Wide margin editions typically have either a small font or a large text-block. Crossway’s ESV Large Print Wide Margin Bible provides a large print in an overall size that’s smaller than many Bibles with this same size print. It’s available in TruTone and black genuine leather. I’m reviewing the black genuine leather, ISBN: 9781433561955, made in China.
Crossway 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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Video Review
Cover and Binding
The cover is genuine leather. It’s black and has a matte finish. It isn’t stiff, but it doesn’t feel soft to the touch either. The stamped grain looks nice. The front has no markings. The spine has four non-raised ribs and HOLY BIBLE, the ESV logo, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION, and the Crossway logo – all printed in gold. The gold looks great against the black.
The liner is paste-down and the text-block is Smyth sewn. It easily lays open to any page. It has one thin black ribbon. The overall size is 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.5″. It weighs 2 lbs, 9.2 oz. It doesn’t feel like a large Bible at all.
Paper
The paper is 36gsm and it’s white in color. It’s highly opaque and has a smooth texture. I found it easy to turn pages. It has no glare under direct light. This is excellent paper for marking and reading. The front includes several thick end-sheets, which are great for notes and for providing an extra level of structure.
Typography
This is a double-column paragraph layout with poetry set to stanzas. The header shows the page number in the center and the book name, chapter number, and verse number in the outer margin of the text. Footnotes are placed in the footer. Section headings are in italics.
The typeface is 11-point Lexicon. It has enough space between the lines (leading) for underlining. It’s black-letter and it’s very dark. Even at this darkness, there’s very little show-through, making this text easy to read. The footnotes are keyed with numbers. It has around 36 characters per line with around 7 words per line.
The verse numbers are superscript, but they’re extra-large and bold, making them easy to find at a glance. I found this to be an excellent Bible for preaching. I had no issues ignoring the verse numbers for reading.
It has a 1″ margin on the outside and about a 1/2″ on the inside. It is possible to get some small notes in the inner margin, but it would be difficult to get a lot in there. It’s good for symbols and references. This isn’t the type of margin you’d need for extensive notes, but it is great for those that just want a few small notes. If the margin-space is your goal, you might be better off with Crossway’s Wide Margin Reference Bible.
It’s a simple design, but it comes across as more elegant than most Bibles. I love this simplicity and readability.
Presentation and Family Pages
In the front, it has the standard family pages including presentation, marriages, births/adoptions, and deaths. They’re printed on thick non-glossy paper that’s great for writing.
Table of Weights and Measures
It has a one-page table with the biblical unit, approximate American and metric equivalents, and biblical equivalent. It’s a small table, and most of the information is also found in the footnotes, but it’s helpful to have this in one location.
Maps
In the back are 8 maps printed in earth-tones. I love these colors. It’s printed on thick non-glossy paper and has a rough texture that I like a lot. They include distance, topography, borders, routes, rivers, kingdoms, etc. It doesn’t have an index to maps but they’re labeled well and they’re easy to use.
Maps include:
- The World of the Patriarchs
- The Exodus from Egypt
- The Twelve Tribes of Israel
- Israel Under Saul, David, and Solomon
- Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus
- Palestine in the Time of Jesus
- Paul’s First and Second Missionary Journeys
- Paul’s Third Missionary Journey and His Voyage to Rome
Comparisons
Here’s how the ESV Large Print Wide Margin Bible compares with the ESV Wide Margin Bible, Schuyler Quentel, and Cambridge ESV Wide Margin.
ESV Wide Margin
The Crossway ESV Wide Margin Bible has a smaller font, but it also has wide margins in the inner margin and references.
Schuyler Quentel
The Quentel’s font is about the same. It’s a thicker Bible because it also has references. I’m comparing the NKJV because it also has 36gsm paper (my ESV is the 2nd edition, which has 38gsm).
Cambridge ESV Wide Margin
The Cambridge ESV Wide Margin Bible has wider margins in the inner margin, but not as much as the Crossway Wide Margin. It also has references and a much smaller font.
Conclusion
The ESV Large Print Wide Margin Bible has amazing paper and print quality. It only has 1″ wide margins on the outside, and it has a smaller .5″ margin on the inside, so there isn’t enough room for extensive notes, but it is great for those looking for a large text and a little bit of writing space. It doesn’t have pages for writing notes, but this also helps keep the size down. I would like to have a few pages, though.
The lack of references, a concordance, note paper, and an inner margin make this ideal for small notes, reading, and preaching rather than extensive note-taking or study. It’s also great for marking the text. I love this Bible for reading. I can recommend this Bible just as a reader even if you don’t plan to write in it.
This is an excellent basic Bible without a lot of extras. It can easily be the Bible that you keep for the rest of your life and grow old with. I’d love to see this Bible in a premium edition. I highly recommend the ESV Large Print Wide Margin Bible for preaching, reading, for anyone wanting to mark the text, or for anyone wanting to take small notes that don’t need a lot of margin space.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_________________________________________________________
Crossway 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.