The ESV Pastor's Bible Review

You just can’t have it all when it comes to Bibles. At least that’s the way I feel. I think a Pastor’s Bible is a really cool concept and I really enjoyed getting to review the CSB Pastor’s Bible. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to get to review the ESV one. There were things I loved about the CSB and I find there are things I love about the ESV. I really wish I could combine certain features from the two and create one powerhouse Pastor’s Bible. You can’t have it all though so let’s talk about the features that come in this ESV Pastor’s Bible. 

I’m reviewing the black, genuine leather edition of The Pastor’s Bible. This is a really nice looking leather and the comment was made that “it even looks like a nice quality leather than it is.” It definitely doesn’t feel premium, but it does have a premium look to it. It has gold lettering on the spine and gold gilding on the page edges. It features two black bookmarks and has an overall thin or thinline design.

This Bible is a double-column style with a nine point type. This definitely helps contribute to its thinness. Surprisingly, it seems Crossway was able to use a thick paper for this Bible. There is hardly any ghosting and the type on the other side is barely noticeable. I am a big fan for how thin and portable this Bible is and I believe it was intentionally designed to be that way. In contrast, the CSB has an 11 point type and is single-column, which makes it much thicker and heavier. I love big fonts and typically prefer a single-column layout, but I must admit that if you are using this as a Pastor’s Bible doing ministry out and about then the portability is probably the better trade off unless you just needed that 11 point font or you don’t mind a thicker Bible. 

I’m also a big fan of all the content available in this Bible. There are 40 plus excerpts with helpful articles for pastors on a whole host of topics, two daily Bible reading plans, cross-references, and this Bible includes a lifetime guarantee. Between the Old and New Testaments a whole host of information helpful to new and old pastors alike is available. Here you’ll find invocations, prayers of confession, historical Christian creeds, liturgies for baby dedication, infant baptism, and believer’s baptism, samples for communion service, wedding service, funeral service, graveside service, and benedictions. This truly is a plethora of helpful information—especially for new pastors and great refreshers for pastors who’ve been ministering longer. 

The excerpts scattered throughout the Bible are also interesting helps as well. They are set off by a title in a red font and you can find each of their titles and locations by the index in the front of the Bible. Rounding out the content are specific sections in the back with content for the evangelist, worship leader, and shepherd. This Bible truly does have a lot of useful information contained in inside.

This Bible was edited by pastors R. Kent Hughes and Douglas Sean O’Donnell. They also created Crossway’s The Pastor’s Book, which has a lot of similar information, but goes into more detail and is truly a comprehensive pastor’s help. I had The Pastor’s Book before The Pastor’s Bible and really loved it and found it very useful. The Pastor’s Bible gives you a lot of the information that will help you in the on-the-field ministry contained in a Bible, which a pastor typically always has with them. If you’re looking for a portable Bible with a lot of helpful information contained inside, I don’t think you can go wrong with The Pastor’s Bible. If you’re a pastor, it’s definitely a valuable resource to have. If you’re a church member, it would make a great gift for your pastor!

You can pick up The ESV Pastor’s Bible on Amazon.

You can also find The Pastor’s Book on Amazon.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this Bible from Crossway in exchange for a fair and honest review.