The Crossway ESV Preaching Bible Verse-by-Verse Edition Review

Nov 28

Nov 28 The Crossway ESV Preaching Bible Verse-by-Verse Edition Review

I’ve been waiting for this Bible for a long time. I heard about it early in the year and I’ve been anticipating it ever since. The ESV Preaching Bible Verse-by-Verse edition is a single-column verse-by-verse ESV from Crossway. Crossway produced a single column verse-by-verse edition of the ESV back in 2011 and it went out of print and has been somewhat of a unicorn in the Bible community. People have been eagerly anticipating the return of a similar format. Does it live up to the hype?

This Bible is a modification of Crossway’s Preaching Bible. That Bible was paragraph format, but with bold verse numbers and wide margin space for notes. This Bible takes characteristics of that Bible and adapts them to a verse-by-verse format making it a true preaching Bible in my opinion.

The box of this Bible is similar to that of the first Preaching Bible. It is black with a gold design on the front making it really stand out from the simpler design of Crossway’s Heirloom line. Those familiar with the Heirloom line know that those Bibles come wrapped in satin. This Bible does not even though it is constructed with Heirloom like materials. This Bible does, however, have Crossway’s lifetime warranty.

Crossway has taken a lot of heat regarding their premium Bible line since moving production to China. Some of it has been warranted and much of it has been overblown. That being said, this Bible is the nicest premium that Crossway has produced since moving to China. The goatskin used is especially striking. It feels very similar to the goatskin they were using when producing Bibles in the Netherlands and that is a really good thing.

This Bible comes in a black goatskin and it feels excellent. It reminds me a lot of the feel of the goatskin of my Heirloom Legacies that were produced in the Netherlands. It is soft, smooth, and supple and I really can’t say enough good things about it. The spine of the Bible has four raised ribs and in gold foil are the words "HOLY BIBLE", the ESV logo, "ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION", and "CROSSWAY". The page edges are a red under gold art gilt. There are black and yellow head and tail bands. The Bible is Smyth-sewn.

There are two thin black bookmarks that are single-sided satin. Bookmarks are one area where I really wish Crossway would step up their game. Bookmarks can really add a level of elegance to a Bible, but these thin, short bookmarks Crossway uses just really leave something to be desired on their premium Bibles. I also think for a preaching Bible, this Bible would have done well to have had a minimum of three bookmarks and I would have liked to have seen four.

On the flip side, one thing Crossway is doing now that I really love is that their Bibles have a bigger yapp than they did when they were produced in the Netherlands. It’s definitely not a full yapp, but I think they are striking a better balance in their sizing for those who prefer more yapp and those who don’t like yapp at all.

The inside of this Bible has a gold perimeter gilt line. It also has a black calfskin liner that feels great. The Bible is Smyth-sewn. There’s a single presentation page. There are also several glossy white pages at the front of the Bible that could be utilized for notes with a sharpie or ball point pen. This is a nice feature that may go unrecognized in some reviews.

The text block is the main feature of attraction for this Bible. The paper is a nice, thick white that has very little ghosting. I’d put it at maybe a 32 gsm (although I don’t know). There’s a nice wide margin all around the text, which is great for note taking. The outer margin is especially wide. The layout is a single column, verse-by-verse making this an ideal Bible for preaching, teaching, and finding verses quickly.

The font is a 9.75 point and it’s a nice dark black. Verse numbers are bolded and space is given between them and the text making it easy to locate a verse very quickly. The text is line-matched to further eliminate any ghosting that may happen. Translation notes are included at the bottom of the page in a very small font. The start of new paragraphs are indicated with a pilcrow symbol. This is a very important feature and I was glad to see Crossway include it!

There are no cross references in this Bible. There is a concordance and there are maps in the back. There are also a couple more blank pages that could be utilized for notes if so desired.

I had high hopes for this Bible and I wasn’t disappointed! I had been looking forward to it for a long time and in my opinion, Crossway did almost everything right. I truly couldn’t have asked for much more. If you’re a fan of the single column verse-by-verse layout, you should pick this Bible up! There aren’t many options for the ESV in this format and I think you’ll be really pleased. This Bible releases at the end of January 2021, but you can preorder it now from Crossway. Check out some comparison pictures below.

You can pick this Bible up from Crossway (Crossway+ members receive a 30% discount and it’s free to join) or you can grab it on Amazon (affiliate).

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

Here’s a comparison of the LEGO verse-by-verse with the new verse-by-verse.