ESV Classic Reference Bible, Genuine Leather, Black, Red Letter Text, Thumb Indexed [Leather Bound]

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2001

The ESV Large Print Bible features generous 12.75-point type, clear black letter text, and ample margins for easier reading and reference. A true large print edition, it includes an extensive concordance, introductions that summarize the themes and messages of each Bible book, and helpful full-color maps.  Readers of all ages will find it ideal for daily reading and studying.

--This text refers to the Imitation Leather edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Christians who have longed for a more readable literal Bible translation will find much to praise in the English Standard Version. The ESV's translation team of over 100 members has admirably attempted to preserve the stylistic variety of biblical authorship and ease of reading (at the eighth-grade level) despite the word-for-word translation, which historically has resulted in a choppier text flow. Bible study aficionados will appreciate the short introductions to each book, an extensive center column cross-reference system, full-color maps, and a 14,500-entry concordance. The hardcover edition includes the basic Bible frills: a presentation page, as well as marriage, birth, and death registries. --Cindy Crosby --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Leather Bound: 1328 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Bibles (November 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581343469
• ISBN-13: 978-1581343465
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,471,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, November 15, 2005

By 

Bondservant - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ESV Classic Reference Bible (Leather Bound)

After months of waiting I bought the premium leather (calfskin) black ESV. I will use this space to physically describe this Bible, as there are a plethera of reviews about the ESV translation here, and you can read more.

I uploaded two pictures: One with the Bible closed, and one with it open so you could see the quality as well as the relative size and typeface

This Bible is the perfect size to carry, hold and the leather is soft and supple. It is smyth sewn, and bound beautifully. The typeset is very readable...a 9.5 font I believe.

The reason I did not give it 5 stars is that there is a little bleed through or ghosting on the pages. I would prefer to see a thicker paper.

That said, it is beautifully done Bible with center column cross reference, short book introductions, a good concordance and color maps.

I love the size and feel of this Bible! It also has two ribbon markers.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible I've been waiting 25 years for!, November 4, 2002

By 

Barry McCarty (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ESV Classic Reference Bible, Genuine Leather, Black, Red Letter Text, Thumb Indexed (Leather Bound)

The English Standard Version is the best Bible available today to the English-speaking church.

As an "essentially literal" translation, the ESV seeks to capture the precise wording of the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original words of scripture. In contrast to the ESV, many modern Bible versions have followed a thought-for-thought translation philosophy called "dynamic equivalence" rather than the "essentially literal" meaning of the original. The New Living Translation (NLT), The Message, and other paraphrased Bibles are "dynamic equivalent" versions. A thought-for-thought translation is of necessity more inclined to reflect the interpretive opinions of the translator and the influences of contemporary culture. The NIV, the Bible I have used for most of the past 25 years, is a trade-off between the essentially literal and dynamic equivalence approaches to translation. I have found the ESV a significantly superior translation.

The ESV also stands in the classic mainstream of the English Bible that began with William Tyndale's New Testament of 1526 and the King James Version of 1611. That stream continued in the American Standard Version of 1901 (ASV) and the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and 1971 (RSV). When Crossway Books recently bought the rights to the RSV, they assembled a team of 100 respected biblical scholars who started with the RSV text and carefully weighed each word and phrase against the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, to ensure the fullest accuracy and clarity. The translators are all outstanding scholars who are deeply committed to the authority and inerrancy of scripture.

The ESV retains the beauty and dignity of the Tyndale-King James legacy, while providing the English reader with an accurate rendering of the original Biblical text. The arrival of the ESV gives us a readable, modern English translation that is as faithful as possible to the original words of scripture.

After careful consideration, I have adopted the English Standard Version for my own Bible study and preaching, and I enthusiastically recommend it to you, believing that the ESV is literally the best Bible available today to the English-speaking church.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Close to the Original Greek, December 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: ESV Classic Reference Bible, Genuine Leather, Black, Red Letter Text, Thumb Indexed (Leather Bound)

I just did an indepth study of the book of John. One of the commentaries used was the NICNT by D.A. Carson, which comments on the NIV. In every case where Dr. Carson disagreed with the NIV, and proposed a different, literal translation, the ESV translated the phrase in exactly that way. In fact, I began to think the Dr. Carson served on the translation committee (he didn't, I checked).

Bottom line: I like this translation better than the other "literal" translation, the NASB, because it reads better, and it's much more accurate than the "thought by thought" translation of the NIV. I use it for my personal study and teaching, but not exclusively. It's always good to review several tranlations, especially if you don't read Greek.