The ESV Panorama New Testament was designed with the purpose of seeing large sections of Scripture at the same time. The idea is that seeing large portions of Scripture together will help keep it in context. The result is a New Testament with a large footprint that shows several complete books on an open two-page spread. The paper and design make it a great choice for reading and study. It’s available in cloth-over-board, ISBN: 9781433571930, 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.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
Video Review
Binding
The cover is a gray cloth-over-board. It has nothing printed on the front. The spine includes the logo and text printed in silver. The hardcover is thick and rugged. The liner is a coated gray paper. It’s thick and seems to be sturdy. I think it would last for a long time. It’s sewn and had no trouble staying open perfectly on every page. The overall size is 10.25 x 12.75 x .75″. It weighs 2lbs, 4oz. It doesn’t include a ribbon.
Paper
The paper is 100gsm ivory. This is the same paper that Crossway uses in the Scripture Journals. This is some of my favorite paper for note-taking and reading. The color works great with the font, creating enough contrast to be easy to read. This paper is ultra-opaque and I find it a joy to read from. As expected, it’s also easy to turn. The paper is perfect for note-taking, highlighting, underlining, etc. It has 6 pages in the back that would be great for notes.
Typography and Layout
The text is presented in a double-column, paragraph layout with wide columns. Poetry is in stanzas. The header shows the book name, chapter, and verse number in the outer margin. The footer shows the page number in the center. Section headings are semi-bold in italics. It doesn’t include footnotes. This is a new setting designed just for this Bible.
The font is 8-point, black letter. It’s dark and consistent throughout. It has extra space between the lines, making it great for underlining or reading. The columns are just over 3.5″ wide with 12-14 words per line. It’s printed with line-matching, so all of the lines on one side of the page line up with the lines on the other side of the page to improve readability. Verse numbers are semi-bold. I had no issues finding them, but they are small. There are no footnotes so there are no keys. The text is clean and readable.
It has 1″ margins out the outside and 1.125″ margins on the inside. The bottom has around an inch if the text goes all the way to the bottom. Most don’t, leaving anywhere from 2-3″ on average with some pages having a lot more space. Most larger books don’t include extra space at the bottom, but some do. This space could have shown more Scripture. It has .5″ of space between the columns. It has plenty of space for notes.
The point of this design is to create a layout that’s “panoramic” – allowing you to see and interact with as much of a book on an open spread of pages as possible. This is to help keep the Scriptures in context and make connections you normally wouldn’t see. You can easily see and mark keywords and phrases used in the same book without having to turn a lot of pages. 17 books can be seen on a 2-page spread. These photos show the complete books of Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians.
Comparisons
There isn’t much to compare with, so I’ll compare to a couple of ESV’s many people might be familiar with- the ESV Pew Bible and the ESV Scripture Journals.
ESV Pew Bible
The only similarity between these two is the font used and the size of the print. Both are readable. The wide single-column is ideal for a poetic setting.
ESV Scripture Journals
The paper is the same in both (100gsm ivory). If you’re used to writing in the Scripture Journal editions, then you’ll have an idea of what it’s like to write in the Panoramic New Testament.
Conclusion
Crossway’s ESV Panorama New Testament is an interesting Bible. It’s made well and I love the 100gsm paper. I’ve been a fan of this paper since it was used for the Scripture Journals and it works great in this NT. It’s perfect for notes and personal study. I also like reading it. Its large footprint will make me leave it at home to use at my desk, but it’s great for that. Seeing entire books on a two-page spread does help in seeing keywords and phrases that are used throughout the book, making connections, creating cross-references, sermon prep, etc. I also like seeing how much of a book is poetic. This is a specialty Bible that’s limited to a few purposes, but unlike many specialty Bibles, this one serves a purpose that is helpful in personal growth, teaching, and more. If you’re interested in making notes and seeing lots of Scripture together, this Bible is easy to recommend.
_________________________________________________________
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.
Very interesting, but I always feel cheated by editions that don’t include the translators’ footnotes.
I’m really not too keen on NT-only Bibles (except for my Greek NT, but even then, I’d love an LXX + NA28). Any idea whether they plan to offer this layout for the full Bible? Great review!
Thanks Mike. They don’t have plans for the OT. I’d love to see it as a full Bible.