ESV Study Bible gives you a one-volume library!

Bible teachers, Bible students, and Evangelical Christians will especially welcome this edition of the English Standard Version (ESV) published by Crossway. Most Bible lovers will love it too!

In one thick volume, Crossway has packed scholarly but reader-friendly articles and extensive footnotes not usually found in a single study edition. For example, resources include:

Biblical Doctrine: An Overview
Biblical Ethics: An Overview
Interpreting the Bible
Reading the Bible
The Canon Scripture
The Reliability of Bible Manuscripts
Archeology of the Bible
The Original Languages of the Bible
The Septuagint
The Bible in Christianity
The Bible and World Religions
The Bible and Religious Cults
History of Salvation in the Old Testament
Concordance
Daily Bible Reading Plan
Weights and Measures
Map Supplement

And those are just the main headings.

Under each primary topic, you might find two well-researched articles – or a dozen! For instance, the section on “Reading the Bible” includes five articles on five perspectives: reading theologically, reading as literature, reading in prayer, reading for personal application, and reading for preaching and worship.

ESV: The editors deem the ESV “an essentially literal translation,” and I agree, considering it to akin to the New American Standard Bible but more contemporary and updated, which makes sense since it’s a few decades younger.

Binding: The ad shows a hardback cover that works well for any study edition as thick as this. However, the leather cover will last longer, which is important as this edition is one you'll want to carry to Bible study and read a lot.

Size: We’re talking big! So you might want to get two to equalize your balance and get a beneficial workout as you carry a hefty copy in each hand. To be more precise, Amazon stats weigh in the 2752 info-packed pages at 4.3 pounds compressed into 9.6 x 6.8 x 2.2 inches.

Font: The readable text comes in a serif font with the smaller but still readable footnotes in san serif.

More Notes on Notes: The amazingly thorough footnotes occasionally include maps, charts, or whatever is needed to illustrate the text on that particular page. Also, I find that the extensive information in this single volume might take 3 or 4 other study Bibles to find – if then! In addition, this ESV edition should include a code you can use to access the study materials online.


© 2012, ©2015 Mary Harwell Sayler


ESV Study Bible, hardcover



ESV Study Bible, genuine leather, indexed


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Good News Bible: good to read

Many contemporary English translations, paraphrases, and Bible story books have been published since the Good News Bible came out years ago, but this remains a favorite. Also known as the Today’s English Version (TEV), the translation (not a paraphrase) is crisp, lively, and direct, avoiding the big problem that paraphrased Bibles have in adding too many words when one good word would do!

As soon as you open a TEV, you get the picture. Yes, this is the translation with those amazingly brief yet potent line drawings by Annie Vallotton that look like a quick sketch but totally capture a mood or scene. Those illustrations also illustrate the brevity and clarity of the word choices in the entire translation.

“Entire” describes the TEV, too, because you can get either a version that excludes the “apocryphal” or deuterocanonical books or an edition that includes them. I want it all! So I prefer the latter but have the former since I bought my leather-bound copy, published by Thomas Nelson, in 1976. That edition is no longer available, and maybe it’s just as well since the quality of glue produced a few decades ago does not hold as long as the adhesive used now, so I’ve had to reattach some pages. But then, I’ve read my copy over and over and over, giving hard wear to the easy-to-read pages because this is THE Bible that first let me know what the King James Version actually says!

Hmmm. I just noticed that my brown leather-bound TEV in the photo on the upper right was sitting between the KJV with Apocrypha that I reviewed last time and the Oxford Study Bible, Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha discussed the time before. That wasn't planned, but I like it.

I'd also like it if I could find a duplicate of my beloved brown leather copy of the Good News, but I haven't been able to, so I looked through newer copies on the Internet and found one I’d probably pick today for Today’s English Version. And, in case you haven't guessed, I still highly recommend this translation, produced by the American Bible Association and United Bible Societies, especially for its readability and artwork, both of which are worth serious study by Christian artists, poets, curriculum writers, children, Bible teachers, Bible students, and anyone who likes a "good read" from cover to cover of any kind.


Good News Bible, large print, hardback



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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler

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King James Version with Apocrypha

In 1604 King James I of England authorized a translation of the Bible into English, and 47 scholars from the Church of England set to work with the Bishop’s Bible as their guide. The translators also referred to the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts as needed, approving one another’s work as they aimed for accuracy in a translation that would promote church unity and meet church approval. Indeed, James instructed the team to use the word “church” instead of “congregation.”

To abide by other instructions provided by the king, the translators included no marginal notes unless a word or phrase in the original language needed further explanation. In addition, the translation included all of the books canonized by Jewish scholars as well as the deuterocanonical books written in Greek between the testament eras. Eventually referred to as the “Apocrypha,” which means “hidden,” those books remain clearly in sight in Catholic, Orthodox, and other Bibles but, a couple of centuries or so ago, were removed from most editions of the King James Version (KJV) published for Protestant readers.

With or without the deuterocanonical books aka apocryphal books aka Apocrypha, the poetic KJV has been a best-seller for four centuries, greatly influencing art, literature, and poetry in England, America, and other cultures too. A variety of editions (with or without the study articles and footnotes added in the last century or two) can be found in most bookstores, but I wanted a copy of the entire KJV as first published, so I purchased the one shown in the ad below.

Binding: This thick, slick-surfaced paperback has nice quality pages tightly affixed with glue. Since I use my copy for a desktop reference rather than straight reading, the pages have not separated, but then, they don’t get very rugged treatment.

Size: At 5” wide by 7.5” long, the book stand over 2” thick! And, it really does stand up on its own! The plump size, however, will not open flat or stay opened but works just fine when hand-held.

Font: Somewhat on the small side, the font provides clear black ink on stark white paper for easy reading.

Notes: In addition to upfront introductory information about the history of KJV and other English translations, this edition groups explanatory notes to each book of the Bible at the back of the book.

KJV: Most Christians of all church backgrounds know the KJV very well as a beautifully poetic translation with gorgeously quotable verses! Most also think of the KJV as being highly accurate since, unlike many new translations, scholars aimed for a word-for-word rendering into the contemporary language of the time. But times change, and so do the meanings of words.

To many readers the use of “thee” and “thou” for “you” is quaint and readable, but the unfamiliar verb forms with their “ith” endings can slow comprehension the way well-written poetry often does. Nevertheless, the KJV remains beloved to anyone who loves literature or grew up with this familiar version.

This particular edition, which includes all of the books of The Book, also provides Christians with a less familiar look at deuterocanonical books, such as one by Baruch – the scribe who assisted the prophet Jeremiah. Since Baruch wrote during the Babylonian captivity, he often addressed reasons for the exile, lamenting the misery of their predicament, but calling the people of God to repentance, praise, and prayer.

For example, Baruch 3 begins: “O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish, the troubled spirit, crieth unto thee.”

After asking God to hear his prayer and the cries of his people, Baruch 3:4 continues with an unusual prayer I triple-checked to be sure I’d correctly quoted words and spelling: “O LORD Almighty, thou God of Israel, hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites, and of their children, which have sinned before thee, and not hearkened unto the voice of thee their God: for the which cause these plagues cleave unto us.”

Other books in this edition of the full KJV include wisdom sayings, inspiring stories, and additions to such books as Esther. You’ll also find the KJV translations of I and II Maccabees as well as other historical writings that fill the gap between testaments and provide an interesting “read.”

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. If you share the article with your church, Bible study, or other group, please tell everyone where you found it. Thanks. For more Bible topics, see Blogs by Mary.

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A study Bible with an ecumenical view

The Oxford Study Bible contains the full Revised English Bible with Apocrypha (aka deuterocanonical books) and “A Complete Guide To The World of The Bible” in such articles as “Historical Contexts of the Biblical Communities,” “The Contribution of Archaeology,” and “The Social World” in both Testaments.

As a Christian writer and poet, I especially appreciate the articles on “Early Christian Literature,” “Literature of the Ancient Near East,” and the “Literary Forms of the Bible.” The latter, for example, talks about the biblical forms used for Bible poetry in the Psalms, of course, but in wisdom books and books of prophecy too. The article also discusses genres such as narratives, parables, and proverbs as well as the literary form prophetic books often took, and the general format found in epistles or letters.

Binding: Thick, glossy paper is my preference for the Oxford REB edition, and the cover has held up well. In other translations such as the Revised Standard Version (RSV) or New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), my Oxford study Bibles have top quality leather, but on each, the spine bowed or pulled away slightly. Since the pages were sewn together, none fell out, but pages on this paperback edition (as shown in the ad below) seem to be strongly glued to the cover.

Font: The highly readable font in the text decreases slightly in size for the footnotes, but they’re still easier to read than most.

Format: In addition to the study articles already mentioned, each section of the Bible has an Introduction as does each of the individual books.

Footnotes: Whether in the RSV, NRSV, or REB, the footnotes avoid denominational differences and aim for a wider, ecumenical view. This is not to say the information straddles fences, but the emphasis is on providing readers information about wordplays, historical settings, and cultural backgrounds, rather than rhetoric aimed to sway readers toward one stance or another.

REB: The Revised English Bible translates thought-for-thought rather than word-for-word, providing a highly readable text that flows well in public or private reading. Some spellings and word choices reflect a British accent, rather than American English, but then the same can be said for the King James Version, which British scholars produced (word-for-word, deuterocanonical books included) over 400 years ago.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler


Oxford Study Bible, REB, paperback



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Bible Reviewer on NKJV reader edition

Having grown up with the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, I did not become an instant fan of the New KJV when Thomas Nelson released it in 1982. Then (and now as new English translations appear) my first inclination was to compare Bible verses, especially those favorites I memorized as a child and did not want anyone to change! Thirty years later, however, a God-incidence changed me and my mind.

During Lent, I felt drawn to reading the Bible cover to cover without footnotes or articles to distract me, which meant I needed a reader edition. Since I prefer either paperback or genuine leather, the poor quality bindings available in the Christian book store discouraged me, and I was prepared to leave empty-handed when I saw a box labeled “genuine leather” but available only in the NKJV. I started to pass it by then saw it been marked down. Below $50 seemed like an incredible price for a good quality leather Bible – even one with Thomas Nelson’s lifetime warranty. Although that Bible publishing company has had a fine reputation for over 200 years, I still felt skeptical as I opened the box, but here’s what I found:

Genuine Leather – Thick, supple, and of good quality, this leather looks and feels sturdy and long-lasting. By applying a leather conditioner or handling with hands very lightly coated in mineral oil, the softness increases even more.

Font Size – The very readable 9-point font looks to be the equivalent of a 10 to 11-point type found in word processing software such as Microsoft Word.

Single-Column Bible – Instead of the line breaks that typically occur with a KJV or NKJV, this edition has the regular paragraphing used in most books, which make reading more natural and easy on the eyes.

Headings – The addition of headings also adds visual interest and helps readers readily locate passages.

NKJV – Considered to be a word-for-word translation like the KJV, this English version is highly accurate, too, but with the advantage of biblical scholarship in areas such as word origins or etymology. Like the KJV, the NKJV offers intelligent word choices, a devotional tone, poetic quality, and literary excellence while offering easy-to-comprehend contemporary English.

The format and paragraphing has made this Bible as easy to read as any book, but the translation itself has certainly helped too. Instead of comparing this verse to that, I immediately got caught up in the ongoing story of our relationship with God and settled in to enjoy this good, good read:


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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler. If you want your church, Bible study, or other group to have this information, please tell people where you found it. Thanks. For more Bible topics and articles for Christian poets and writers, see which include blogs by Mary.

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Which Bible would Jesus choose?

Since Jesus spoke Aramaic and Hebrew, He probably read scrolls written in those languages. Most likely He and the apostles were also familiar with the Septuagint or Greek Bible since, during their lifetimes, the extra books contained in that version were generally read, accepted, and quoted by the peoples of God.

After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., scholarly leaders among both Jews and Christians wanted to canonize Holy Scripture, so everyone could, figuratively speaking, be on the same page. But, Jewish scholars decided to stick with Hebrew Scriptures exclusively, which meant excluding books written in Greek, whereas Christians initially kept all of the books in the Septuagint. In fact, not too long after Latin and other European languages morphed into English, the King James Version of the Bible came into being (1611) with all of the books still intact.

After the Reformation, however, Protestants took out the books now referred to as the Apocrypha. The word is a bit of a misnomer, though, since it means hidden, and, well, the apocryphal books have always been highly visible in Catholic and Orthodox editions of the Bible. So, when Catholic and Orthodox Christians refer to apocryphal books, they mean those such as the Gospel of Thomas that were never, ever part of canonized scripture. Nevertheless, the extra books in the Septuagint remain outside the Jewish canon, so Catholic and Orthodox Christians sometimes refer to them as deuterocanonical books.

Yeah, it’s confusing at first! But the important thing is whether you want a Bible with all of the books.

To find out, read Sirach (aka Ecclesiasticus) on the Internet, especially my favorite verse Sirach 2:18: “Let us fall into the hands of the LORD and not into human hands, for equal to God’s majesty is the mercy that He shows.”

To most readers, I and II Maccabees just won’t seem as inspired as wisdom books because they’re not always inspiring! However, they do provide us with an interesting record of historical events that occurred in the few hundred year’s gap between the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

Deciding whether to get a Bible with the Apocrypha will not be your only choice though! You have other choices to consider too:

Word for Word Translation
This option gives you the closest possible meaning of the original texts when Bible scholars translated the Hebrew, Aramaic, and/or Greek manuscripts into English. If you want biblical accuracy, these choices give you that, literally, but you may need footnotes to explain what now-archaic phrases initially meant.

In alphabetical order, the more literal translations of the Bible into English include: Amplified, Douay-Rheims, English Standard Version (ESV), King James Version (KJV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), and New King James Version (NKJV.)

Of these, the Douay-Rheims and KJV with the Apocrypha will give you all of the books.

Thought for Thought Translation
This option gives you the most readable text with each thought kept as close as possible to the original intent as shown by overall context.

Again alphabetically, these translations include: the Common English Bible (CEB), Contemporary English Version (CEV), Good News Bible (GNB) also known as Today’s English Bible (TEB), New American Bible (NAB), New Century Version (NCV), New International Version (NIV), New Jerusalem Bible (NJB), New Living Translation (NLT), New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), Revised English Bible (REB), and Revised Standard Version (RSV.)

Reportedly, the CEB, CEV, ESV, GNB, NAB, NJB, NLT, NRSV, REB, and RSV can now be found with all of the books that were originally included in the Septuagint and early Christian Bibles.

Paraphrase
This choice provides an easy-reader especially helpful to children and readers of English as a second language. Although most Bible students want more accuracy and fewer words than paraphrases have, both the Living Bible (LB) and The Message continue to be very popular.

But, to get back to our first question:

Which Bible would Jesus choose?

I cannot prove this, of course, but His tender regard for peoples of all ages, backgrounds, cultures, and levels of faith show me that He has most probably chosen them all!

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler. If you want your church, Bible study, or other group to have this information, just promise me you will tell people where you found it. Also, I hope you remember to name drop my blogs and websites to your friends. Thanks. For more Bible topics and writing tips, see .

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Covering other Bible covers

After posting an article on genuine leather covers, I finally had the opportunity to visit a Bible bookstore and ask the clerk about various covers that Bible publishers seem to be using. Her response was to show me imitation leather, leatherflex, and genuine leather Bibles, so I could feel and handle the covers myself – something not possible when researching options on the Internet.

Here’s what I found:

Imitation leather has traditionally felt stiff, unnatural, and inflexible, which may no longer be true, but to be on the soft side, just visit this choice in person, rather than ordering and being disappointed with the quality. This gives you the opportunity, too, to check out TruTone, NuTone, and other polyurethane covers that sometimes feel more like leather than real leather does at first touch. That generally changes with time, however, as leather softness continues to improve, while synthetics are apt to dry out and fade as did my dusty rose Bible that's now the color of wilted petals.

Bonded Leather consists of fibers and scraps leftover from cut leather and held together with some kind of bonding agent or adhesive. The thickness and quality of the individual ingredients determine longevity, so the standards of the Bible publisher matter greatly. Over the years, many of my Bibles have had bonded leather covers that, sooner or later, ringed with tiny rifts and splits around the edges. Interestingly, the publisher of the Bible I just purchased also published my one remaining bonded leather edition that's still fissure-free and flexible. Therefore, I highly recommend that you see which companies stand by their products with some type of warranty.

Paperback Bibles often have a vinyl coating to increase durability, but this type of cover will curl, like my hair, with too much humidity. Most importantly, though, paperbacks seldom have Smyth-sewn pages. As the glue ages, the glued-in pages loosen and, yeah, come unglued. Nevertheless, this is my top choice for a reader edition (no study notes) of a new or new-to-you translation you want to try when you’re looking for a personal favorite with whom you can fall in love. Yes, love. Just yesterday, for example, I heard the store clerk exclaim, “I LOVE my King James Bible!” whereas someone in a Bible study group inevitably says, “I LOVE my Living Bible.” Pick almost any other choice too, and if you’re around enough Bible lovers, you’ll eventually hear the beloved name of every translation into English.

Hardback Bibles have a way of poking and prodding body parts so might be ideal for people who need God to remind them, “Yes, I’m talking to YOU!” For most readers, though, a hardback cover works exceptionally well for study Bibles – as in plural, Bibles. Of these, Bible lovers and all students of Bible study need many options to get, grab, compare, and see the bigger picture.

Leatherflex consists of heavy duty paper coated in a flexible, sturdy vinyl to give a cover the look and feel of quality leather or suede. Besides providing you with covers of many colors, leatherflex keeps goats and cows from losing their hides. Since the store I visited mainly carried Thomas Nelson Bibles, I have not checked into the policies of other companies, but this one offers the same “Guaranteed for Life” seal and registration on Symthe-sewn leatherflex and bonded leather Bibles as it does for the genuine leather NKJV I just bought on sale. This might not mean much with a new Bible publishing company, but Thomas Nelson has been around since 1798.

Leather soft covers, unlike leatherflex, begin with actual leather that has been treated to soften quickly as real leather will do on its own over time. If you already have a leather Bible that feels dry or stiff, just give it a soft body treatment! To soften my Bibles, for example, I lightly coat my hands in mineral oil since that oil does not turn rancid as vegetable or animal oils will do. I then stroke every inch of the cover – back and front, corner to corner – to distribute the oil evenly. Then, using a clean terry washcloth, I rub with the grain, holding the Bible under the light to make sure the cover does not remain greasy but gains the soft patina of healthy skin that’s highly responsive to a quick kiss and a hug.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler. For more Bible topics to choose from as well as articles on poetry and the Christian writing life, see .

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