The ESV Spiral-Bound Journaling Bible, Five-Volume Set was designed for taking notes. The Bible is divided into 5 volumes to present the ESV text on thick paper with extra-large margins. The spiral lets it stay open perfectly on any page. This set is ideal for in-depth notes. This is ISBN 9781433593178, printed in China.
Crossway provided this Bible Set in exchange for an honest review.
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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
- Cover and Binding
- Paper
- Typography
- Wide Margins
- Translation Footnotes
- Table of Weights and Measures
- Video Review
- Conclusion
Specs
- 2016 ESV text
- 5 Volume Set
- Hardcover
- Spiral-Bound
- Type Size 9.5
- Single Column
- Wide Margin
- Size 8.5 in x 11.0 in
- Weight 13.8 lbs total, around 2lbs, 12 oz each
- ISBN 9781433593178
- Printed in China
Cover and Binding
The cover is a spiral-bound hardcover with thick rigid boards. The spiral is almost 1.5 inches. Each volume is a different color. The front shows the ESV logo, the volume’s name, and English Standard Version. The spiral is large. Turning the pages is easy enough, but a page sometimes gets caught in the spiral. If you’re not careful you can have a page to crinkle (guess how I know). It’s easy to handle if you turn slowly enough. I love spiral-bound notebooks and journals. Nothing stays open better, and the pages lie flat on every page. This is ideal for note-taking. It’s easy enough to turn pages. The overall size per volume is 9.75 x 11.25 x 1.125 and they weigh around 2 lbs, 12 oz.
The ESV Spiral-Bound Journaling Bible Five-Volumes
The ESV text is presented in five volumes. Each volume is a specific set of books and has a different color. This makes it easy to know which is which at a glance. The colors are eath-tones, which look great and are some of my favorite colors. The Five Volumes include:
- Pentateuch
- Historical Books
- Poetry
- Prophets
- New Testament
Paper
The paper seems to be around 60 GSM or higher. It’s thinner and has more show-through than the Journaling Set. It feels like a high-quality notebook, which is perfect for notes. The extra thickness can take a minute to get used to when turning to a certain page. It has a slightly rough texture that’s great for writing and easy to turn. It’s slightly cream and it’s extremely opaque. This paper is excellent for note-taking. Most markers, pens, pencils, and highlighters are great for this paper. A few pages have small ink smears from printing. It’s not bad, but I wanted to mention it.
Typography
The 2016 ESV text is presented in a single-column paragraph format. It includes the standard ESV formatting such as poetry in stanzas and lists presented as lists. Footnotes are placed under the text in a smaller font. The header shows the book name, chapter, and verse number in the outer margin. The footer shows the page number in the outer margin. The wide margins are in the outer margin. This is my preferred layout for wide-margin Bibles.
The Lexicon typeface is 9.5. This is a black-letter edition. It has around 14 words per line and lots of space between the lines. It was printed with line-matching, so the words are in the same location on both sides of the page. This improves readability and reduces show-through. There is a lot of white space in the text. This makes it easy to underline. Poetry is divided into good places and includes extra space between poetry and prose. Verse numbers are small but they have extra space around them, making them easy to find quickly.
Wide Margins
The outer margin is slightly over 3 1/4 inches wide with ruled lines 2 7/8 inches. The lines are bold enough to be useable, but they’re faint enough that they don’t become distracting. This is one of the best layouts for note-taking and this edition has some of the most space available of any wide-margin Bible.
I used a Pigma Micron 01 for a small note. It doesn’t bleed or show through to the other side.
For more information about Bible marking see my book Easy Bible Marking Guide.
Translation Footnotes
The full ESV translation footnotes are placed at the bottom of the page. They are keyed to the text with numbers and they don’t have verse numbers. The footnotes include alternate translations, literal translations, Hebrew and Greek terms, special uses of Greek words, the meanings of names, words where meanings are uncertain, clarification of additional meanings, grammatical points, supplied pronouns, English equivalents of weights and measures, and manuscript variations. The footnotes are useful for personal study and for sermon prep.
Table of Weights and Measures
In the back of the New Testament is a table of weights and measures. They’re simple tables, but I find them helpful, so I’m glad to see them included. This information is also in the footnotes.
Video Review
Conclusion on the ESV Spiral-Bound Journaling Bible, Five-Volume Set
Crossway’s ESV Spiral-Bound Journaling Bible, Five-Volume Set is excellent for those who like taking notes, journaling, art journaling, and more. The quality of the build and design are as good as it gets. Having five volumes makes it difficult to carry the entire Bible around, so it could be difficult to use unless you’re using it at home or just using one volume at a time.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_________________________________________________________
Crossway provided this Bible Set 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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