Crossway ESV Verse-by-Verse Reference Bible (Top Grain Leather, Black)

7 reviews for Crossway ESV Verse-by-Verse Reference Bible (Top Grain Leather, Black)

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   drummingrocks – December 12, 2022

   I got this Bible and started using it recently and I am extremely pleased! The top grain leather feels far nicer than I expected— it is supple and floppy and delightful to the touch. The paper is good quality, and seems to take ink well.

   Of course the layout of the Bible is excellent for preaching and teaching, but I’m finding it quite good for longer reading sessions as well. The design of this Bible is top notch, and for the price it’s going for, it’s hard to beat the value.

2. Rated 3 out of 5

   rickstones – July 29, 2022

   This typesetting and layout is my favorite of all the ESV’s. I truly wish Crossway would have chosen this layout for the Omega instead of the paragraph format. I would love to have this text block on more premium paper and line matched. Hopefully they will convert this version into a premium offering at some point in the future.

3. Rated 4 out of 5

   David – April 6, 2020

   I recently started looking for a new ESV bible. I was looking for a verse-by-verse with reasonable margins for note taking and larger font to accommodate my aging eyes.
   This bible does not have a lot of extra features, but that is OK for it’s purpose.
   This is a very nice bible overall. The larger font size is by no means large, but it works. The line matching and thicker paper definitely help. I highlight a bit, and there is little bleed through, and line matching definitely helps with ghosting.
   The outer margin is better than most other non-wide-margin bibles; the inner margin, though, is not nearly as easy nice.
   Crossway moved the references to the bottom right of the page, which is fine, but the font is so small that they have been rendered absolutely useless for me — may as well have left them out altogether.
   I want a bible that I can use without my phone, so a good concordance is also important, and this has a nice concordance. But again, the font is pretty small for me.
   I was disappointed in the absence of book outlines and the very minimal (1-paragraph) book introductions.
   What surprised me was the fact that there is no map index. There are 8 maps, but no index. I do not use the maps all that much, but when I do, I frequently need the map index to help me find my locations. So now, there are maps in the back of the bible, but with no index, their usefulness drops way down.
   I fluctuated on my rating. I like the bible well enough, and it provides the basics of what I am looking for, but few negatives are important enough to make this a 3-4 star rating.

4. Rated 4 out of 5

   Marc (verified owner) – February 26, 2018

   Bought this for seminary. Was looking specifically for a verse-by-verse version to make it easier for reference as I use it to study and write. The calfskin has a very nice pebble to it and is very flexible. Bit of a stiff hinge the keeps it from laying flat, but I bet it will break in. Text is very legible and while there is some ghosting, it’s negligible. This is a great Bible for the price.

   I’m not giving it a 4 star because I’m unhappy with it, but because I consider Allan, Cambridge, Schuyler, and Crossway Heirlooms to be 5 star and this Bible isn’t as nice as those. That being said, you’re also paying $150 bucks less, so it’s a good value. This is a great Bible for study, reference, preaching, and teaching.

5. Rated 5 out of 5

   Pastor Mark Barrett – August 2, 2017

   This is my preaching bible. Font is perfect for my old eyes (50) and it is well made. The ESV is growing on me, although I prefer the KJV. Great bible for the price!

6. Rated 4 out of 5

   gary johnson (verified owner) – February 20, 2017

   Wonderful bible! Compared to all the other high-cost bibles, this one is your best bang for the buck. Not an overly bulky bible so that it fits well for the pastor in his pulpit or the student carrying it to class. The font is large enough for those with poor eyesight and the margins wide enough for note taking. Made of top grain leather with two ribbons is a plus. I personally prefer the verse by verse edition with the verse number to the left of every verse for easy reference. I would highly recommend this style of bible to anyone looking for a top quality bible for a much more reasonable cost.

7. Rated 4 out of 5

   Bob – February 16, 2016

   ***If you have read my review of this Bible on other sites and saw that I gave it a 5 star rating that is to be understood in context of the other Bibles that are offered on those sites. Since EvangelicalBible offers a majority of premium Bibles, in context, this received a 4 star rating, not to denigrate it at all.***
   Crossway sent me this beautiful Bible for review. It is a wonderful value. You get so many great features with this Bible. It is also a good multipurpose Bible. Initially I thought the font might be too small for Pastors to use it from the pulpit, but I was wrong. The verse format layout, terrific paper, and crisp clean print, make it well suited to serve as a preaching Bible. It is a reference Bible, so it also lends itself to study. The references and notes are out of the way at the bottom, so it also works good for reading. If you are in the market for a new Bible to fill a few roles, keep reading. I think you’ll be as impressed with this edition as I am.
   The ESV Verse-by-Verse Reference Bible was packaged in a small white cardboard box.
   The Bible itself was inside the retail clamshell box. Keep the box for storage. This is not a Bible to be stood up on edge like a hardback book. The Bible arrived undamaged from Crossway. Inside the packaging the Bible was wrapped in clear plastic.
   Once removed, I was able to begin assessing the top grain leather. It had a very supple feel to it. It was nice and soft. There is also a perimeter groove on the cover.
   The inside liner seemed to be a bit different than the outside cover. I e-mailed Crossway and asked them about it. They informed me that it is Cromwell® bonded leather. For those of you who are balking at that, keep in mind that Cromwell® bonded leather is not the same as the low grade bonded leather you are used to seeing in the past. It is a far superior product and should last as long as the top grain leather cover, if not longer. One of the bonuses of using this material as a liner is that it can be had in thin sheets. This makes it possible for the bindery to get the cover mated to the liner with more precision and less bulges on the corners.
   This, being an edge-lined Bible, it is important to not use a heavier material that would reduce the supple feel of the cover.
   In my opinion, it was implemented quite well. For the price, I would definitely recommend purchasing this edition over the ones with genuine leather or synthetic covers if you can afford the extra money.
   In the front you’ll find a Presentation Page, Publisher’s Page, Table of Contents, Books of the Bible in Alphabetical Order, Preface, and an Explanation of Features.
   The spine is ornamented with four spine hubs, and gold lettering.
   The page edges are gold gilt and the corners are rounded. There are also decorative gold and black, head and tail bands. There are two black ribbons that are decent quality.
   They are thicker than some less expensive ribbons. For me two ribbons or more is a must. Three ribbons is perfect in my opinion. You get one for the Old Testament reading, one for devotional reading of Proverbs, and one for the New Testament. Of course, two will suffice, and is certainly better than only one. Four just seems supernumerary to me.
   Of course where this Bible shines is the paper and print. Crossway has done a good job utilizing superior paper compared to their competitors. Rarely do you find Bibles in this niche with paper of the same weight and opacity. Crossway is employing a 36 g.s.m. Apple Thin Opaque paper. Keep in mind that many of their competitors call 28 g.s.m. paper top notch. The print in this black letter edition is sharp and uniform throughout. I haven’t run into any areas where the print fades or is smudged. The font is 9 pt. in size and is Lexicon face. At first glance it seems larger than it is, in my opinion. I think that is due to the opaque paper, print, and line spacing, making it very legible. It is easy on the eyes.
   Preaching from the pulpit and looking down at a 9 pt. font in another Bible with lesser paper and more ghosting would be a bad idea, but with this Bible you could easily do it. There is also a generous outside margin for some limited note taking.
   The drawback of course is that some of the type gets lost in the gutter.
   In some regards, like the paper and print, I would rate this Bible up there with the premium ones. Due to the lack of some of the more ornate features, like art gilt page edges, better ribbons, gilt perimeter lines, and better leather for the inside liner I can’t call it a premium Bible. Of course the price on this edition more than makes up for what little quibbles I might have. I’ve paid over two hundred dollars for an Allan. This Bible can be had for a bit over eighty dollars. That makes it an outstanding value. The suggested retail is one hundred and fourty nine dollars and ninety nine cents. Some publishers list a suggested retail that I would never pay. This Bible is worth the suggested retail. On some retail sites it can be found for as little as eighty four dollars and ninety nine cents. Other than the gutter complaint, the layout is great. You get a double column, verse format, with approximately 80,000 cross references located at the bottom of the pages. You also get a 76 page 3 column concordance, and 8 color maps in the back.
   At the start of each book is a brief introduction. I personally love well written book introductions.
   You also get a smyth-sewn spine with this edge-lined Bible adding to the durability and flexibility.
   You would be hard pressed to find a Bible with all of these features even in a higher price range. In my opinion, Crossway has hit the ball out of the park with this edition and set the standard for their competitors in the eighty to one hundred and fifty dollar range.