ESV Study Bible, Personal Size

I just received my ESV personal size study Bible, and I could not be more impressed. Being a seminary student at a major university's divinity school, the standard translation and study Bible most use is the NRSV. I find that the overall ethos of the notes of the Harper-Collins Study Bible to be skeptical, and from the vein of scholarship that seriously doubts the truthfulness and authority of scripture, and that the NRSV is a translation that takes way too many liberties with the text in the name of gender inclusive language, rendering clearly masculine terms as neuter and pluralizing masculine singulars, taking away a lot of the personal language found in the Greek. That being said the ESV Study Bible is the exact opposite. The ESV translation is the best that I have found in terms of rendering the Greek accurately with still not being oblivious to some gender issues. Also the notes and introductions are QUALITY. The general position is one of trust and reverence for the text, and also the notes represent a broad theological spectrum from within the evangelical/reformed world. This is the only evangelical Bible that I have found that pays close attention to the scholarly debates about authorship and other topics of Biblical books, and though obviously from a certain perspective (what text isn't?) the notes provide me with an alternate perspective to the more liberal NRSV Harper Collins Bible. I am truly amazed that they have made a study Bible that can be read by your average lay-person and greatly expand their knowledge about the Bible, but also appeal to seminarians as well. Further the personal size is GREAT! My friend has the full size and it is quite a pain to carry, but the personal size is actually portable, and light. This Bible is an essential addition to anyone's Bible collection!

I feel this Bible, or any other study Bible for that matter, is essential for the Christian who really wants to delve deeper into the Word of God and get more out of it. I know for me, I felt I wasn't getting the most out of the passages and books I was reading; this study Bible really does its best to squeeze out the most from every word to help the reader understand just what exactly is going on. Background information before every book, images, and countless footnotes are provided which are extremely helpful. Many times the footnotes and commentary exceed the actual text itself, and while the notes can be overwhelming, you learn to find a balance between reading text and referring to the commentary. The commentary, again, clears so much up and I can't imagine just how much time and work went into this book. I personally think it's definitely worth the price and I'm so thankful for the commentators of this study Bible. As for the product itself, I intentionally ordered the personal size. It is indeed more portable and easier to carry, but the size of it is still rather awkward to keep in a backpack. But hey, having this much commentary and insight into the Word of God is worth it. The pages for the Bible are very, very thin; in retrospect, I would have paid more and bought a sturdier ESV Study Bible with thicker pages. I chose the ESV because it really is reliable and true to the original text of the Bible. The ESV is becoming more prominent, especially in Reformed churches, and I trust the translators of this version. I know countless people who use the ESV and they recommended it along with this product. I would definitely recommend this Bible to anyone who yearns to know more of God and His Word.

Although bigger and bulkier and harder to fit in a purse, this Bible is so worth it. I found the chapter introductions, illustrations, and footnotes to be a tremendous help to my historical and cultural naivety. The commentaries do a good job of presenting only the information necessary to contextualize the text, including the info which may not have been inferred otherwise, thus respecting the reader's own pursuit of understanding. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of this book, and of God.

The pages are thinner than I would like but it’s really helpful. I have historical references and commentary of socio-political climate of the time to aid in my understanding

I love this Bible and the usefulness of the footnotes. It is full of great information and has many colorful maps. I like the cross reference feature so I can find similar verses and all the places within the Bible that a specific item is referenced. I feel that I am gaining a better understanding of God's word by using this Bible. This is the only study Bible I've ever owned, so I'm not able to compare it to other study Bibles However I did ask several people for a study Bible recommendation and this is what was most recommended to me. I would also recommend it. One thing to note is that this is a very large book due to the volume of additional information that is contained within it, so I would have a second Bible to use for going to church and have this at home for study.

Awesome Study Bible but if you have issues reading small print this won’t be the best option. I had to download the kindle version to be able to read it.

The study Bible dramatically improved my understanding of the Bible. The study note print is small. I have perfect nearsight, so I didn't have a problem with the small print. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to improve their understanding of the Bible.

I have never used a study Bible in addition to my NIV Bibles. I absolutely love it!

Despite it being a bit small, it's excellent!! I love the images and extra details to help explain and get a better picture/ understanding of the Bible!

Questa Bibbia di studio è molto completa e ha avuto una buona accoglienza tra gli studiosi protestanti e gli studenti. I libri sono quelli del canone protestante. Le introduzioni ai singoli libri sono ottime. Ha molte mappe e quadri riassuntivi. Le note tendono però a fermarsi sopratutto su aspetti morali.

The bible is very nice! It's a personal size, the letters are medium to small. That doesn't bother me, but a person with eye problems might need glasses! I recommend the product

Nice bible with great information, notes and colourful maps. The notes die is very small needs a magnifying glass or great eyes to read but if getting this bible in this budget is your option you won’t regret it If you can spend few bucks go for a leather bound

I do like it. Only one bad thing is that foot notes and scripture references are very small(I mean very small).If you have problems with vision don't buy it. Buy instead normal size which is just a little bit bigger than this personal version. It has lots of information. I can not wait to read it...