks it just the type of leather it is. It looks more like rough saddle than a fine leather coat, so know what your getting. I'm sure there is some kind of leather treatment you could put on to reduce this if it really really bothers you.

I like the design with the leather strap wrap around lace. Again a lot like an old leather satchel. It takes some getting used to. It's not as easy to close as a snap or a buckle on most other designs. After a while you get good at wrapping it and tying it off but some people may get frustrated who want to just snap their bible shut and get going. If your opening and closing your bible a lot, re-lacing it, untying it, re-lacing it, you could easily get frustrated.

Binding seems excellent, though often time is the true marker. The glue bonds look solid, and binding solid solid and supple at the same time.

There is lots of room in the margins for copious notes, which is what I really wanted. If you wanted more room you'd probably have to go to an interleaved bible where every facing page is blank for notes.

[ Cons: ]
Though made well, the finish is not excellent. There is no guilding, just raw paper edges. Perhaps that would look out of place on a bible like this, but the raw edges give it a cheaper feel. The marker ribbon is OK but only cut off on the end, so if you don't take steps it will fray. I suggest trim the end with a hot razor to melt the end fibres together... or just tie a knot in the end.

There is a pen holder inside the cover but it's just an elastic loop glued into the binding. With a pen in the loop the flap does not close the same. Again not a deal breaker for me but would be nice if they had positioned this a little better.

The print is very small. This wasn't really an issue for me. If you have concerns for small type make sure you look at one of these in a local bookstore before you run out and buy it.

Would be nice if it had some index tabs printed on the page ends but not a huge issue, and again this is a personal preference.

Overall:
I love it. I would recommend it to anyone that can accept it's few shortcomings. I think this bible will age nicely and look better even with age. It will mean more to me as my thoughts accumulate in the margins to help me absorb more of God's word.

God Bless.
I hope this was useful to someone.

I'm a pastor in a denomination that uses the NRSV as its
"official" text. I'm not a big fan of the NRSV because it often
uses inclusive language in a way that can distort the meaning of
the underlying Hebrew or Greek. There is also a subtle
theological bias in the NRSV (i.e., Gen 1:2 "a wind from God" vs
"the Spirit of God") that I don't care for. When I heard that someone
was going to do a new revision of the RSV -- which is a fairly good, literal text -- I was excited.

The ESV is more inclusive than the RSV but less than the PC NRSV.
Good. It includes the most current scholarship. Good. These are
reasons that the ESV is better than either the RSV or the NRSV.
However, the Crossway / Good News printing leaves much to be
desired. The print is too small. The line breaks on poetic
passages are awkward and difficult to read. The concordance at
the end of the Classic Reference edition is inferior to a similar
concordance in my NIV Classic Reference Bible.

My advice: get a paperback ESV, but wait until a more established
Bible publisher (Nelson, Zondervan) takes a shot before you spend
big bucks on a leather edition. I returned my ESV to Amazon.com

5 points for the text, -2 for the lousy publishing effort.

I enjoyed reading the RSV for many years but was disappointed with the NRSV for its lack of consitency and its awkward implementation of "inclusive language". The ESV is a very well done updating of the RSV. It retains the literalness, accuracy and eloquence of the RSV while updating the language to modern usage. It takes a more consistent and sensible (in my opinion) aproach to inclusive language. I always found the NIV language to be too simplified and the NASB too rigid. The ESV reads beautifully (even better than the NKJV) and has become my preferred translation over the many I have tried. Finally, a suitable replacement for my old, beloved RSV. I was also glad to see that this edition does not have a red letter New Testament. Somtimes its hard to find a nice bible that isn't red letter.

This black genuine leather bound edition seems to be very durable. The gold-edged paper is strong and thick enough so that the printing on the reverse side of a page doesn't bleed through much. It has wide margins and the print is easy to read. I expect (and hope) it will last for many years of daily reading. It comes with pretty good CD-ROM software that lets you quickly look up passages on the computer (It would be nice if there were a Mac version instead of just Windows) and cut & paste them into a word processor.

I purchased this Bible because I wanted a good version, word for word translation, that is readable, and large print so I can see it when it is on the pulpit, just above my waste. The print can easily be seen without stooping over or squinting. Excellent translation. Praise the Lord.

The beautiful classic, yet modern English of this translation makes it a joy to read or hear read. Sadly, although it is in larger print, the spindly font used and the light, feint ink render it virtually useless to those with diminished vision. It is, in fact, the WORST example of 'large' print I've ever seen.

This is a great little bible for your nightstand or on the go. It's small enough to tote and curl up with, but big enough to be functional. I have no problem with the print size--and I don't have the greatest eyes. I love the 'book' format, rather than the traditional 2-colum bible format. The color is gorgeous--so feminine! Also happen to love the ESV translation--just for the ease of reading. I do keep a KJV close by for comparison when I'm studying. The one downside is the page thickness--the pages are oh so very thin! Can be frustrating in high light when the words from the previous page seem to show through onto the next. All in all, I'm so very happy with this purchase!

My wife loves her new gift. What could be better than receiving the Word of God?

The size is of this edition is very handy. She enjoys doing Bible study in bed. Her other Bible (the ESV Study Bible) is excellent, but huge and heavy. It needs to lay on a solid table, not on your lap.

But the size of this edition is perfect. The font is still perfectly legible (any smaller, though, and it may require some squinting). The cover is very handsome.

Beautiful!

The ESV bible is a very enjoyable version to listen to. It is very simple and easy to comprehend!!!

This compact bible is a good size for carrying around with you. I am a soldier and it fits well in my arm pocket. Despite its small size it is quite readable, I have regular eyesite and can read it easily. Cover material is excellent, better than my genuine leather bible. It is not a traditional sewn binding, seems like pages were put together and then all stitched across en-mass, plus glued. However after a little use it does lay reasonably open and you can read the centre. I would definitely recommend for the price.