CSB Life Counsel Bible Review
The CSB Life Counsel Bible from Holman was developed in partnership with New Growth Press with a focus on biblical counseling. It includes lots of articles and word studies to counsel the reader on many life issues that we face today. It’s available in several covers. I’m reviewing the hardcover edition, ISBN 9781087773131, printed in China.
Holman provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
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This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
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Table of Contents
- Video Review
- Cover and Binding
- Paper
- Typography
- References
- Book Introductions
- Study Material
- Concordance
- Maps
- Conclusion
Video Review
Cover and Binding
This edition is hardcover. It includes a dust jacket and two ribbons. The design of the cover matches the dust jacket. The text block is sewn and it has no trouble lying open on any page. The overall size is 7 x 9.25 x 1.8″.
Paper
The paper seems to be 30GSM. It’s white in color and has no glare. The show-through isn’t bad, but it is noticeable. The texture is rough enough to grab and turn easily.
Typography
The Christian Standard Bible text is presented in a double-column, paragraph format with poetry set to stanzas, letters indented, and lists printed as a list. Old Testament quotes are in bold. Chapter numbers are green. Section headings are bold. Cross-references are placed under the right column and footnotes are placed in a single column that matches the width of both columns. The header shows the book name and chapter numbers in the outer margin and the page number in the center.
The typeface is Bible Serif from 2K/Denmark. It’s 9.5-point with the words of Christ in black. It has a good amount of whitespace. The text does look to be line-matched. The only pages that have much show-through are those with articles on the back of the page. Poetry is divided into good places, so it looks balanced and doesn’t have lines with a single word. This text is excellent for reading, study, teaching, and preaching.
Wide Margins
The outer margin is almost 1.5″. It’s left blank for notes.
References
It includes 25,000 cross-references placed under the last verse on the page.
Here are some example references to help you compare:
- Genesis 1:1 – Ps 90:2; 102:12; Is 40:21; Jn 1:1-3; Eph 3:21; Neh 9:6; Is 40:12-14; 43:7; Jr 10:12-16; Am 4:13; Rm 1:25; 1 Co 11:9; Col 1:16; Rv 4:11
- Deuteronomy 6:4 – Zch 14:9; Mk 12:29, 32; Rm 3:30; 1Co 8:6; Eph 4:6; 1Tm 2:5; 2:19
- Isaiah 9:6 – Is 7:14; 11:1-2; 53:2; Lk 2:11; Jn 3:16; Is 22:22; Mt 28:18; 1Co 15:25; Is 28:29; Dt 10:17; Neh 9:32; Is 10:21; 63:16; 64:8; 26:3, 12; 54:10; 66:12
- Matthew 17:20 – Mt 21:21-22; Mk 11:23; Lk 17:6; Jn 11:40; 1Cor 13:2; Mk 9:23, 29; 13:31
- Mark 11:23 – Ps 72:19; Rv 22:21; Ac 10:20; Jn 3:16; Ac 10:43; Rm 10:19; 1Pt 1:8-10; Mk 9:23; Jn 11:22
- Mark 12:29 – Col 4:1; Jd 5; Dt 6:4
- John 1:1 – Gn 1:1; Col 1:18; Jn 1:14; 1Jn 1:1; Rv 19:13; Jn 20:28; Php 2:6
- Acts 2:38 – Lk 24:47; Ac 3:19; 26:20; Ac 8:12; 22:16; Ac 3:16; 15:14
- 1 John 1:1 – Jn 1:1; 1Jn 2:13-14; Ps 119:25; Jn 1:1, 4; 5:24; Php 2:16
Book Introductions
Book introductions take a couple of pages. The first page discusses the circumstances of writing, its contribution to the Bible, and its structure. This covers the basics of the book without a specific focus. It’s good information in general. The second page discusses truth for healing as it’s covered in the book. This focused information covers the main points of the book where healing is needed and shows the solution as found in the book.
Study Material
Articles
It has over 150 articles from Christian counselors and scholars placed throughout the text. They’re detailed and sometimes take several pages. They include the title, many headings within the article, Scripture references, examples, and more. The articles are adapted from books and include information about the book they’re from. They include many topics and are great for counselors and pastors.
Callouts
These are short quotes printed in green above the right text column on the right page. The quotes provide encouragement and are from the articles found throughout the Bible. They’re placed near the article they’re from. The article prints this text in green so it’s easy to find.
Word Study
Word studies appear at the bottom of many pages. They’re based on Hebrew and Greek words and include the word in the original language, a short definition, how to pronounce it, how it’s used in the CSB, references where it is used, and a detailed study of the word. They seem to have chosen words on topics that often arise in counseling sessions.
Endnotes to Articles
The articles include footnotes. This lists all of those footnotes. It includes the Bible book names, the titles of the articles, and the notes.
Topical Scripture Index
This is a two-page index with major topics that commonly need counseling. It lists the topic names and provides a list of Scripture references for each topic.
Concordance
The concordance is 85 pages with 3 columns per page. It has lots of entries and includes character studies. The entries are printed on gree and include the part of speech for some of the words. This is an excellent concordance for study and sermon prep. Here are a few example entries with their number of references to help you compare:
- Christ – 35
- Christian – 2
- Faith – 34
- Faithful – 15
- Faithful Love – 8
- Faithfulness – 6
- Faithless – 1
- God – 77
- Goddess – 2
- God-Fearing – 1
- Godless – 1
- Godlessness – 2
- Godliness – 6
- Godly – 4
- Praise(N) – 8
- Praise(V) – 5
- Pray – 14
- Prayer – 6
Maps
It includes 8 full-color maps on thick matte paper. They’re printed in bold colors that I like a lot. They’re clean and have large areas without text and are annotated well. This helps make them easy to use. The maps include distance, topography, mountain peaks, routes, cities, major roads, Scripture references, kingdoms, locations of events, dates, etc. One includes longitude and latitude. I’d like to see this added to the rest of the maps.
Maps include:
- The Migration of Abraham
- The Route of the Exodus
- The Tribal Allotments of Israel
- The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
- Israel in the Time of Jesus
- The Ministry of Jesus Around the Sea of Galilee
- The Passion Week in Jerusalem
- Paul’s Missionary Journeys
Conclusion on the Life Counsel Bible
The CSB Life Counsel Bible from Holman is an excellent Bible for anyone interested in biblical counseling. The articles are well written and the word studies help dig into the Hebrew and Greek on counseling topics. The topical index is short, but it makes it easy to find Scriptures that deal with any counseling topic. If you’re a counselor, pastor, and someone interested in counseling from a biblical perspective, this Bible is a great choice.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_________________________________________________________
Holman provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
