ESV MacArthur Study Bible (Hardcover) [Hardcover]

John MacArthur (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2010

For years, the spiritual lives of countless men and women all over the world have been strengthened with the help of The MacArthur Study Bible. This all-in-one spiritual library contains Dr. MacArthur’s personal study notes below the full-length Bible text. Virtually every Scripture has a matching study note with detailed information, explanation, and helpful insight. The notes are based on Dr. MacArthur’s verse-by-verse approach to the Bible and nearly forty years of careful study. His goal is to let the Bible speak for itself—nothing more, nothing less.

In August 2010, for the first time, The MacArthur Study Bible will be available in the English Standard Version (ESV). An “essentially literal” translation, the ESV Bible combines “word-for-word” accuracy with readability, literary excellence, and depth of meaning. More than 100 of the world’s leading Bible scholars and teachers were involved in its creation. Timeless, trustworthy, and relevant, the ESV has become the fastest-growing Bible translation and the trusted choice of millions of Bible readers, students, teachers, and preachers worldwide.

The ESV MacArthur Study Bible is an essential resource for growing Christians. It can transform your personal time in God’s Word by clarifying difficult passages, bringing unseen cultural and historical details to life, and helping you understand and apply biblical truth.

• Complete ESV Bible text
• Nearly 25,000 explanatory notes from Dr. John MacArthur
• Bible text in 8.5 point type, 7.5 point study notes
• More than 140 two-color maps, charts, timelines, and illustrations
• Complete introductions to each Bible book
• Concise articles on How We Got the Bible and Introduction to the Bible
• 80,000 cross-references
• An extensive concordance
• A section of full-color maps
• Bible reading plans
• Crossway’s lifetime quality guarantee on all leather and TruTone^® editions

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2144 pages
• Publisher: Crossway (August 10, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433504006
• ISBN-13: 978-1433504006
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is an essentially literal Bible translation that combines word-for-word accuracy with literary excellence, beauty, and depth of meaning.

First published in 2001, the ESV Bible has become trusted by millions of Christian leaders, pastors, and individuals in every part of the world.

The ESV Bible carries forward the trusted legacy of the Bible in English--the legacy established first in the Tyndale New Testament (1526) and the KJV Bible (1611). With this legacy as the foundation, the ESV Bible (2001) reflects the beauty and majesty of the original languages, first captured centuries ago by these early Bible translations.

But the ESV also provides the most recent evangelical Christian Bible scholarship and enduring readability for today. The ESV translation team was built on the trusted foundation of over 100 evangelical Christian scholars and pastors worldwide, committed to the truth, authority, and application of the Bible to all of life.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

143 of 145 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best ESV Bible out there September 4, 2010

By theologicalresearcher

Format:Hardcover

This study bible is a combination of the ESV translation and John MacArthur's study bible notes - which makes for an awesome package. The ESV translation is known by many scholars to be a top-notch translation that is quite literal to the original languages without being cumbersome to read. Added to that is the notes by John MacArthur. Though the notes present a Calvinistic, dispensational, and baptistic slant it should not discourage evangelical users in other theological traditions. MacArthur is a first-rate bible scholar and preacher. He has written many books and has preached for many years. His introductory articles and commentaries are very sound and scholarly. Many will profit from this study bible and is a very nice edition to their library. Just be warned that MacArthur does not side-step issues or sugar-coat difficult passages. He tells it like it is. You will see in his notes that he takes the issue of Christ's lordship very seriously (which all Christians should) and has no time for heretical, modernist, or watered-down theological perspectives (which all Christians should imitate). I may even dare to say that overall the MacArthur Study Bible (ESV) is slightly better than the ESV Study Bible (also published by Crossway). This study bible is also not as cumbersome and large as the ESV Study Bible and still has the high quality leather, binding, and paper quality of the latter. I would highly recommend this study bible for anyone looking for the ESV translation combined with theologically sound articles and notes.

73 of 74 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Resource! September 4, 2010

By Terry

Format:Hardcover

My ESV Macarthur Study Bible arrived yesterday and I've been pouring over it since receiving it. I compared it closely to my old Macarthur NKJV and Macarthur Nasb.

As with all the Macarthur Study Bibles, I continue to be impressed with the array of helps including book introductions, 25,000 study notes, articles, overview of theology, maps etc. The "Character of Genuine Saving Faith" chart in the back of this Bible is an eye opener! The ESV edition is Smyth Sewn even in the hardcover edition! This is something Nelson Publishers could learn a lesson or two from Crossway Publishers. Crossway has produced a quality product with the ESV Macarthur. The ESV Macarthur is thorough yet more portable for carrying to church and Bible studies than the excellent ESV Study Bible.

There are very few negatives about the ESV Macarthur. The print is clear but a little small. Probably the most disappointing factor (as with all ESV Bibles) is that the ESV is a great, word for word translation and yet Crossway continues to combine a condensed poor concordance with it! The concordance included in the back of my Nasb Ryrie and Niv Study Bible are both superior. Why is this important? No Study Bible can include an exhaustive concordance but they should, at least, include a thorough concordance of 150 pages, or so, that covers key Bible words, People and Places. A word for word translation is meant to be studied! So, Crossway, add a proper concordance to your Study Bibles and keep producing quality sewn bindings! Otherwise, The ESV Macarthur is hard to beat and I believe it is the best of the ESV Study Editions with the ESV Study Bible coming in a close, but "bulky" second.

I highly recommend the ESV Macarthur and I will use it as my primary Study Bible with my Nasb Ryrie being used for comparison because it is also translated word for word and includes a good concordance. I have reviewed the upcoming HCSB Beta version of the HCSB Study Bible and it will only contain a brief "topical concordance" and no regular concordance at all! So the ESV Macarthur Study Bible is the clear winner of these two new editions. Finally, after reading/studying from the English Standard Version for over a year now, it is hard to beat such an accurate, readable and literary translation that clearly flows from the KJV tradition. For "study" purposes, I don't believe we need "new, fresh" translations but rather excellent translations with a heritage such as the ESV and "new, fresh" hearts committed to studying the "word of God" that people, such as William Tyndale, gave their lives to pass down to us!

So, take up and read!

62 of 62 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars MacArthur + ESV - Perfect Together September 1, 2010

By Penitent1

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The two things that matter most in this Bible are the ESV translation and the study notes from Pastor John MacArthur being together for the first time. This review is not regarding the ESV translation or the notes. If you are unfamiliar with John MacArthur, please go to gty dot org and learn more of his ministry and listen to his sermons. He is one of the best Bible teachers alive today, and his notes in this Bible will enrich and aide you in your study of God's word. Having MacArthur's notes in this ESV translation give this Bible a 5-star rating.

A few minor points I would like to discuss in this review are the distinctives of the ESV MacArthur Study Bible. Compared to the NASB or NKJV MacArthur Study Bibles, the biggest addition to this ESV Bible is the use of a 2nd color (Blue) throughout the text. The chapter numbers, the lines separating the text from the notes on every page and all of the charts are blue. My opinion is that the light blue color does not give the best contrast against the white page, and the color is just ok. It might take me a little while to get used to it. Also, I found the layout to be fairly minimalist. Not many flourishes around page numbers, etc. as compared to the NASB version.

The maps in the back of the Bible are the best of any version of the MacArthur Study Bible. If you are familiar with the other versions, the maps were very basic. Not so in the ESV version. They did a great job with the maps. One real disappointment though is the concordance. Why did they shrink the size of it? When comparing "Prophet," the NASB has 21 references, while the ESV has only 7 entries. It appears to me that the concordance was decreased by about 10%-20% in size. There is much I don't know about publishing. One thing I do know though, if I am buying a Bible with over 2,000 pages, I wouldn't mind having another 50-100 pages in the concordance.

These are all VERY minor complaints though. Overall I highly recommend this Bible for anyone. Thank you John MacArthur and Crossway for partnering on a Bible that will be a best seller for decades to come.