Crossway ESV Preaching Bible, Verse-by-Verse Edition, Black Goatskin

4 reviews for Crossway ESV Preaching Bible, Verse-by-Verse Edition, Black Goatskin

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Keith (verified owner) – December 13, 2021

   I have been a life long Bible collector. Sadly with the purchase of this Bible, I fear my collecting days are over. This Bible has all the features that I love. Black letter text, single column, and verse by verse. I have no need to buy another bible.

2. Rated 5 out of 5

   Benenz Hitchcock (verified owner) – May 8, 2021

   This Bible is exactly what I was looking for.

   My church uses the ESV, so I decided to get one. Regarding preaching, this Bible has wide margins for notes. I do not preach often, but when I do I must have single-column, verse by verse text.

   I will say that the Bible is not as high quality as my Preacher’s Bible by Steadfast Publishing, but the font is bigger which is nice and for study it is convenient.

   Also, the $5 I paid for shipping was worth it! I live in PA and the Bible came in a day and a half.

3. Rated 1 out of 5

   Mike N (verified owner) – March 11, 2021

   All the “premium” features are overshadowed by poor craftsmanship 🙁

   I will start by saying I really like what Crossway has done with the layout of this Bible. If they offered this in a TruTone I would buy one and have it rebound however, the way it comes is completely unacceptable as a premium Bible.

   The felt cover it was shipped in was bunched up just like the other copies I’ve seen on YouTube that reviews received as early copies. It seemed from those copies that they were pre-release copies that weren’t ready for public release. Perhaps the entire shipment fell over on its way from China? It is possible that I just got a bad copy, but all of the craftsmanship issues the pre-release review copies had, mine had as well. The front cover had a rectangular crease in the outer goatskin that was even more noticeable in the liner. It looked as if it was clamped when in production and it ruined the leather. The cover was also creased and crushed on the top and bottom of the Bible just above where the yapp should begin including the spine. Not to mention the goatskin is too thin in my opinion for such a thick heavy Bible. The spine had a fairly large bump in it as if something was stuck between the book block and the cover. The art gilding was severely uneven on 2 out of 3 sides as well as if the machine that sprayed the book block ran out of paint on one side and as if someone hit the freshly painted book block against something on the other side. The book block seems to have been bound unevenly as there is a permanent wrinkle/indention in the pages from Genesis to Revelation and it looks to be uneven when the Bible is opened. Again the craftsmanship of my copy is unacceptable. I have $10 Bibles that look and function better than this. I haven’t even mentioned the ongoing cheap ribbons that Crossway insists on using in their premium Bibles!

   What is the point of a premium Bible if all of the premium features are done so incredibly poorly? I have previously ordered Crossway premium Bibles from when they were bound in Europe and never had any quality control issues, especially not issues with every part of the Bible! If this is the quality of product we can expect from Crossway now that they have moved production from Europe to China then I cannot and will not recommend their premium Bibles again. What they have sent me is an embarrassment to the Crossway brand and certainly not worthy of the premium branding.

   I have returned the copy I received and will instead be hoping that Schuyler puts out an ESV Stridon soon. I know we will see the ESV Treveris this year, but I would love a proper verse by verse ESV by Schuyler for use in the pulpit. I am aware that Cambridge has the Topaz. I have one in blue goatskin and love it, but I would really like a great verse by verse single column to teach from.

   I wish I could believe that I simply received a bad copy and could simply exchange it for a proper copy, but when I emailed EB about my issues the reply I received said in part “Unfortunately, based on what I see, this is rather common with the Bibles produced in China.”. Bottom line I can not recommend this Bible to anyone even at the excellent price EB sells it for. Crossway really needs to reevaluate their decision to print their premium Bibles in China. As I read and watch reviews it is clear that the quality of Crossway Premium Bibles has decreased significantly since they moved away from tried and true premium Bible producers such as Jongbloed and Lego.

   Lastly I would like to say that every interaction I have had with the people who work for Crossway has always been positive. They have been more than helpful to me personally and to our church, and I love their heart to get the ESV into as many hands as possible for as low of a price as possible. I also want to say that Evangelical Bible has been a wonderful company to do repeat business with and I will continue to do business with them. For now I will have to stick with only buying TruTone and paperback Bibles from Crossway as giveaways. In the meantime I will be exclusively purchasing Schuyler and perhaps RL Allan when they produce the verse by verse single column reference ESV later this year for my next premium pulpit Bible. I hope this review helps someone out. It was a huge disappointment when I opened the box for my ESV Preaching Bible, Verse-by-Verse Edition, Black Goatskin and found the absolute worst quality “premium” Bible I have ever seen.

4. Rated 4 out of 5

   Josh M. (verified owner) – February 23, 2021

   I couldn’t decide between 3 or 4 stars. I did end up giving it 4 because it is a very nice Bible though there are a couple of things that I was disappointed about.

   First, I’ll share the good. The cover is very nice. It is soft and comparable to my Schuyler goatskin. I also like the four raised ribs on the spine. As far as the layout goes, it’s easy to see why it’s called a “preaching Bible.” The verses are easy to find and the readability is great. The paper is also great for note taking and there is lots of room to write. It is line matched and there isn’t a lot of bleed through when taking notes. I know some have complained about the Bible having a concordance, maps, and the measurement chart (apparently preaching Bibles shouldn’t have them according to some), but I like having those things to reference while I’m taking notes and studying.

   Second, I’ll share the bad. The goat skin on the inside of the cover where the stitching is looks kind of gnarly. It’s almost like it wasn’t cut evenly or something. I don’t think Schuyler would put a product out like that. The Bible also came with weird splotches on the art gilding. I think for a premium Bible they should pay more attention to detail. I’d also say that the red under gold art gilding is not very defined like a Schuyler or an Allan. However, I understand that may just be a personal preference of mine. The other thing about the Bible is that when it’s laid open, the pages a kind of push up in the corners. The pages don’t lay as flat as my Schuyler or Allan. I also wish it had wider and longer ribbons.

   Overall though, I really like the Bible and I think it’s very nice. I will use it as I study and take notes. While I would recommend it for preaching and note taking, it’s not on the same level as a Schuyler or an Allan.